第42章

BOOK XXX. THE SPEECH OF THE DUKE OF TS＇IN.

BOOK XXX. THE SPEECH OF THE DUKE OF TS＇IN. 

1. The duke said, "Ah! My officers, listen to me without any noise. I solemnly announce to you the most important of all sayings. It is this which the ancients have said, ＇Thus it is with all people,—they mostly love their ease.

NAME OF THE BOOK.—秦誓, ＇The Speech of theduke of Ts＇in＇. At the time when this speech was made,the States of Tsin (晉) and Ts＇in (秦) were among the most powerful of the empire. In B. C. 630, they were engaged together in the siege of the capital of Ch＇ing(鄭), and would have extinguished that principality,but the duke of Ts＇in was suddenly induced to withdraw his forces, leaving three of his officers in friendly relations with the court of Ch＇ing, and under engagement to defend the country from aggression.These men, however, were entirely in the interest of their own prince, and one of them, called Ke-tsze (耜子), sent word, in B.C. 627, to Ts＇in, that he was in charge of one of the gates of the capital, and if an army were sent to take the place by surprise, Ch＇ing might be added to the territories of Ts＇in. The duke—duke Muh (穆公)—laid the matter before his counsellors.The most experienced of them—the famous Pihle He (百里奚) and Këen-shuh (蹇叔)—were against taking advantage of the proposed treachery. The duke, however, listened rather to the promptings of his own ambition, and the next year sent a large force, under his three ablest commanders, hoping to fall upon Ch＇ing all unexpected. The attempt failed.Ch＇ing was warned of the approaching danger; and the commanders, vexed and disappointed, were leading the army back, when it was attacked by the troop of Tsin among the passes of Heaou mountain (殽山),in the pres. dep. of Ho-nan, and sustained a terrible defeat. The troops were nearly all cut to pieces, and the three commanders were taken prisoners.

The duke of Tsin was intending to put these captives to death, when he was persuaded by his mother to send them back to Ts＇in, that duke Muh might himself sacrifice them to his anger for their want of success.Muh, however, did no such thing. He went out from the capital to meet his defeated officers, and comforted them, saying that the blame of the defeat was his own,who had refused to listen to the advice of his wise counsellors. Then it is said he made the speech here recorded, for the benefit of all his ministers.

That the speech was made on the occasion thus described rests on the authority of the preface to the Shoo, which has generally been followed by the critics. The 左傅, however,while it relates how Muh met his commanders and comforted them, says nothing of the speech. And Sze-me Ts＇een places it three years later, and on a different occasion. After some unsuccessful attempts to wipe out the disgrace at the Heaou hills, Ts＇in made a great raid on its neighbour in B.C. 624, when Tsin did not dare to meet the enemy in the field. Then duke Muh crossed the Ho,and had the bones of his slaughtered host collected,and interred in one place, making great sacrifices and mourning on the occasion, and delivering this speech,to acknowledge and transmit the memory of the fault he had committed.

2. In reproving others there is no difficulty, but to receive reproof, and allow it to have a free course, this is difficult!＇

3. The sorrow of my heart is this, that the days and months pass away, as if they would not come again.

4. "There were my old counsellors,—I said, ＇They will not accommodate themselves to me,＇ and I hated them. There were my new counsellors, and I would for a time give my confidence to them.

I do not know whether we should accept the testimony of the preface or that of Ts＇een on this point. But the thing is of little moment. They agree in making the speech refer to the defeat which had been incurred by the duke＇s refusal to listen to wise counsel.

The Book is found in both the texts.

CONTENTS. The general nature of these may be gathered from the preceding note; but what is really said is more vague and less to the point of the occasion than we might have expected. The ＇Complete Digest＇ says that parr. 2, 3 declare the fact of the duke＇s repentance; parr. 4, 5, the grounds of it; and parr. 6—8, the sincerity or emphasis of it.

P.1. The duke seeks to engage the attention of his officers. 놖士,一＇my officers＇. All his ministers are so denominated. 誓告= ＇solemnly tell＇. 羣言之首,—＇the head (= the most important, the chief) of all words＇.The duke means the ancient saying which he proceeds to state, and which seemed to him, in the mood of mind in which he was, to be so important. Ying-tăgives for the clause—놖告汝以言中之最놚者.

P. 2. The saying of the ancient, that it is easy to give and difficult to receive reproof. 民訖 (=盡) 自若是多盤,—＇people all are naturally thus,—they are most for pleasure＇. Choo He said he thought that ＇this clause simply meant that it is the disposition of most men to love ease＇ (想只是說人情놚安逸之意). This is probably all that is intended; but I do not see the appropriateness of the sentiment as an introduction to what follows. 受責俾如流,—＇to receive reproof, and cause—allow—it to be like flowing water＇. The meaning is that the reproof is not resisted, but flows on freely. Gaubil mistook the sense, and has translated—＇recevoir les avis et les reprimandes des autres, sans les laisser couler comme I＇eau, c＇est là la difficultè.

P. 3. The duke deplores the swift passing away of time. 逾 and 邁 are to be taken as synonyms=過 or往, ＇to move on＇, ＇to proceed＇. From Ying-tă＇s notes on Gan-kwŏ＇s commentary, we see that he read 員, and not 雲. But those terms were anciently interchanged.Whichever we read here, it is to be taken in the sense of 旋 or 運, ＇to return＇, ＇come round＇. The duke is conscious that he has done wrong; what he deplores is that the wrong cannot be undone. The day is past, and it will not come again, that he might do differently on it.

P.4. He acknowledges his error in rejecting the advice of his aged counsellors and following that of new men, and declares he will not do so again.By 古之謀人, ＇ancient counsellors,＇ the duke intends Pih-le He and Këen-shuh, who advised him against attempting to surprise Ch＇ing and by 今之謀人,＇modern or recent counsellors,＇ he means Ke-tsze and the other officers who seduced him to the undertaking. 曰= ＇I said to myself＇.

Although, it may be so with old men and new,hereafter I will take advice from the men of yellow hair, and then I shall be free from error.