CHAPTER XII
1. When Mencius had left Ch＇î, Yin Shih spoke about him to others, saying, ＇If he did not know that the king could not be made a T＇ang or a Wû, that showed his want of intelligence. If he knew that he could not be made such,
斋宿,—＇fasted and passed the night＇. 请勿复(in 4th tone) 敢见 is merely the complimentary way of complaining of what the guest considered the rudeness of his reception. 语, the 4th tone,=告. 缪, here read Mû, was the honorary epithet of the duke Hsien (显),B.C.409-375. Tsze-sze,—the grandson of Confucius.Shăn Hsiang,—the son of Tsze-chang (子张), one of Confucius＇s disciples. Hsieh Liû was a native of Lû,a disciple of the Confucian school. See the Lî Chî,Bk. II. Sect. I. ii. 34, and Bk. XVIII. Sect. II. ii. II. In this last chapter Liû should be Hsieh Liû. 乎=在 or 在乎. 安 is said to=留, simply ＇to detain＇, but its force is more than that, and= ＇to make contented, and so induce to remain＇. Great respect, it seems, was shown to Tsze-sze, and he had an attendant from the duke to assure him continually of the respect with which he was cherished. Hsieh Liû and Shăn Hsiang had not such attendants, but they knew that there were one or more officers by the duke＇s side, to admonish him not to forget them and other worthies. The visitor calls himself 弟子, ＇your disciple＇.
4. 为, 4th tone. Mencius calls himself 长 (the 3rd tone) 者, ＇the elder＇. 子为长者云云,—the stranger was anxious for (虑) Mencius to remain in Ch＇î, but the thing was entirely from himself, not from the king;and his thinking that he could detain him by such a visit showed the little store he set by him;—was, in fact, a cutting him.
CHAPTER 12. HOW MENCIUS EXPLAINED HIS SEEMING TO LINGER IN CH＇Ȋ, AFTER HE HAD RESIGNED HIS OFFICE, AND LEFT THE COURT.1. All that we know of Yin Shih is that he was a man of Ch＇î.
and came notwithstanding, that shows he was seeking his own benefit. He came a thousand lî to wait on the king; because he did not find in him a ruler to suit him,he took his leave, but how dilatory and lingering was his departure, stopping three nights before he quitted Châu! I am dissatisfied on account of this.＇
2. The disciple Kâo informed Mencius of theseremarks.
3. Mencius said, ＇How should Yin Shih know me!When I came a thousand lî to wait on the king, it was what I desired to do. When I went away because I did not find in him a ruler to suit me, was that what I desired to do? I felt myself constrained to do it.
4. ＇When I stopped three nights before I quitted Châu, in my own mind I still considered my departure speedy. I was hoping that the king might change. If the king had changed, he would certainly have recalled me.
5. ＇When I quitted Châu, and the king had not sent after me, then, and not till then, was my mind resolutely bent on returning to Tsâu.
Julien proper blames Noel for translating 尹士 by＇literatus cognomine Yin＇, as if 士 were here the noun—＇a scholar＇. But when he adds that it is here to be pronounced chî, to mark that it is a name, this is what neither the dictionary nor any commentary mentions. 语, the 4th tone,=告. 干泽, ＇to seek for favours＇, i.e. his own benefit;—see Analects, II. xviii.不遇,—see Bk. I. Pt. II. xvi. 3. 兹=此, ＇this＇. What Shih chiefly means to charge against Mencius is the lingering character of his departure.
3. Mencius was constrained to leave by the conviction forced on him that he could not in Ch＇îcarry his principles into practice. 王庶几 (the 1st tone)改之, literally, ＇The king fortunately near to change it.＇This was the thought at the time in Mencius＇s mind,and 庶几= ＇I hoped＇, ＇I was looking for＇. 诸=之.
4. 诸=然后, ＇then, and not till then＇. 浩然,—see Pt. I.ii. II. 舍=舍, the 3rd tone. 由=犹. 用 is by many taken as simply=以;
But, notwithstanding that, how can it be said that I give up the king? The king, after all, is one who may be made to do what is good. If he were to use me,would it be for the happiness of the people of Ch＇îonly ? It would be for the happiness of the people of the whole kingdom. I am hoping that the king will change. I am daily hoping for this.
6. ＇Am I like one of your little-minded people?They will remonstrate with their prince, and on theirremonstrance not being accepted, they get angry; and,with their passion displayed in their countenance, they take their leave, and travel with all their strength for a whole day, before they will stop for the night.＇
7. When Yin Shih heard this explanation, he said, ＇I am indeed a small man.＇