Part 22 (1/2)

[1. The proof of G.o.d's having reversed his usual course of procedure was to be found in the universal misery of the people, whose good He was understood to desire, and for the securing of which government by, righteous kings was maintained by him.

2 If ancient worthies thought that persons in such mean employments were to he consulted surely, the advice of the writer deserved to be taken into account by his comrades.]

Heaven is now exercising oppression;--Do not in such a way make a mock of things. An old man, (I speak) with entire sincerity; But you, my juniors, are full of pride. It is not that my words are those of age, But you make a joke of what is sad. But the troubles will multiply like flames, Till they are beyond help or remedy.

Heaven is now displaying its anger;--Do not be either boastful or flattering, Utterly departing from all propriety of demeanour, Till good men are reduced to personators of the dead [1]. The people now sigh and groan, And we dare not examine (into the causes of their trouble). The ruin and disorder are exhausting all their means of living, And we show no kindness to our mult.i.tudes.

Heaven enlightens the people [2], As the bamboo flute responds to the earthen whistle; As two half-maces form a whole one; As you take a thing, and bring it away in your hand, Bringing it away, without any more ado. The enlightenment of the people is very easy. They have (now) many perversities;--Do not you set up your perversity before them.

Good men are a fence; The mult.i.tudes of the people are a wall; Great states are screens; Great families are b.u.t.tresses;--The cheris.h.i.+ng of virtue

[1. During all the time of the sacrifice, the personators of the dead said not a word, but only ate and drank. To the semblance of them good men were now reduced.

2. The meaning is, that Heaven has so attuned the mind to virtue, that, if good example were set before the people, they would certainly and readily follow it. This is ill.u.s.trated by various instances of things, in which the one succeeded the other freely and as it necessarily; so that government by virtue was really very easy.]

secures repose; The circle of (the king's) relatives is a fortified wall. We must not let the fortified wall get destroyed; We must not let (the king) be solitary and consumed with terrors.

Revere the anger of Heaven, And presume not to make sport or be idle.

Revere the changing moods of Heaven, And presume not to drive about (at your pleasure). Great Heaven is intelligent, And is with you in all your goings. Great Heaven is clear-seeing, And is with you in your wanderings and indulgences.

The Third Decade, or that of Tang.

ODE 1. THE TANG.

WARNINGS, SUPPOSED TO BE ADDRESSED TO KING Li, ON THE ISSUES OF THE COURSE WHICH HE WAS PURSUING, SHOWING THAT THE MISERIES OF THE TIME AND THE IMMINENT DANGER OF RUIN WERE TO BE ATTRIBUTED, NOT TO HEAVEN, BUT TO HIMSELF AND HIS MINISTERS.

This ode, like the ninth of the second decade, is attributed to duke Mu of Shao. The structure of the piece is peculiar, for, after the first stanza, we have king Win introduced delivering a series of warnings to Kau-hsin, the last king of the Shang dynasty. They are put into Win's mouth, in the hope that Li, if, indeed, he was the monarch whom the writer had in view, would transfer the figure of Kau-hsin to himself, and alter his course so as to avoid a similar ruin.

How vast is G.o.d, The ruler of men below! How arrayed in terrors is G.o.d, With many things irregular in his ordinations. Heaven gave birth to the mult.i.tudes of the people, But the nature it confers is not to be depended on. All are (good) at first, But few prove themselves to be so at the last[1].

King Wan said, 'Alas! Alas! you sovereign of Shang, That you should have such violently oppressive ministers, That you should have such extortionate exactors, That you should have them in offices, That you should have them in the conduct of affairs! ”Heaven made them with their insolent dispositions;” But it is you who employ them, and give them strength.'

King Wan said, 'Alas! Alas! you (sovereign of) Yin-shang, You ought to employ such as are good, But (you employ instead) violent oppressors, who cause many dissatisfactions. They respond to you with baseless stories, And (thus) robbers and thieves are in your court. Hence come oaths and curses, Without limit, without end.'

King Wan said, 'Alas! Alas! you (sovereign of) Yin-shang, You show a strong fierce will in the centre of the kingdom, And consider the contracting of enmities a proof of virtue. All-unintelligent are you. Of your (proper) virtue, And so, you have no (good) men behind you, nor by your side. Without any intelligence of your (proper) virtue, You have no (good) intimate adviser or minister.'

King Wan said, 'Alas! Alas! you (sovereign of) Yin-shang, It is not Heaven that flushes your face with spirits, So that you follow what is evil and imitate it. You go wrong in all your conduct; You make no distinction between the light and the

[1. The meaning seems to be that, whatever miseries might prevail, and be ignorantly ascribed to G.o.d, they were in reality owing to men's neglect of the law of Heaven inscribed on their hearts.]

darkness; But amid clamour and shouting, You turn the day into night[1].'

King Wan said, 'Alas! Alas! you (sovereign of) Yin-shang, (All round you) is like the noise of cicadas, Or like the bubbling of boiling soup.

Affairs, great and small, are approaching to ruin, And still you (and your creatures) go on in this course. Indignation is rife against you here in the Middle Kingdom, And extends to the demon regions [2].'

King Wan said, 'Alas! Alas! you (sovereign of) Yin-shang, It is not G.o.d that has caused this evil time, But it arises from Yin's not using the old (ways). Although you have not old experienced men, There are still the ancient statutes and laws. But you will not listen to them, And so your great appointment is being overthrown.'

King Wan said, 'Alas! Alas! you (sovereign of) Shang, People have a saying, ”When a tree falls utterly, While its branches and leaves are yet uninjured, It must first have been uprooted.” The beacon of Yin is not far distant;--It is in the age of the (last) sovereign of Hsia.'