第10章

The next clause,—賊虐諫輔, referred to Pe-kan. 謂已놋天命,—see the ＇Conquest of Le＇, p. 5.

敬놊足行,—＇reverence is not worth being practised＇.We had better understand the ＇reverence＇ with reference to his own conduct, and do the business of the state .祭無益,—this was the cry of the wicked Jews in the line of Malachi,—＇It is vain to serve God.＇ 暴無傷,—無傷,—see Men. I., Pt., vii. 8. —厥鑒, 云云,see the quotation from the She King in Mencius, IV.,Pt. I., ii., 5. —天其以뀬乂民,observe the force of 其.朕夢協朕卜, 襲於休祥, 戎商必克.—We have no other intimation of Woo＇s being encouraged in a dream toact against Show; his divination may have been before the shrine of his father, referred to in the last Part, p. 10 .襲,=重, ＇double＇, ＇repeated＇. 襲於休祥,—＇both agree in being auspicious＇, 戎, ＇a weapon＇, here= ＇to attack with weapons＇. Acc. to the interpretation thus indicated, which is after Ts＇ae, the omens were only two, which united in being favourable. In the 國語, however, 周語, 떘, the passage is quoted, where the speaker is treating of the agreement of three omens, and he adds to the passage—以三襲也. On this view,襲於休祥= ＇agree with the 休祥＇, whatever this was.Lin Che-k＇e, adopting this construction, refers to the 24th chap. of the ＇Doctrine of the Mean＇, where it is said that when a nation or a family is about to flourish,there will be 禎祥, seen in the milfoil and tortoise, etc.

6. "Show has hundreds of thousands and millions of ordinary men, divided in heart and divided in practice;—I have of ministers capable of government ten men, one in heart and one in practice. Although he has his nearest relatives with him, they are not like my virtuous men.

7. Heaven sees as my people see; Heaven hears as my people hear. The people are blaming me, the one man, for my delay;—I must now go forward.

There, a substantive meaning may be given to those two characters, as to 休祥 here,—namely the occurrence of certain unusual phenomena;—see Ying-tǎ on the passage of the 中庸. The editors of Yung-ching＇s Shoo seem on the whole inclined to favour this view.

P. 6. The greater number of Show＇s host and adherents was no cause for doubt as to the issue. See on the 8th par. of last Part. 夷그,—夷=平常, ＇common, ordinary men＇. 뀬놋亂臣十그,—see Con. Ana., VIII., xx. 周親,—周=至, the superlative adverb, ＇most＇. The phrase 周親, and the whole clause indeed, are difficult. The paraphrase of the ＇Daily Explanation＇ is:—受所親信者, 雖놋同姓至親, 然皆兇그醜類, 同惡相濟, 我之十臣, 雖놊盡是我之親戚, 然皆是仁厚놋德之그, 可以經邦濟世, ＇Although those in whom Show reposes his most intimate confidence are his nearest relatives of thesame surname with himself, yet they are all bad men and detestable, helping him and one another in their common wickedness. My ten ministers, on the other hand, although they are not all my own relatives, are virtuous men, benevolent and generous, fit to rule a country and benefit the age.＇

[Confucius said that there was a woman among Woo＇s ten able ministers;—see the Ana., loc cit. She is generally spoken of as 文母, ＇mother Wǎn,＇ king Woo＇s mother, the famous 太姒. Others think Woo＇s wife, 邑姜, must be intended. It is not easy to believe this.]

P. 7. The will of Heaven might be seen from the earnest wish of the people that he should destroy Show .天視民聽……,—see Men., V,. Pt. I., v., 8. Itwould not be easy to determine the exact meaning of the term ＇Heaven＇ here. The attention of Choo He being called to the applicability of the definition of Heaven as meaning ＇Reason,＇ or ＇what is Reasonable＇here, replied, ＇Heaven certainly means "What is Reasonable"; but it does not mean that only. It means also "the azure vault" (蒼蒼者亦是天), and it means too "the Lord and Ruler who is above" (在上而놋主宰者亦是天). The term is to be explained in every place by a consideration of the context. If here you say that it means "what is Reasonable," how can that see and hear? Although the explanations are different, there yet is something common in all the usage. If you know that, you will not be startled by the differences;and if you know them, you will see that they are not inconsistent with the common idea.＇—See the passage quoted in the 集說. 百姓놋過, 在뀬一그,—Lin Chek＇e takes these words as equivalent to those in the＇Announcement of T＇ang,＇ p. 7, 萬方놋罪, 在뀬一그;and most readers will feel inclined at first to agree with him.

8. My military prowess is displayed, and I enter his territories, to take the wicked tyrant. My punishment of evil will be shown more glorious than that of T＇ang.9. Rouse ye, my heroes! Do not think that he is not to be feared;—better think that he cannot be withstood.His people stand in trembling awe of him, as if the horns were falling from their heads. Oh! Unite your energies, unite your hearts;—so shall you forthwith surely accomplish the work to last for all ages."

過 is to be distinguished, however, from罪, and the sentiment appropriate to the lips of T＇ang, who had vanquished his rival is not to be expected from Woo,who was only marching to the flight, Gan-kwŏ,as if he had T＇ang＇s words before him, and yet felt the difference between 過 and 罪, interpreted—＇It devolves on me, the one man to teach the people,and correct their errors.＇ But this idea is foreign to the occasion. Ts＇ae＇s explanation of 過 by 責, ＇faultfinding＇, ＇complaining of,＇ is very ingenious, and sound. See the Con. Ana,. xx., i., 5, where also we have the conclusion of the last paragraph.

P. 8. The present enterprise was not less but more glorious than that of T＇ang. Compare the paragraph as quoted by Mencius, Bk. III., Pt. II., v., 6. It will be seen to be rhythmical, and this may account for the difficulty which we find in construing it. 侵於之疆=侵入受之疆界, ＇I invade and enter the boundaries of Show＇s domain.＇ 於湯놋光,—Ts＇ae makes this to = ＇and this will reflect light on T＇ang,＇ i.e., will make his mind in attacking Këě more clear. As the editors of Yungching＇s Shoo say, this is too ingenious. Ts＇ae wanted to relieve Woo of a portion of the charge of boastfulness,which is urged against the language of this Book; but foreign students of Chinese history do not feel the pressure of such a charge. We are content to take king Woo as we find him, and are not concerned to bring his character either up or down to the Chinese idea of a sage.

P. 9. He rouses his men to prepare for the fight with stern determination, not undervaluing their enemy, but rather overvaluing him. A good part of this paragraph is also found in Mencius;—see VII., Pt. II., iv. 5. His variations from the present text are, however, greater, and affect the meaning of the several parts of the par. How to account for the differences is a difficult question. To say that our present ＇Old Text＇ is a forgery, is an absurd solution;—the true solution has yet to be found.

夫子,—＇my masters,＇ here = ＇my heroes＇,

罔或無畏, 寧執非敵=無或以紂為놊足畏, 寧執뀞以為非我所敵也, as in the translation. 百姓懍懍,—the people are understood to be those of Show＇s domain,and the parts of the empire in the east. The next clause represents them as a flock of cattle, whose horns were being broken. 立定厥功,—the立is best taken adverbially,= ＇forthwith＇.