CHAPTER III

1. The king Hsüan of Ch＇î asked, saying, ＇Is there any way to regulate one＇s maintenance ofintercourse　with neighbouring kingdoms?＇

3. 郊 is used here in the sense simply of ＇borders＇,and on the borders of the various States there were＇passes＇ or ＇gates＇, for the taxation of merchandize,the examination of strangers, & 麋鹿, see Pt. I. ii. 1.There forest law of Ch＇i were hardly worse than those enacted by the first Norman sovereigns of England,when whoever killed a deer, a boar, or even a hare,was punished with the loss of his eyes, and with death if the statutes were repeatedly violated.

CHAPTER 3. HOW FRIENDLY INTERCOURSE WITH NEIGHBOURING KINGDOMS MAY BE MAINTAINED, AND THE LOVE OF VALOUR MADE SUBSERVIENT TO THE GOOD OF THE PEOPLE, AND THE GLORY OF THE PRINCE.

1. The two first 事 differ in meaning considerably from the two last,

Mencius replied, ＇There is. But it requires a perfectly virtuous prince to be able, with a great country, to serve a small one,—as, for instance, T＇ang served Ko,and king Wăn served the Kwăn barbarians. And it requires a wise prince to be able, with a small country,to serve a large one,—as the king T＇âi served the Hsün-yü, and Kâu-ch＇ien served Wû.

2. ＇He who with a great State serves a small one,delights in Heaven. He who with a small State serves a large one, stands in awe of Heaven. He who delights in Heaven, will affect with his love and protection the whole kingdom. He who stands in awe of Heaven,will affect with his love and protection his own kingdom.

3. ＇It is said in the Book of Poetry,

"I fear the Majesty of Heaven,

and will thus preserve its favouring decree." ＇

and they are explained by 抚字周恤 and 听从服役,i.e. ＇cherishing＇ and ＇obeying＇, respectively, but the translation need not be varied. For the affairs of T＇ang with Ko, see III. Pt. II. v. Of those of king Wăn with Kwăn tribes we have nowhere an account which satisfies Mencius＇s reference to them. Both Châo Ch＇îand ChûHsi make reference to the Shih-ching, III. i.Ode III. st. 8; but what is there said would seem to be of things antecedent to king Wăn. Of king T＇ai and the Hsün-yü, see below, chap. xv. A very readable, though romanced account of Kâu-ch＇ien＇s service of Wû is in the Lieh Kwo Chih (列国志), Bk. lxxx. 是故 and 故,＇therefore＇, introducing illustrations of what has been said, are=our ＇as＇.

2. 天, says ChûHsi, 理而已矣, ＇Heaven is just principle, and nothing more＇. It is a good instance of the way in which he and others often try to expunge the idea of a governing Power and a personal God from their classics. Heaven is here evidently the superintending, loving Power of the universe.Châo Ch＇îsays on the whole paragraph:—＇The sage delights to pursue the way of Heaven, just as Heaven overspreads everything;—as was evidenced in T＇ang and Wăn＇s protecting the whole kingdom. The wise measure the time and revere Heaven, and so preserve their States;—as was evidenced in king T＇âi and Kâuch＇ien.＇This view gives to 天a positive, substantial meaning, though the personality of the Power is not sufficiently prominent. The commentator 王观涛 says:—＇The Heaven here is indeed the Supreme Heaven, but after all it is equivalent to principle and nothing more!＇保, as in Pt. I. vii. 3.

3. See the Shih-ching, IV. i. Bk. I. Ode VII. st. 3. 保,＇to preserve＇,＇to keep＇. 时 is here taken=是; not so in the ode. The final 之 refers to the decree or favour of Heaven.

5. Observe the verbal meaning of 大.

4. The king said,＇A great saying! But I have an infirmity;—I love valour.＇

5. ＇I beg your Majesty,＇ was the reply, ＇not to love small valour. If a man brandishes his sword, looks fiercely, and says, "How dare he withstand me?"—this is the valour of a common man, who can be the opponent only of a single individual. I beg your Majesty to greaten it.

6. ＇It is said in the Book of Poetry,

"The king blazed with anger,

And he marshalled his hosts,

To stop the march to Chü,

To consolidate the prosperity of Châu,

To meet the expectations of the nation."

This was the valour of king Wăn. King Wăn, in one burst of his anger, gave repose to all the people of the kingdom.

7. ＇In the Book of History it is said, "Heaven having produced the inferior people, made for them rulers and teachers, with the purpose that they should be assisting to God, and therefore distinguished them throughout the four quarters of the land.

6. See the Shih-ching, III. i. Ode VII. st. 5, where we have 按 for 遏, and 旅 for 莒. 莒 is the name of a State or place, the same probably that in the ode is called 共. 以遏徂莒, ＇to stop the march to Chü＇,unlesswe take, with some, 徂 also to be the name of a place.

Whoever are offenders, and whoever are innocent,here am I to deal with them. How dare any under heaven give indulgence to their refractory wills?"There was one man pursuing a violent and disorderly course in the kingdom, and king Wû was ashamed of it. This was the valour of king Wû. He also, by one display of his anger, gave repose to all the people of the kingdom.

8. ＇Let now your Majesty also, in one burst of anger,give repose to all the people of the kingdom. The people are only afraid that your Majesty does not love valour.＇