CHAPTER IV
1. The king Hsüan of Ch＇î had an interview with Mencius in the Snow palace, and said to him, ＇Do men of talents and worth likewise find pleasure in these things?＇ Mencius replied, ＇They do; and if people generally are not able to enjoy themselves, they condemn their superiors.
2. ＇For them, when they cannot enjoy themselves, to condemn their superiors is wrong,
7. See the Shû ching, V. i. Seet. I. 7, but the passage as quoted by Mencius is rather different from the original text. 惟曰其助上帝, —literally, ＇just saying,They shall be aiding to God＇. The sentiment is that of Paul, in Rom. xiii. i-4, ＇The powers ordained of God are the ministers of God.＇In 天下曷敢有越厥志 there is an allusion to the tyrant Chieh, who is the 一人 in Mencius＇s subjoined explanation.
8. 惟恐 is, by some, taken—＇The people would only be afraid＇, the preceding clause being= ＇If your Majesty＇, &c. I think the present tense is preferable.
CHAPTER 4. A RULER＇S PROSPERITY DEPENDS ON HIS EXERCISING A RESTRAINT UPON HIMSELF, AND SYMPATHIZING WITH THE PEOPLE IN THEIR JOYS AND SORROWS.
1. ＇The Snow palace＇ was a pleasure-palace of the princes of Ch＇î. Most commentators say that the king had lodged Mencius there, and went to see him, but it may not have been so. Perhaps they only had their interview there.
but when the superiors of the people do not make enjoyment a thing common to the people and themselves, they also do wrong.
3. ＇When a ruler rejoices in the joy of his people,they also rejoice in his joy; when he grieves at the sorrow of his people, they also grieve at his sorrow.A sympathy of joy will pervade the kingdom; a sympathy of sorrow will do the same:—in such a state of things, it cannot be but that the ruler attain to the royal dignity.
4. ＇Formerly, the duke Ching of Ch＇î asked the minister Yen, saying, "I wish to pay a visit of inspection to Chwan-fû, and Châo-wû, and then to bend my course southward along the shore, till I come to Lang-yê. What shall I do that my tour may be fit to be compared with the visits of inspection made by the ancient sovereigns?"
5. ＇The minister Yen replied, "An excellent inquiry!When the Son of Heaven visited the princes, it was called a tour of inspection, that is, be surveyed the States under their care.
贤者亦有此乐乎 is different from the question, in nearly the same words, in Pt. I. ii, 贤者 being there＇worthy princes＇, and here ＇scholars＇, men of worth generally, with a reference to Mencius himself. 人不得,—人 is to be taken as=民, ＇the people＇, men generally, and 不得, it is said, 是不得安居之乐, 非指雪宫, is= ＇do not get the pleasure of quiet living and enjoyment, not referring to the Snow palace＇. 非其上,—非 is used as a verb,= ＇to blame＇, ＇to condemn＇. So in the next paragraph.
3. I have given the meaning of the phrases 乐以天下, 忧以天下, which sum up the preceding part of the paragraph, and are not to be understood as spoken of the ruler only. The 合讲 says:—＇These two sentences are to be explained from the four previous sentences.The phrase 天下 is only a foreible way of saying what is said by 民. The 以 is to be explained as if we read—不以一身, 乃以天下耳, ＇the joy and sorrow is not with(i.e. from) one individual, but from thewhole kingdom＇. 王, the 4th tone.
4. 晏子, see Confucian Analects, V. xvi.
When the princes attended at the court of the Son of Heaven, it was called a report of office, that is, they reported their administration of their offices. Thus,neither of the proceedings was without a purpose.And moreover, in the spring they examined the ploughing, and supplied any deficiency of seed; in the autumn they examined the reaping, and supplied any deficiency of yield. There is the saying of the Hsiâdynasty,—If our king do not take his ramble, what will become of our happiness? If our king do not make his excursion, what will become of our help? That ramble,and that excursion, were a pattern to the princes.
6. ＇"Now, the state of things is different.—A host marches in attendance on the ruler, and stores of provisions are consumed. The hungry are deprived of their food, and there is no rest for those who are called to toil. Maledictions are uttered by one to another with eyes askance, and the people proceed to the commission of wickedness. Thus the royal ordinances are violated, and the people are oppressed, and thesupplies of food and drink flow away like water.
The duke Ching occupied the throne for 58 years,from B.C. 546-488. Chwan-fû and Châo-wû were two hills, which must have been in the north of Ch＇î, and looking on the waters now called the Gulf of Pei-chihlî. Lang-yê was the name both of a mountain and an adjacent city, referred to the present department of Chû-shăng, in Ch＇ing-châu. 修=作为, ＇to do＇.
5. 狩巡, see the Shû-ching, II. i. 8,9. 狩 is used as=守. It does not seem necessary to repeat the 巡狩and 述职 in the translation. This tour of inspection appears to have been made, under the Châu dynasty,once in twelve years, while the princes had to present themselves at court (朝, read ch＇âo) once in six years.From 春, ＇in the spring＇, the practices appropriate to the various princes, as well as the sovereign, are described, though, as appears from the last clause,with special reference to the latter. 豫 or 预=游. By 一游一预 the spring and autumn visitations are intended,each called 一.
6. 师, properly a body of 2500 men, but here generally=a host, a multitude. 睊睊胥谗, 民乃作慝 are referred to the people, and the next two clauses to the princes. Yet the 乃 after 民 would rather indicate a different subject for the clause before.
The rulers yield themselves to the current, or they urge their way against it; they are wild; they are utterly lost:—these things proceed to the grief of the inferior princes.
7. ＇"Descending along with the current, and forgetting to return, is what I call yielding to it.Pressing up against it, and forgetting to return, is what I call urging their way against it. Pursuing the chase without satiety is what I call being wild. Delighting in wine without satiety is what I call being lost.
8. ＇"The ancient sovereigns had no pleasures to which they gave themselves as on the flowing stream;no doings which might be so characterized as wild and lost.
9. ＇"It is for you, my prince, to pursue your course."＇
10. ＇The duke Ching was pleased. He issued a proclamation throughout his State, and went out and occupied a shed in the borders. From that time he began to open his granaries to supply the wants of the people, and calling the Grand music-master, he said to him—"Make for me music to suit a prince and his minister pleased with each other."
诸侯忧, —诸侯, by ChûHsi and others, is explained as in the translation, though this view seems rather forced. Châo Ch＇î makes them refer to the princes proper; but how can it be said that these things in which they delighted were a ＇grief＇ to them?
10. 太师, see Analects, VIII. xv. 徵 (read chî, the 3rd tone) and 角 are the names of two of the five notes in the Chinese scale, the fourth and third.
And it was then that the Chî-shâo and Chio-shâo were made, in the words to which it was said, "Is it a fault to restrain one＇s prince?" He who restrains his prince loves his prince.＇