Doctrine Of The Mean, Confucius, 500 B.C., Part III
It is said in the Book of
Poetry, "Happy union with wife and
children is like the music of lutes and
harps. When there is concord among
brethren, the harmony is delightful and
enduring. Thus may you regulate your
family, and enjoy the pleasure of your
wife and children."
The Master said, "In such a state of
things, parents have entire
complacence!"
The Master said, "How abundantly do
spiritual beings display the powers that
belong to them!
"We look for them, but do not see them;
we listen to, but do not hear them; yet
they enter into all things, and there is
nothing without them.
"They cause all the people in the
kingdom to fast and purify themselves,
and array themselves in their richest
dresses, in order to attend at their
sacrifices. Then, like overflowing
water, they seem to be over the heads,
and on the right and left of their
worshippers.
"It is said in the Book of Poetry, 'The
approaches of the spirits, you cannot
sunrise; and can you treat them with
indifference?'
"Such is the manifestness of what is
minute! Such is the impossibility of
repressing the outgoings of sincerity!"
The Master said, "How greatly filial was
Shun! His virtue was that of a sage; his
dignity was the throne; his riches were
all within the four seas. He offered his
sacrifices in his ancestral temple, and
his descendants preserved the sacrifices
to himself.
"Therefore having such great virtue, it
could not but be that he should obtain
the throne, that he should obtain those
riches, that he should obtain his fame,
that he should attain to his long life.
"Thus it is that Heaven, in the
production of things, is sure to be
bountiful to them, according to their
qualities. Hence the tree that is
flourishing, it nourishes, while that
which is ready to fall, it overthrows.
"In the Book of Poetry, it is said, 'The
admirable amiable prince displayed
conspicuously his excelling virtue,
adjusting his people, and adjusting his
officers. Therefore, he received from
Heaven his emoluments of dignity. It
protected him, assisted him, decreed him
the throne; sending from Heaven these
favors, as it were repeatedly.'
"We may say therefore that he who is
greatly virtuous will be sure to receive
the appointment of Heaven."
The Master said, "It is only King Wan of
whom it can be said that he had no cause
for grief! His father was King Chi, and
his son was King Wu. His father laid the
foundations of his dignity, and his son
transmitted it.
"King Wu continued the enterprise of
King T'ai, King Chi, and King Wan. He
once buckled on his armor, and got
possession of the kingdom. He did not
lose the distinguished personal
reputation which he had throughout the
kingdom. His dignity was the royal
throne. His riches were the possession
of all within the four seas. He offered
his sacrifices in his ancestral temple,
and his descendants maintained the
sacrifices to himself.
"It was in his old age that King Wu
received the appointment to the throne,
and the duke of Chau completed the
virtuous course of Wan and Wu. He
carried up the title of king to T'ai and
Chi, and sacrificed to all the former
dukes above them with the royal
ceremonies. And this rule he extended to
the princes of the kingdom, the great
officers, the scholars, and the common
people. If the father were a great
officer and the son a scholar, then the
burial was that due to a great officer,
and the sacrifice that due to a scholar.
If the father were a scholar and the son
a great officer, then the burial was
that due to a scholar, and the sacrifice
that due to a great officer. The one
year's mourning was made to extend only
to the great officers, but the three
years' mourning extended to the Son of
Heaven. In the mourning for a father or
mother, he allowed no difference between
the noble and the mean.
The Master said, "How far-extending was
the filial piety of King Wu and the duke
of Chau!
"Now filial piety is seen in the
skillful carrying out of the wishes of
our forefathers, and the skillful
carrying forward of their undertakings.
"In spring and autumn, they repaired and
beautified the temple halls of their
fathers, set forth their ancestral
vessels, displayed their various robes,
and presented the offerings of the
several seasons.
"By means of the ceremonies of the
ancestral temple, they distinguished the
royal kindred according to their order
of descent. By ordering the parties
present according to their rank, they
distinguished the more noble and the
less. By the arrangement of the
services, they made a distinction of
talents and worth. In the ceremony of
general pledging, the inferiors
presented the cup to their superiors,
and thus something was given the lowest
to do. At the concluding feast, places
were given according to the hair, and
thus was made the distinction of years.
"They occupied the places of their
forefathers, practiced their ceremonies,
and performed their music. They
reverenced those whom they honored, and
loved those whom they regarded with
affection. Thus they served the dead as
they would have served them alive; they
served the departed as they would have
served them had they been continued
among them.
"By the ceremonies of the sacrifices to
Heaven and Earth they served God, and by
the ceremonies of the ancestral temple
they sacrificed to their ancestors. He
who understands the ceremonies of the
sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, and the
meaning of the several sacrifices to
ancestors, would find the government of
a kingdom as easy as to look into his
palm!"
The Duke Ai asked about government.
The Master said, "The government of Wan
and Wu is displayed in the records,-the
tablets of wood and bamboo. Let there be
the men and the government will
flourish; but without the men, their
government decays and ceases.
"With the right men the growth of
government is rapid, just as vegetation
is rapid in the earth; and, moreover,
their government might be called an
easily-growing rush.
"Therefore the administration of
government lies in getting proper men.
Such men are to be got by means of the
ruler's own character. That character is
to be cultivated by his treading in the
ways of duty. And the treading those
ways of duty is to be cultivated by the
cherishing of benevolence.
"Benevolence is the characteristic
element of humanity, and the great
exercise of it is in loving relatives.
Righteousness is the accordance of
actions with what is right, and the
great exercise of it is in honoring the
worthy. The decreasing measures of the
love due to relatives, and the steps in
the honor due to the worthy, are
produced by the principle of propriety.
"When those in inferior situations do
not possess the confidence of their
superiors, they cannot retain the
government of the people.
"Hence the sovereign may not neglect the
cultivation of his own character.
Wishing to cultivate his character, he
may not neglect to serve his parents. In
order to serve his parents, he may not
neglect to acquire knowledge of men. In
order to know men, he may not dispense
with a knowledge of Heaven.
"The duties of universal obligation are
five and the virtues wherewith they are
practiced are three. The duties are
those between sovereign and minister,
between father and son, between husband
and wife, between elder brother and
younger, and those belonging to the
intercourse of friends. Those five are
the duties of universal obligation.
Knowledge, magnanimity, and energy,
these three, are the virtues universally
binding. And the means by which they
carry the duties into practice is
singleness.
"Some are born with the knowledge of
those duties; some know them by study;
and some acquire the knowledge after a
painful feeling of their ignorance. But
the knowledge being possessed, it comes
to the same thing. Some practice them
with a natural ease; some from a desire
for their advantages; and some by
strenuous effort. But the achievement
being made, it comes to the same
thing."
The Master said, "To be fond of
learning is to be near to knowledge. To
practice with vigor is to be near to
magnanimity. To possess the feeling of
shame is to be near to energy.
"He who knows these three things knows
how to cultivate his own character.
Knowing how to cultivate his own
character, he knows how to govern other
men. Knowing how to govern other men, he
knows how to govern the kingdom with all
its states and families.
"All who have the government of the
kingdom with its states and families
have nine standard rules to
follow;-viz., the cultivation of their
own characters; the honoring of men of
virtue and talents; affection towards
their relatives; respect towards the
great ministers; kind and considerate
treatment of the whole body of officers;
dealing with the mass of the people as
children; encouraging the resort of all
classes of artisans; indulgent treatment
of men from a distance; and the kindly
cherishing of the princes of the
states.
"By the ruler's cultivation of
his own character, the duties of
universal obligation are set forth. By
honoring men of virtue and talents, he
is preserved from errors of judgment. By
showing affection to his relatives,
there is no grumbling nor resentment
among his uncles and brethren. By
respecting the great ministers, he is
kept from errors in the practice of
government. By kind and considerate
treatment of the whole body of officers,
they are led to make the most grateful
return for his courtesies. By dealing
with the mass of the people as his
children, they are led to exhort one
another to what is good. By encouraging
the resort of an classes of artisans,
his resources for expenditure are
rendered ample. By indulgent treatment
of men from a distance, they are brought
to resort to him from all quarters. And
by kindly cherishing the princes of the
states, the whole kingdom is brought to
revere him.
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