Fetching
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Fetching
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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1His wish is to return to the solitude of his own mind, and this is the effect of his occasional intercourse with them. So far-reaching is his influence on the minds of men; and therefore I said to you, “Wait for Kung-yiieh Hsid.”’ 2. The sage comprehends the connexions between himself and others, and how they all go to constitute him of one body with them, and he does not know how it is so;—he naturally does so. In fulfilling his constitution, as acted on and acting, he 1 Much of the description of f Xieh is difficult to construe. ? Kung-yiieh Hsi@. 12 116 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXV. (simply) follows the direction of Heaven; and it is in consequence of this that men style him (a sage). If he were troubled about (the insufficiency of) his knowledge, what he did would always be but small, and sometimes would be arrested altogether ;—how would he in this case be (the sage)? When (the sage) is born with all his excellence, it is other men who see it for him, If they did not tell him, he would not know that he was more excellent than others. And when he knows it, he is as if he did not know it; when he hears it, he is as if he did not hear it. His source of joy in it has no end, and men’s admiration of him has no end ;—all this takes place naturally’. The love of the sage for others receives its name from them. If they did not tell him of it, he would not know that he loved them; and when he knows it, he is as if he knew it not; when he hears it, he is as if he heard it not. His love of others never has an end, and their rest in him has also no end :—all this takes place naturally '. 3. When one sees at a distance his old country and old city, he feels a joyous satisfaction *%. Though it be full of mounds and an overgrowth of trees and grass, and when he enters it he finds but a tenth part remaining, still he feels that satisfaction. [How much more when he sees what he saw, and hears what he heard before! All this is to him like a tower eighty cubits high exhibited in the sight of all men. 1 That is, ‘he does so in the spontaneity of his nature.’ The pe requires the employment of the term ‘nature’ here, not according to any abstract usage of the term, but meaning the natural constitution. Compare the PE Zz in Mencius VII, i, 30, 2 So does he rejoice in attaining to the knowledge of his nature, PT. III, SECT. 111. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-3ZE. 117
2Compare the PE Zz in Mencius VII, i, 30, 2 So does he rejoice in attaining to the knowledge of his nature, PT. III, SECT. 111. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-3ZE. 117 (The sovereign) Zan-hsiang! was possessed of that central principle round which all things revolve?, and by it he could follow them to their completion. His accompanying them had neither ending nor beginning, and was independent of impulse or time. Daily he witnessed their changes, and himself underwent no change; and why should he not have rested in this? If we (try to) adopt Heaven as our Master, we incapacitate ourselves from doing so. Such endeavour brings us under the power of things. If one acts in this way, what is to be said of him? The sage never thinks of Heaven nor of men. He does not think of taking the initiative, nor of anything external to himself. He moves along with his age, and does not vary or fail. Amid all the completeness of his doings, he is never exhausted. For those who wish to be in accord with him, what other course is there to pursue ? When Thang got one to hold for him the reins of government, namely, Man-yin Tang-hang’, he employed him as his teacher. He followed his master, but did not allow himself to be hampered by him, and so he succeeded in following things to their completion. The master had the name; but that name was a superfluous addition to his laws, and the twofold character of his government was made apparent *. Aung-ni’s ‘Task your thoughts to the utmost’ was his expression of the duties of a * A sage sovereign prior to the three Hwang or August ones. . * See the same phraseology in Book II, par. 3. * I have followed Lin Hsi-4ung in taking these four characters as the name of one man. ‘ There was a human element in it instead of the Heavenly only; but some critics think the text here is erroneous or defective. 118 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK, XXV. master. Yung-khang said, ‘Take the days away and there will be no year; without what is internal there will be nothing external 1’ 4. (King) Yung? of Wei made a treaty with the marquis Thien Méau® (of Ai), which the latter violated. The king was enraged, and intended to send a man to assassinate him. When the Minister of War‘ heard of it, he was ashamed, and said (to the king), ‘You are a ruler of 10,000 chariots, and by means of a common man would avenge yourself on your enemy. I beg you to give me, Yen, the command of 200,000 soldiers to attack him for you. I will take captive his people and officers, halter (and lead off) his oxen and horses, kindling a fire within him that shall burn to his backbone. I will then storm his capital; and when he shall run away in terror, I will flog his back and break his spine. <i-yze® heard of this advice, and was ashamed of it, and said (to the king), ‘We have been raising the wall (of our capital) to a height of eighty cubits, and the work has been completed. If we now get it thrown down, it will be a painful toil to the convict builders. It is now seven years
3<i-yze® heard of this advice, and was ashamed of it, and said (to the king), ‘We have been raising the wall (of our capital) to a height of eighty cubits, and the work has been completed. If we now get it thrown down, it will be a painful toil to the convict builders. It is now seven years ' Said to have been employed by Hwang-Ti to make the calendar. 2 B.C. 370-317. 8 I do not find the name Mau as belonging to any of the Thien rulers of K#1. The name of the successor of Thien Ho, who has been before us, was *F,, Wa, for which RE, M4u, may be a mistake; or ‘the marquis Mau’ may be a creation of our author. * Literally, ‘the Rhinoceros’ Head,’ the title of ‘the Minister of War’ in Wei, who was at this time a Kung-sun Yen. See the memoir of him in Sze-ma Khien, Book 1X of his Biographies, 5 I do not know that anything more can be said of Xft and HwA than that they were officers of Wei. PT. II, SECT. U1. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-8ZE. 11g since our troops were called out, and this is the foundation of the royal sway. Yen would introduce disorder ;—he should not be listened to.’ Hw4- ze? heard of this advice, and, greatly disapproving of it, said (to the king), ‘He who shows his skill in saying “Attack K%t” would produce disorder; and he who shows his skill in saying “Do not attack it” would also produce disorder. And one who should (merely) say, “ The counsellors to attack Ai and not to attack it would both produce disorder,” would himself also lead to the same result.’ The king said, ‘Yes, but what am I to do?’ The reply was, ‘ You have only to seek for (the rule of) the T4o (on the subject). Hui-sze, having heard of this counsel, introduced to the king T4i 3in-zin?, who said, ‘There is the creature called a snail; does your majesty know it ?’ ‘I do. ‘On the left horn of the snail there is a kingdom which is called Provocation, and on the right horn another which is called Stupidity. These two kingdoms are continually striving about their territories and fighting. The corpses that lie on the ground amount to several myriads. The army of one may be defeated and put to flight, but in fifteen days it will return.” The king said, ‘ Pooh! that is empty talk!’ The other rejoined, ‘ Your servant begs to show your majesty its real significance. When your majesty thinks of space—east, west, north, and south, above and beneath—can you set any limit to it?’ ‘It is illimitable,’ said the king ; and his visitor went on, ‘ Your majesty knows 1 See note 5 on preceding page. 2 Evidently a man of considerable reach of thought. 120 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXV,
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.
1His wish is to return to the solitude of his own mind, and this is the effect of his occasional intercourse with them. So far-reaching is his influence on the minds of men; and therefore I said to you, “Wait for Kung-yiieh Hsid.”’ 2. The sage comprehends the connexions between himself and others, and how they all go to constitute him of one body with them, and he does not know how it is so;—he naturally does so. In fulfilling his constitution, as acted on and acting, he 1 Much of the description of f Xieh is difficult to construe. ? Kung-yiieh Hsi@. 12 116 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXV. (simply) follows the direction of Heaven; and it is in consequence of this that men style him (a sage). If he were troubled about (the insufficiency of) his knowledge, what he did would always be but small, and sometimes would be arrested altogether ;—how would he in this case be (the sage)? When (the sage) is born with all his excellence, it is other men who see it for him, If they did not tell him, he would not know that he was more excellent than others. And when he knows it, he is as if he did not know it; when he hears it, he is as if he did not hear it. His source of joy in it has no end, and men’s admiration of him has no end ;—all this takes place naturally’. The love of the sage for others receives its name from them. If they did not tell him of it, he would not know that he loved them; and when he knows it, he is as if he knew it not; when he hears it, he is as if he heard it not. His love of others never has an end, and their rest in him has also no end :—all this takes place naturally '. 3. When one sees at a distance his old country and old city, he feels a joyous satisfaction *%. Though it be full of mounds and an overgrowth of trees and grass, and when he enters it he finds but a tenth part remaining, still he feels that satisfaction. [How much more when he sees what he saw, and hears what he heard before! All this is to him like a tower eighty cubits high exhibited in the sight of all men. 1 That is, ‘he does so in the spontaneity of his nature.’ The pe requires the employment of the term ‘nature’ here, not according to any abstract usage of the term, but meaning the natural constitution. Compare the PE Zz in Mencius VII, i, 30, 2 So does he rejoice in attaining to the knowledge of his nature, PT. III, SECT. 111. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-3ZE. 117
2Compare the PE Zz in Mencius VII, i, 30, 2 So does he rejoice in attaining to the knowledge of his nature, PT. III, SECT. 111. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-3ZE. 117 (The sovereign) Zan-hsiang! was possessed of that central principle round which all things revolve?, and by it he could follow them to their completion. His accompanying them had neither ending nor beginning, and was independent of impulse or time. Daily he witnessed their changes, and himself underwent no change; and why should he not have rested in this? If we (try to) adopt Heaven as our Master, we incapacitate ourselves from doing so. Such endeavour brings us under the power of things. If one acts in this way, what is to be said of him? The sage never thinks of Heaven nor of men. He does not think of taking the initiative, nor of anything external to himself. He moves along with his age, and does not vary or fail. Amid all the completeness of his doings, he is never exhausted. For those who wish to be in accord with him, what other course is there to pursue ? When Thang got one to hold for him the reins of government, namely, Man-yin Tang-hang’, he employed him as his teacher. He followed his master, but did not allow himself to be hampered by him, and so he succeeded in following things to their completion. The master had the name; but that name was a superfluous addition to his laws, and the twofold character of his government was made apparent *. Aung-ni’s ‘Task your thoughts to the utmost’ was his expression of the duties of a * A sage sovereign prior to the three Hwang or August ones. . * See the same phraseology in Book II, par. 3. * I have followed Lin Hsi-4ung in taking these four characters as the name of one man. ‘ There was a human element in it instead of the Heavenly only; but some critics think the text here is erroneous or defective. 118 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK, XXV. master. Yung-khang said, ‘Take the days away and there will be no year; without what is internal there will be nothing external 1’ 4. (King) Yung? of Wei made a treaty with the marquis Thien Méau® (of Ai), which the latter violated. The king was enraged, and intended to send a man to assassinate him. When the Minister of War‘ heard of it, he was ashamed, and said (to the king), ‘You are a ruler of 10,000 chariots, and by means of a common man would avenge yourself on your enemy. I beg you to give me, Yen, the command of 200,000 soldiers to attack him for you. I will take captive his people and officers, halter (and lead off) his oxen and horses, kindling a fire within him that shall burn to his backbone. I will then storm his capital; and when he shall run away in terror, I will flog his back and break his spine. <i-yze® heard of this advice, and was ashamed of it, and said (to the king), ‘We have been raising the wall (of our capital) to a height of eighty cubits, and the work has been completed. If we now get it thrown down, it will be a painful toil to the convict builders. It is now seven years
3<i-yze® heard of this advice, and was ashamed of it, and said (to the king), ‘We have been raising the wall (of our capital) to a height of eighty cubits, and the work has been completed. If we now get it thrown down, it will be a painful toil to the convict builders. It is now seven years ' Said to have been employed by Hwang-Ti to make the calendar. 2 B.C. 370-317. 8 I do not find the name Mau as belonging to any of the Thien rulers of K#1. The name of the successor of Thien Ho, who has been before us, was *F,, Wa, for which RE, M4u, may be a mistake; or ‘the marquis Mau’ may be a creation of our author. * Literally, ‘the Rhinoceros’ Head,’ the title of ‘the Minister of War’ in Wei, who was at this time a Kung-sun Yen. See the memoir of him in Sze-ma Khien, Book 1X of his Biographies, 5 I do not know that anything more can be said of Xft and HwA than that they were officers of Wei. PT. II, SECT. U1. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-8ZE. 11g since our troops were called out, and this is the foundation of the royal sway. Yen would introduce disorder ;—he should not be listened to.’ Hw4- ze? heard of this advice, and, greatly disapproving of it, said (to the king), ‘He who shows his skill in saying “Attack K%t” would produce disorder; and he who shows his skill in saying “Do not attack it” would also produce disorder. And one who should (merely) say, “ The counsellors to attack Ai and not to attack it would both produce disorder,” would himself also lead to the same result.’ The king said, ‘Yes, but what am I to do?’ The reply was, ‘ You have only to seek for (the rule of) the T4o (on the subject). Hui-sze, having heard of this counsel, introduced to the king T4i 3in-zin?, who said, ‘There is the creature called a snail; does your majesty know it ?’ ‘I do. ‘On the left horn of the snail there is a kingdom which is called Provocation, and on the right horn another which is called Stupidity. These two kingdoms are continually striving about their territories and fighting. The corpses that lie on the ground amount to several myriads. The army of one may be defeated and put to flight, but in fifteen days it will return.” The king said, ‘ Pooh! that is empty talk!’ The other rejoined, ‘ Your servant begs to show your majesty its real significance. When your majesty thinks of space—east, west, north, and south, above and beneath—can you set any limit to it?’ ‘It is illimitable,’ said the king ; and his visitor went on, ‘ Your majesty knows 1 See note 5 on preceding page. 2 Evidently a man of considerable reach of thought. 120 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXV,
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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