Wăn, the huuh of prince Chwang, the kan-tseang, mõh-yay keu-keueh and p'eih-leu of Hop-leuthese were the best swords of antiquity; but without the grindstone and whetstone, they would not have been sharp; without the strength of the arms that wielded them, they would not have cut anything. The hwa, the lew, the le, the k'e, the seen, the lei, the luh, and the urh:-these were the best horses of antiquity; but there were still necessary for them the restraints in front of bit and bridle, the stimulants behind of cane and whip, and the equestrianship of a Tsaou-foo, and then they could accomplish a thousand le in one day. So it is with man :-granted to him an excellent capacity of nature and the faculty of intellect, he must still seek for good teachers under whom to place himself, and make choice of friends with whom he may be intimate. Having got good masters and placed himself under them, what he will hear will be the doctrines of Yaou, Shun, Yu, and T‘ang; having got good friends and become intimate with them, what he will see will be deeds of self conscration, fidelity, reverence, and complaisance—he will go on from day to day to benevolence and righteousness, without being conscious of it: a natural following of them will make him do so. On the other hand, if he live with bad men, what he will hear will be the language of deceit, calumny, imposture and hypocrisy; what he will see will be the conduct of filthiness, insolence, lewdness, corruptness, and greed:he will be going on from day to day to punishment and disgrace, without being conscious of it; a natural following of them will make him do so. The Record says "If you do not know your son, look at his friends; if you do not know your prince, look at his confidants.' All is the influence of association! All is the influence of association! 右。傅者邪義則所而夫以而驊力 靡日、貪則而所聞事 而不使利所不見 者之 已知然之間自 身誣者敬湯 加僑使之道 道之。 於也然行也. 刑所也。也得賢 戮見今身良 而者與 友 夫人雖有性質美而心辯知必將求賢師 曶正。 人造 造前騮則劒闔桓 必不也。閭 有驥能然之 之則 師 也。威. 能閭之 利此錄 不皆莊 得古君 人之之 II. AN EXAMINATION OF THE NATURE OF MAN. BY HAN WAN-KUNG. THE NATURE dates from the date of the life; THE FEELINGS date from contact with external things. There are three GRADES of the nature, and it has five CHARACTERISTICS. There are also three GRADES of the feelings, and they have seven CHARACTERISTICS. To explain myself:--The three grades of the nature are-the Superior, the Middle, and the Inferior. The superior grade is good, and good only; the middle grade is capable of being led: it may rise to the superior, or sink to the inferior; the inferior is evil, and evil only. The five characteristics of the nature are Benevolence, Righteousness, Propriety, Sincerity, and Knowledge. In the Superior Grade, the first of these characteristics is supreme, and the other four are practised. In the Middle Grade, the first of these characteristics is not wanting: it exists, but with a little tendency to its opposite; the other four are in an ill-assorted state. In the Inferior Grade there is the opposite of the first characteristic, and constant rebelliousness against the other four. The grade of the nature regulates the manifestation of the feelings in it. Again:-The three grades of the feelings are the Superior, the Middle and the Inferior; and their seven characteristics are--Joy, Anger, Sorrow, Fear, Love, Hatred, and Desire. In the Superior Grade, these seven all move, and each in its due place and degree. In the Middle Grade, some of the characteristics are in excess, and some in defect; but there is a seeking to give them their due place and degree. In the Inferior Grade, whether they are in excess or defect, there is a reckless acting according to the one in immediate predominance. The grade of the feelings regulates the influence of the nature in reference to them. Speaking of the nature, Mencius said: Man's nature is good;' the philosopher Seun said:'Man's nature is bad;' the philosopher Yang said:-In the nature of man good and evil are mixed together. Now, to say that the nature, good at first, subsequently becomes bad; or that, bad at first, it subsequently becomes good; or that, mixed at first, it subsequently becomes, it may be, 之孟品。七甚於喜品。之也五者而上三性性 也有七日情於不也五上中而之 七所也怒之五少主日下下 與亡,動 品,也有於仁,也。三。所 韓文公原性篇 甚然 哀有反 日下上 下而反 反於禮惡 所也 中愛三悖焉,四 四。日 焉 七以情篇 日其於其中信而而日為也 惡所四於焉日已已何性者。 情 性四 ·之ᄀ 欲為之也 七上情於混。於 者也,焉者情下五 戒之有者七視焉也 日,五。於 情物 之之而 品品,生 其於所之日其者一於 導有有也。 之性惡揚子之言性日人之性善惡混夫始 孟子之言性日人之性善荀子之言性日人 始人 good, it may be, bad:-in each of these cases only the nature of the middle grade is dealt with, and the superior and inferior grades are neglected. Those philosophers are right about one grade, and wrong about the other two. When Shuh-yu was born, his mother knew, as soon as she looked at him, that he would fall a victim to his love of bribes. When Yang Sze-go was born, the mother of Shuh-heang knew, as soon as she heard him cry, that he would cause the destruction of all his kindred. When Yuětseaou was born, Tsze-win considered it was a great calamity, knowing that through him the ghosts of the Jo-gaou family would all be famished. With such cases before us, can it be said that the nature of man (ie., all men) is good? When How-tseih was born, his mother had no suffering; and as soon as he began to creep, he displayed all elegance and intelligence. When king Wan was in his mother's womb, she experienced no distress; after his birth, those who tended him had no trouble; when he began to learn, his teachers had no vexation:--with such cases before us, can it be said that the nature of man (i.e., all men) is evil? Choo was the son of Yaou, and Keun the son of Shun; Kwan and Ts'ae were sons of king Wăn. They were instructed to practise nothing but that was good, and yet they turned out villains. Shun was the son of Koo-sow, and Yu the son of K'wǎn. They were instructed to practise nothing but what was bad, and yet they turned out sages. With such cases before us, can it be said that in the nature of man (i.e., all men) good and evil are blended together? Having these things in view, I say that the three philosophers, to whom I have referred, dealt with the middle grade of the nature, and neglected the superior and the inferior; that they were right about the one grade, and wrong about the other two. It may be asked, 'Is it so, then, that the superior and inferior grades of the nature can never be changed?' I reply, -The nature of the superior grade, by application to learning, becomes more intelligent, and the nature of the inferior grade, through awe of power, comes to have few faults. The superior nature, therefore, may be taught, and the inferior nature may be restrained; but the grades have been pronounced by Confucius to be unchangeable. 。 而始 者也 死。 果善乎 。 之性善惡果混乎 其一而失其二者也 下者可制也其品則孔子謂不移也 也師不煩人之性果惡乎 It may be asked, 'How is it that those who now-a-days speak about the nature do so differently from this?' I reply,-Those who now-a-days speak about the nature blend with their other views those of Laou-tsze and Buddhism; and doing so, how could they speak otherwise than differently from me? 異而 老而 老雜言老雜言今也。此異性之日, ,而1 佛也,而佛 之日何於者言今 CHAPTER III. OF YANG CHOO AND MIH TΕΙΗ. SECTION I. THE OPINIONS OF YANG CHOO. 1. "The words of Yang Choo and Mih Teih," said Mencius, "fill the empire. If you listen to people's discourses throughout it, you will find that they have adopted the views of the one or of the other. Now, Yang's principle is 'Each one for himself,' which does not acknowledge the claims of the sovereign. Mih's principle is-To love all equally,' which does not acknowledge the peculiar affection due to a father. To acknowledge neither king nor father is to be in the state of a beast. If their principles are not stopped, and the principles of Confucius set forth, their perverse speakings will delude the people, and stop up the path of benevolence and righteousness. "I am alarmed by these things, and address myself to the defence of the doctrines of the former sages, and to oppose Yang and Mih. I drive away their licentious expressions, so that such perverse speakers may not be able to show themselves. When sages shall rise up again, they will not change my words."1 His opposition to Yang and Mih was thus one of the great labours of Mencius' life, and what he deemed the success of it one of his great achievements. His countrymen generally accede to the justice of his claim; though there have not been wanting some to sayjustly, as I think and will endeavour to show in the next sectionthat Mih need not have incurred from him such heavy censure. For Yang no one has a word to say. His leading principle as stated by Mencius is certainly detestable, and so far as we can judge from the slight accounts of him that are to be gathered from other quarters, he seems to have been about "the least erected spirit," who ever professed to reason concerning the life and duties of man. 1 Bk. III., Pt. II., ix. 9, 10. |