Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
13 One of the two famous swords made for Ho-lii, the king of Wf. See the account of their making in the seventy-fourth chapter of the ‘History of the Various States;’ very marvellous, but evidently, and acknowledged to be, fabulous. PT. II. SECT. I. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-3ZE, 85 comes forth (and is born), if he did not return (to his previous non-existence), we should have (only) seen his ghost; when he comes forth and gets this (return), he dies (as we say). He is extinguished, and yet has a real existence :—(this is another way of saying that in life we have) only man’s ghost. By taking the material as an emblem of the immaterial do we arrive at a settlement of the case of man, He comes forth, but from no root; he reenters, but by no aperture. He has areal existence, but it has nothing to do with place; he has continuance, but it has nothing to do with beginning or end. He has a real existence, but it has nothing to do with place, such is his relation to space; he has continuance, but it has nothing to do with beginning or end, such is his relation to time; he has life; he has death; he comes forth; he enters; but we do not see his form ;—all this is what is called the door of Heaven. The door of Heaven is Non-Existence. All things come from non-existence. The (first) existences could not bring themselves into existence; they must have come from non-existence. And non-existence is just the same as non-existing. Herein is the secret of the sages. 10. Among the ancients there were those whose knowledge reached the extreme point. And what was that point? There were some who thought that in the beginning there was nothing. This was the extreme point, the completest reach of their knowledge, to which nothing could be added. Again, there were those who supposed that (in the beginning) there were existences, proceeding to consider life to be a (gradual) perishing, and death a returning (to the original state). And there they stopped, 86 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK, XXIII. making, (however), a distinction between life and death. Once again there were those who said, ‘In the beginning there was nothing; by and by there was life; and then in a little time life was succeeded by death. We hold that non-existence was the head, life the body, and death the os coccygis. But of those who acknowledge that existence and nonexistence, death and life, are all under the One Keeper, we are the friends.’ Though those who maintained these three views were different, they were so as the different branches of the same ruling Family (of KA#d)1,—the Kaos and the Kings, bearing the surname of the lord whom they honoured as the author of their branch, and the Kids named from their appanage ;—(all one, yet seeming) not to be one.
2The possession of life is like the soot that collects under a boiler. When that is differently distributed, the life is spoken of as different. But to say that life is different in different lives, and better in one than in another, is an improper mode of speech. And yet there may be something here which we do not know. (As for instance), at the 14 sacrifice the paunch and the divided hoofs may be set forth on separate dishes, but they should not be considered as parts of different victims; (and again), when one is inspecting a house, he goes over it all, even the adytum for the shrines of the temple, and visits also the most private apartments; doing this, and setting a different estimate on the different parts. Let me try and speak of this method of appor- ? Both Lao and Kwang belonged to Kf, and this illustration was natural to them. PT. II. SECT. I. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-3ZE. 87. tioning one’s approval :—life is the fundamental consideration in it; knowledge is the instructor. From this they multiply their approvals and disapprovals, determining what is merely nominal and what is real. They go on to conclude that to themselves must the appeal be made in everything, and to try to make others adopt them as their model; prepared even to die to make good their views on every point. In this way they consider being employed in office as a mark of wisdom, and not being so employed as a mark of stupidity, success as entitling to fame, and the want of it as disgraceful. The men of the present day who follow this differentiating method are like the cicada and the little dove! ;—there is no difference between them. 11, When one treads on the foot of another in the market-place, he apologises on the ground of the bustle. If an elder tread on his younger brother, he proceeds to comfort him; if a parent tread on a child, he says and does nothing. Hence it is said, ‘The greatest politeness is to show no special respect to others; the greatest righteousness is to take no account of things ; the greatest wisdom is to lay no plans; the greatest benevolence is to make no demonstration of affection; the greatest good faith is to give no pledge of sincerity.’ Repress the impulses of the will; unravel the errors of the mind; put away the entanglements to virtue; and clear away all that obstructs the free course of the TA4o. Honours and riches, distinctions and austerity, fame and profit; these six things produce the impulses of the will. Personal appearance 2 See in Bk. I, par. 2. 88 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXIII.
3Honours and riches, distinctions and austerity, fame and profit; these six things produce the impulses of the will. Personal appearance 2 See in Bk. I, par. 2. 88 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXIII. and deportment, the desire of beauty and subtle reasonings, excitement of the breath and cherished thoughts; these six things produce errors of the mind. Hatred and longings, joy and anger, grief and delight; these six things are the entanglements to virtue. Refusals and approachments, receiving and giving, knowledge and ability; these six things obstruct the course of the Téo. When these four conditions, with the six causes of each, do not agitate the breast, the mind is correct. Being correct, it is still; being still, it is pellucid; being pellucid, it is free from pre-occupation ; being free from pre-occupation, it is in the state of inaction, in which it accomplishes everything. The T4o is the object of reverence to all the virtues. Life is what gives opportunity for the display of the virtues. The nature is the substantive character of the life. The movement of the nature is called action. When action becomes hypocritical, we say that it has lost (its proper attribute). The wise communicate with what is external to them and are always laying plans. This is what with all their wisdom they are not aware of ;—they look at things askance. When the action (of the nature) is from external constraint, we have what is called virtue; when it is all one’s own, we have what is called government. These two names seem to be opposite to each other, but in reality they are in mutual accord. 12. 11 was skilful in hitting the minutest mark, but stupid in wishing men to go on praising him without end. The sage is skilful Heavenwards, but stupid 1 See on V, par. 2. PT. It, SECT.1. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-3ZE. 89 manwards. It is only the complete man who can be both skilful Heavenwards and good manwards. Only an insect can play the insect, only an insect show the insect nature. Even the complete man hates the attempt to exemplify the nature of Heaven. He hates the manner in which men do so, and how much more would he hate the doing so by himself before men! When a bird came in the way of f, he was sure to obtain it;—such was his mastery with his bow. If all the world were to be made a cage, birds would have nowhere to escape to. Thus it was that Thang caged f Yin by making him his cook}, and that duke Md of Kin caged Pai-li Hst by giving the skins of five rams for him?. But if you try to cage men by anything but what they like, you will never succeed. A man, one of whose feet has been cut off, discards ornamental (clothes) ;—his outward appearance will not admit of admiration. A criminal under sentence of death will ascend to any height without fear ;—he has ceased to think of life or death.
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.
13 One of the two famous swords made for Ho-lii, the king of Wf. See the account of their making in the seventy-fourth chapter of the ‘History of the Various States;’ very marvellous, but evidently, and acknowledged to be, fabulous. PT. II. SECT. I. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-3ZE, 85 comes forth (and is born), if he did not return (to his previous non-existence), we should have (only) seen his ghost; when he comes forth and gets this (return), he dies (as we say). He is extinguished, and yet has a real existence :—(this is another way of saying that in life we have) only man’s ghost. By taking the material as an emblem of the immaterial do we arrive at a settlement of the case of man, He comes forth, but from no root; he reenters, but by no aperture. He has areal existence, but it has nothing to do with place; he has continuance, but it has nothing to do with beginning or end. He has a real existence, but it has nothing to do with place, such is his relation to space; he has continuance, but it has nothing to do with beginning or end, such is his relation to time; he has life; he has death; he comes forth; he enters; but we do not see his form ;—all this is what is called the door of Heaven. The door of Heaven is Non-Existence. All things come from non-existence. The (first) existences could not bring themselves into existence; they must have come from non-existence. And non-existence is just the same as non-existing. Herein is the secret of the sages. 10. Among the ancients there were those whose knowledge reached the extreme point. And what was that point? There were some who thought that in the beginning there was nothing. This was the extreme point, the completest reach of their knowledge, to which nothing could be added. Again, there were those who supposed that (in the beginning) there were existences, proceeding to consider life to be a (gradual) perishing, and death a returning (to the original state). And there they stopped, 86 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK, XXIII. making, (however), a distinction between life and death. Once again there were those who said, ‘In the beginning there was nothing; by and by there was life; and then in a little time life was succeeded by death. We hold that non-existence was the head, life the body, and death the os coccygis. But of those who acknowledge that existence and nonexistence, death and life, are all under the One Keeper, we are the friends.’ Though those who maintained these three views were different, they were so as the different branches of the same ruling Family (of KA#d)1,—the Kaos and the Kings, bearing the surname of the lord whom they honoured as the author of their branch, and the Kids named from their appanage ;—(all one, yet seeming) not to be one.
2The possession of life is like the soot that collects under a boiler. When that is differently distributed, the life is spoken of as different. But to say that life is different in different lives, and better in one than in another, is an improper mode of speech. And yet there may be something here which we do not know. (As for instance), at the 14 sacrifice the paunch and the divided hoofs may be set forth on separate dishes, but they should not be considered as parts of different victims; (and again), when one is inspecting a house, he goes over it all, even the adytum for the shrines of the temple, and visits also the most private apartments; doing this, and setting a different estimate on the different parts. Let me try and speak of this method of appor- ? Both Lao and Kwang belonged to Kf, and this illustration was natural to them. PT. II. SECT. I. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-3ZE. 87. tioning one’s approval :—life is the fundamental consideration in it; knowledge is the instructor. From this they multiply their approvals and disapprovals, determining what is merely nominal and what is real. They go on to conclude that to themselves must the appeal be made in everything, and to try to make others adopt them as their model; prepared even to die to make good their views on every point. In this way they consider being employed in office as a mark of wisdom, and not being so employed as a mark of stupidity, success as entitling to fame, and the want of it as disgraceful. The men of the present day who follow this differentiating method are like the cicada and the little dove! ;—there is no difference between them. 11, When one treads on the foot of another in the market-place, he apologises on the ground of the bustle. If an elder tread on his younger brother, he proceeds to comfort him; if a parent tread on a child, he says and does nothing. Hence it is said, ‘The greatest politeness is to show no special respect to others; the greatest righteousness is to take no account of things ; the greatest wisdom is to lay no plans; the greatest benevolence is to make no demonstration of affection; the greatest good faith is to give no pledge of sincerity.’ Repress the impulses of the will; unravel the errors of the mind; put away the entanglements to virtue; and clear away all that obstructs the free course of the TA4o. Honours and riches, distinctions and austerity, fame and profit; these six things produce the impulses of the will. Personal appearance 2 See in Bk. I, par. 2. 88 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXIII.
3Honours and riches, distinctions and austerity, fame and profit; these six things produce the impulses of the will. Personal appearance 2 See in Bk. I, par. 2. 88 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXIII. and deportment, the desire of beauty and subtle reasonings, excitement of the breath and cherished thoughts; these six things produce errors of the mind. Hatred and longings, joy and anger, grief and delight; these six things are the entanglements to virtue. Refusals and approachments, receiving and giving, knowledge and ability; these six things obstruct the course of the Téo. When these four conditions, with the six causes of each, do not agitate the breast, the mind is correct. Being correct, it is still; being still, it is pellucid; being pellucid, it is free from pre-occupation ; being free from pre-occupation, it is in the state of inaction, in which it accomplishes everything. The T4o is the object of reverence to all the virtues. Life is what gives opportunity for the display of the virtues. The nature is the substantive character of the life. The movement of the nature is called action. When action becomes hypocritical, we say that it has lost (its proper attribute). The wise communicate with what is external to them and are always laying plans. This is what with all their wisdom they are not aware of ;—they look at things askance. When the action (of the nature) is from external constraint, we have what is called virtue; when it is all one’s own, we have what is called government. These two names seem to be opposite to each other, but in reality they are in mutual accord. 12. 11 was skilful in hitting the minutest mark, but stupid in wishing men to go on praising him without end. The sage is skilful Heavenwards, but stupid 1 See on V, par. 2. PT. It, SECT.1. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-3ZE. 89 manwards. It is only the complete man who can be both skilful Heavenwards and good manwards. Only an insect can play the insect, only an insect show the insect nature. Even the complete man hates the attempt to exemplify the nature of Heaven. He hates the manner in which men do so, and how much more would he hate the doing so by himself before men! When a bird came in the way of f, he was sure to obtain it;—such was his mastery with his bow. If all the world were to be made a cage, birds would have nowhere to escape to. Thus it was that Thang caged f Yin by making him his cook}, and that duke Md of Kin caged Pai-li Hst by giving the skins of five rams for him?. But if you try to cage men by anything but what they like, you will never succeed. A man, one of whose feet has been cut off, discards ornamental (clothes) ;—his outward appearance will not admit of admiration. A criminal under sentence of death will ascend to any height without fear ;—he has ceased to think of life or death.
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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