CHAPTER I
1. Mencius went to see king Hûi of Liang.
2. The king said, ＇Venerable sir, since you have not counted it far to come here, a distance of a thousand lî,may I presume that you are provided with counsels to profit my kingdom?＇
TITLES OF THE WORK. – 孟子, ＇The philosopher Măng.＇ The Work thus simply bears the name, or surname rather, of him whose conversations and opinions it relaies, and is said to have been compiled in its present form by the author himself. On the use of 子, after the surname, see on Analects, I. i. The surname and this 子 were combined by the Romish missionaries, and latinized into Mencius, which it is well to adopt throughout the translation, and thereby avoid the constant repetition of the word ＇philosopher＇,Măng not being distinguished, like K＇ung (Confucius),by the crowning epithet of ＇The Master＇.
TITLES OF THE BOOK. – 梁惠王章句上, ＇King Hûi of Liang, in chapters and sentences. Part I.＇ Like the Books of the Confucian Analects, those of this Work are headed by two or three characters at or near their commencement. Each Book is divided into two parts,called 上下, ＇Upper and Lower＇. This arrangement was made by Châo Ch＇i (赵歧), a scholar of the eastern Han dynasty (died A.D. 201), by whom the chapters and sentences were also divided, and the 章句上,章句下remain to the present day, a memorial of his work. CHAPTER 1. BENEVOLENCE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS MENCIUS＇S ONLY TOPICS WITH THE PRINCIPLES OF HIS TIME; AND THE ONLY PRINCIPLES WHICH CAN MAKE A COURTEY PROSPEROUS.
1. ＇King Hûi of Liang＇. – In the time of Confucius,Tsin (晋) was one of the great States of the nation, but the power of it was usurped by six great families. By B.C. 453, three of those were absorbed by the other three, vix. Wei, Châo, and Han (魏,赵,韩), which continued to encroach on the small remaining power of their prince, until at last they extinguished the ruling house, and divided the whole territory among themselves. The sovereign Wei Lieh (威烈), in his 23rd year, B.C. 403, conferred on the chief of each family the title of Marquis (侯). Wei, called likewise, from the name of its capital, Liang, occupied the south-eastern part of Tsin, Han and Châo lying to the west and northwest of it. The Liang, where Mencius visited king Hûi, is said to have been in the present department of K＇âifâng. Hûi, ＇The Kingly＇, is the posthumous epithet of the king, whose name was Yung (萤). The title of king had been usurped by Ying, at some time before Mencius first visited him, which, it is said, he did in the 35th year of his government, B.C. 336. Mencius visited him on invitation, it must be supposed, and the simple 见=被招往见.
3. Mencius replied, ＇Why must your Majesty use that word "profit?" What I am provided with, are counselsto benevolence and righteousness, and these are my only topics.
4. ＇If your Majesty say, "What is to be done to profit my kingdom?" the great officers will say, "What is to be done to profit our families?" and the inferior officers and the common people will say, "What is to be done to profit our persons?" Superiors and inferiors will try to snatch this profit the one from the other, and the kingdom will be endangered. In the kingdom of ten thousand chariots, the murderer of his sovereign shall be the chief of a family of a thousand chariots. In the kingdom of a thousand chariots, the murderer of his prince shall be the chief of a family of a hundred chariots. To have a thousand in ten thousand, and a hundred in a thousand, cannot be said not to be a large allotment, but if righteousness be put last, and profit be put first, they will not be satisfied without snatching all.
2. Mencius was a native of Tsâu (邹), in Lû, the name of which is still retained in the Tsâu district of the department of Yen-châu (兖州), in Shan-tung. The king, in complimentary style, calls the distance from Tsâu to Liang a thousand lĭ. It is difficult to say what was the exact length of the ancient lĭ. At present it is a little more than one-third of an English mile. The 亦,＇also＇, occasions some difficulty. – With reference to what is it spoken? Some compare the 亦…乎 with 不亦乎, Analects, I.i. Others say that the king refers to the many scholars who at the time made it their business to wander from country to country, as advisers to the princes:—＇You also, like other scholars＇, &c. Then, when Mencius, in par. 3, replies—亦有仁义, they say that he refers to Yâo, Shun, &c., as his models:—＇I, like them＇, &c. But this is too far-fetched. Wang Yinchih inclines to consider 亦 as for the most part merely a helping particle; especially does he regard it so after不 in an interrogative closure. Observe the force of 将,delicately and suggestively patting the question.
3. 对,—marking the answer of an inferior, used from respect to the king. 曰is ＇to say＇, followed directly by the words spoken. It is not ＇to speak of＇. 而已矣 mark very decidedly Mencius＇s purpose to converse only of仁 and 义.
4. 征,—here=取, ＇to take＇. 交征, ＇mutually to take＇; i.e., superiors from inferiors, and inferiors from superiors. 乘, in 4th tone, ＇a carriage or chariot＇. The sovereign＇s domain,=1000 lĭ square, produced 10000 war chariots. A kingdom producing 1000 chariots was that of a háu, or marquis. He is here called 百乘之家, instead of 百乘之君, because the sovereign has just been denominated by that term. 后 and 先 are verbs. See Analects, VI. Xii.
5. The 仁 and 义 here are supposed to result from the sovereign＇s example.
5. ＇There never has been a benevolent man who neglected his parents. There never has been a righteous man who made his sovereign an after consideration.
6. ＇Let your Majesty also say, "Benevolence and righteousness, and let these be your only themes." Why must you use that word — "profit?"’.