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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1Khung Ying-t& says they are from the ‘Great Appendix.’ It is more likely that he was in error, than that they existed there in his time. BOOK XXIV. AI KUNG WAN OR QUESTIONS OF DUKE AI’. 1. Duke Ai? asked Confucius, saying, ‘What do you say about the great rites? How is it that superior men, in speaking about them, ascribe so much honour to them?’ Confucius said, ‘I, Aid, am a small man, and unequal to a knowledge of the rites. ‘By no means,’ said the ruler. ‘Tell me what you think, my Master. Then Confucius replied, ‘ According to what I have heard, of all things by which the people live the rites are the greatest. Without them they would have no meansofregulating the services paid to the spirits of heaven and earth ; without them they would have no means of distinguishing the positions proper to father and son, to high and low, to old and young; without them they would have no means of maintaining the separate character of the intimate relations between male and female, father and son, elder brother and younger, and conducting the intercourse between the contracting families in a marriage, and the frequency or infrequency (of the reciprocities between friends). These * See the introduction, vol. xxvii, pp. 39, 40. * Ai (‘The Courteous, Benevolent, and Short-lived’) was the posthumous title of the marquis Siang (&) of Lf (B.c. 494-468), in whose sixteenth year Confucius died. He seems to have often consulted the sage on important questions, but was too weak to follow his counsels. 262 THE Lf xt. BK, XXIV. are the grounds on which superior men have honoured andr everenced (the rites) as they did. 2. ‘ Thereafter, (having this view of the rites), they taught them to the people, on the ground of their ability (to practise them), not disregarding their general principles or the limitations (that circumstances impose in particular cases). 3. ‘When their object had been accomplished (so far), they proceeded to give rules for the engraving (of the ceremonial vessels), and the embroidering in various colours (of the robes), in order to secure the transmission (of the rites). 4. ‘Having obtained the concurrence (of the people in these things), they proceeded to tell them the different periods of mourning; to provide the full amount of tripods and stands; to lay down the (offerings of) pork and dried meats; to maintain in good order their ancestral temples; and then at the different seasons of the year reverently to present their sacrifices ; and to arrange thereat, in order, the different branches and members of their kindred. Meanwhile (they themselves) were content to live economically, to have nothing fine about their dress ; to have their houses low and poor; to eschew much carving about their carriages; to use their vessels without carving or graving; and to have the plainest diet, in order to share all their advantages in common with the people. In this manner did the superior men of antiquity practise the rites.’
2In this manner did the superior men of antiquity practise the rites.’ 5. The duke said, ‘ How is it that the superior men of the present day do not practise them (in this way). Confucius said, ‘The superior men of the present day are never satisfied in their fondness for wealth, and never wearied in the extravagance of BK. XXIV. AI KUNG WAN. 263 . their conduct. They are wild, idle, arrogant, and insolent. They determinedly exhaust the (resources of the) people, put themselves in opposition to the multitude, and seek to overthrow those who are pursuing the right way. They seek to get whatever they desire, without reference to right or reason. The former using of the people was according to the ancient rules; the using of them now-a-days is according to later rules. The superior men of the present day do not practise the rites (as they ought to be practised).’ 6. Confucius was sitting beside duke Ai, when the latter said, ‘I venture to ask, according to the nature of men, which is the greatest thing (to be attended to in dealing with them).’ Confucius looked startled, changed countenance, and replied, ‘ That your lordship should put this question is a good thing for the people. How should your servant dare but express his opinion on it?’ Accordingly he proceeded, and said, ‘ According to the nature of men, government is the greatest thing for them.’ 7. The duke said, ‘I venture to ask what is meant by the practice of government.’ Confucius replied, ‘Government is rectification. When the ruler is correct himself, all the people will follow his government. What the ruler does is what the people follow. How should they follow what he does not do ?’ 8. The duke said, ‘I venture to ask how this practice of government is to be effected?’ Confucius replied, ‘ Husband and wife have their separate functions ; between father and son there should be affection ; between ruler and minister there should be a strict adherence to their several parts. If 264 THE Li xf. BK. XXIV. these three relations be correctly discharged, all other things will follow.’ g. The duke said, ‘ Although I cannot, in my un- : worthiness, count myself as having attained, I should like to hear how these three things which you have mentioned can be rightly secured. May I hear it from you?’ Confucius replied, ‘ With the ancients in their practice of government the love of men was the great point; in their regulation of this love of men, the rules of ceremony was the great point; in their regulation of those rules, re-
3May I hear it from you?’ Confucius replied, ‘ With the ancients in their practice of government the love of men was the great point; in their regulation of this love of men, the rules of ceremony was the great point; in their regulation of those rules, re- - verence was the great point. For of the extreme manifestation of reverence we find the greatest illustration in the great (rite of) marriage. Yes, in the great (rite of) marriage there is the extreme manifestation of respect; and when one took place, the bridegroom in his square-topped cap went in person to meet the bride ;—thus showing his affection for her. It was his doing this himself that was the demonstration of his affection. Thus it is that the superior man commences with respect as the basis of love. To neglect respect is to leave affection unprovided for. Without loving there can be no (real) union; and without respect the love will not be correct. Yes, love and respect lie at the foundation of government. ' 10. The duke said, ‘I wish that I could say I agree with you, but for the bridegroom in his squaretopped cap to go in person to meet the bride,—is it not making too much (of the ceremony) ?’ Confucius looked startled, changed countenance, and said, ‘(Such a marriage) is the union of (the representatives of) two different surnames in friendship and love, in order to continue the posterity of the BK. XXIV. AI KUNG WAN. 265 former sages}, and to furnish those who shall preside at the sacrifices to heaven and earth, at those in the ancestral temple, and at those at the altars to the spirits of the land and grain ;—how can your lordship say that the ceremony is made too great ?’ 11. The duke said, ‘Iam stupid. But if I were not stupid, how should I have heard what you have just said? I wish to question you, but cannot find the proper words (to do so); I beg you to go on a little further.’ Confucius said, ‘If there were not the united action of heaven and earth, the world of things would not grow. By means of the grand rite of marriage, the generations of men are continued through myriads of ages. How can your lordship say that the ceremony in question is too great?’ He immediately added, ‘In their own peculiar sphere, (this marriage) serves for the regulation of the ceremonies of the ancestral temple, and is sufficient to supply the correlates to the spiritual Intelligences of heaven and earth; in the (wider) sphere abroad, it serves for the regulation of the ceremonies of the court?, and is sufficient to establish the respect of those below him to him who is 1 King takes this in the singular, ‘the former sage,’ meaning the duke of Xu, so that Confucius should say that the ceremony in question was a continuation of that instituted by the duke of Xu. I cannot construe or interpret the text so. * The text here seems to be corrupt. Translating it as it stands— Ve fA = =<. fii—we should have to say, ‘the regulation of straightforward speech.’ hin H4o says that he does not
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1Khung Ying-t& says they are from the ‘Great Appendix.’ It is more likely that he was in error, than that they existed there in his time. BOOK XXIV. AI KUNG WAN OR QUESTIONS OF DUKE AI’. 1. Duke Ai? asked Confucius, saying, ‘What do you say about the great rites? How is it that superior men, in speaking about them, ascribe so much honour to them?’ Confucius said, ‘I, Aid, am a small man, and unequal to a knowledge of the rites. ‘By no means,’ said the ruler. ‘Tell me what you think, my Master. Then Confucius replied, ‘ According to what I have heard, of all things by which the people live the rites are the greatest. Without them they would have no meansofregulating the services paid to the spirits of heaven and earth ; without them they would have no means of distinguishing the positions proper to father and son, to high and low, to old and young; without them they would have no means of maintaining the separate character of the intimate relations between male and female, father and son, elder brother and younger, and conducting the intercourse between the contracting families in a marriage, and the frequency or infrequency (of the reciprocities between friends). These * See the introduction, vol. xxvii, pp. 39, 40. * Ai (‘The Courteous, Benevolent, and Short-lived’) was the posthumous title of the marquis Siang (&) of Lf (B.c. 494-468), in whose sixteenth year Confucius died. He seems to have often consulted the sage on important questions, but was too weak to follow his counsels. 262 THE Lf xt. BK, XXIV. are the grounds on which superior men have honoured andr everenced (the rites) as they did. 2. ‘ Thereafter, (having this view of the rites), they taught them to the people, on the ground of their ability (to practise them), not disregarding their general principles or the limitations (that circumstances impose in particular cases). 3. ‘When their object had been accomplished (so far), they proceeded to give rules for the engraving (of the ceremonial vessels), and the embroidering in various colours (of the robes), in order to secure the transmission (of the rites). 4. ‘Having obtained the concurrence (of the people in these things), they proceeded to tell them the different periods of mourning; to provide the full amount of tripods and stands; to lay down the (offerings of) pork and dried meats; to maintain in good order their ancestral temples; and then at the different seasons of the year reverently to present their sacrifices ; and to arrange thereat, in order, the different branches and members of their kindred. Meanwhile (they themselves) were content to live economically, to have nothing fine about their dress ; to have their houses low and poor; to eschew much carving about their carriages; to use their vessels without carving or graving; and to have the plainest diet, in order to share all their advantages in common with the people. In this manner did the superior men of antiquity practise the rites.’
2In this manner did the superior men of antiquity practise the rites.’ 5. The duke said, ‘ How is it that the superior men of the present day do not practise them (in this way). Confucius said, ‘The superior men of the present day are never satisfied in their fondness for wealth, and never wearied in the extravagance of BK. XXIV. AI KUNG WAN. 263 . their conduct. They are wild, idle, arrogant, and insolent. They determinedly exhaust the (resources of the) people, put themselves in opposition to the multitude, and seek to overthrow those who are pursuing the right way. They seek to get whatever they desire, without reference to right or reason. The former using of the people was according to the ancient rules; the using of them now-a-days is according to later rules. The superior men of the present day do not practise the rites (as they ought to be practised).’ 6. Confucius was sitting beside duke Ai, when the latter said, ‘I venture to ask, according to the nature of men, which is the greatest thing (to be attended to in dealing with them).’ Confucius looked startled, changed countenance, and replied, ‘ That your lordship should put this question is a good thing for the people. How should your servant dare but express his opinion on it?’ Accordingly he proceeded, and said, ‘ According to the nature of men, government is the greatest thing for them.’ 7. The duke said, ‘I venture to ask what is meant by the practice of government.’ Confucius replied, ‘Government is rectification. When the ruler is correct himself, all the people will follow his government. What the ruler does is what the people follow. How should they follow what he does not do ?’ 8. The duke said, ‘I venture to ask how this practice of government is to be effected?’ Confucius replied, ‘ Husband and wife have their separate functions ; between father and son there should be affection ; between ruler and minister there should be a strict adherence to their several parts. If 264 THE Li xf. BK. XXIV. these three relations be correctly discharged, all other things will follow.’ g. The duke said, ‘ Although I cannot, in my un- : worthiness, count myself as having attained, I should like to hear how these three things which you have mentioned can be rightly secured. May I hear it from you?’ Confucius replied, ‘ With the ancients in their practice of government the love of men was the great point; in their regulation of this love of men, the rules of ceremony was the great point; in their regulation of those rules, re-
3May I hear it from you?’ Confucius replied, ‘ With the ancients in their practice of government the love of men was the great point; in their regulation of this love of men, the rules of ceremony was the great point; in their regulation of those rules, re- - verence was the great point. For of the extreme manifestation of reverence we find the greatest illustration in the great (rite of) marriage. Yes, in the great (rite of) marriage there is the extreme manifestation of respect; and when one took place, the bridegroom in his square-topped cap went in person to meet the bride ;—thus showing his affection for her. It was his doing this himself that was the demonstration of his affection. Thus it is that the superior man commences with respect as the basis of love. To neglect respect is to leave affection unprovided for. Without loving there can be no (real) union; and without respect the love will not be correct. Yes, love and respect lie at the foundation of government. ' 10. The duke said, ‘I wish that I could say I agree with you, but for the bridegroom in his squaretopped cap to go in person to meet the bride,—is it not making too much (of the ceremony) ?’ Confucius looked startled, changed countenance, and said, ‘(Such a marriage) is the union of (the representatives of) two different surnames in friendship and love, in order to continue the posterity of the BK. XXIV. AI KUNG WAN. 265 former sages}, and to furnish those who shall preside at the sacrifices to heaven and earth, at those in the ancestral temple, and at those at the altars to the spirits of the land and grain ;—how can your lordship say that the ceremony is made too great ?’ 11. The duke said, ‘Iam stupid. But if I were not stupid, how should I have heard what you have just said? I wish to question you, but cannot find the proper words (to do so); I beg you to go on a little further.’ Confucius said, ‘If there were not the united action of heaven and earth, the world of things would not grow. By means of the grand rite of marriage, the generations of men are continued through myriads of ages. How can your lordship say that the ceremony in question is too great?’ He immediately added, ‘In their own peculiar sphere, (this marriage) serves for the regulation of the ceremonies of the ancestral temple, and is sufficient to supply the correlates to the spiritual Intelligences of heaven and earth; in the (wider) sphere abroad, it serves for the regulation of the ceremonies of the court?, and is sufficient to establish the respect of those below him to him who is 1 King takes this in the singular, ‘the former sage,’ meaning the duke of Xu, so that Confucius should say that the ceremony in question was a continuation of that instituted by the duke of Xu. I cannot construe or interpret the text so. * The text here seems to be corrupt. Translating it as it stands— Ve fA = =<. fii—we should have to say, ‘the regulation of straightforward speech.’ hin H4o says that he does not
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
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