CHAPTER II
1. Ching Ch＇un said to Mencius, ＇Are not Kungsun Yen and Chang Î really great men? Let them once be angry, and all the princes are afraid. Let them live quietly, and the flames of trouble are extinguished throughout the kingdom.＇
2. Mencius said, ＇How can such men be great men?Have you not read the Ritual Usages?—"At the capping of a young man,
丘陵,—to be taken together, ＇a mound＇, ＇a hill＇. The彼,—＇that, or those＇, referring to 诸侯in par. I. We must supply I, as the subject of 枉. The concluding remark is just, but hardly consistent with the allowances for their personal misconduct which Mencius was prepared to make to the princes.
CHAPTER 2. MENCIUS＇S CONCEPTION OF THE GREAT MAN.
1. Ching Ch＇un was a man of Mencius＇s days, ＇a practiser of the art of up-and-across＇ (为纵横之术者), i.e. one who plumed himself on his versatility.Kung-sun Yen and Chang Ȋ were also men of that age,natives of Wei (魏), and among the most celebrated of the ambitious scholars, who went from State to State,seeking employment, and embroiling the princes;—see the ＇Historical Records＇, Book C, 列传, chap. x.丈夫,—see Pt. I. i. 4. The phrase is used, however, in the next paragraph for ＇a grown-up youth＇. 熄 has, in the Shwo Wăn, the opposite meanings of ＇feeding afire＇ and ＇extinguishing a fire＇. The latter is its meaning here.
2. 是,—referring to Yen and Ȋ with what is said about them above. 焉,—the interrogative, in 1st tone.The ＇Rites＇ or ＇Book of Rites＇, to which Mencius here chiefly refers, is not the compilation now received among the higher classics, under the name of the LîChî, but the Ȋ Lî (仪礼). He throws various passages together, and, according to his wont, is not careful to quote correctly. In the Ȋ Lî, not only does her mother admonish the bride, but her father also, and his concubines,
his father admonishes him. At the marrying away of a young woman, her mother admonishes her,accompanying her to the door on her leaving, and cautioning her with these words, ＇You are going to your home. You must be respectful; you must be careful. Do not disobey your husband.＇"Thus, to look upon compliance as their correct course is the rule for women.
3. ＇To dwell in the wide house of the world, to stand in the correct seat of the world, and to walk in the great path of the world; when he obtains his desire for office, to practise his principles for the good of the people; and when that desire is disappointed, to practise them alone; to be above the power of riches and honours to make dissipated, of poverty and mean condition to make swerve from principle, and of power and force to make bend:— these characteristics constitute the great man.＇
and all to the effect that she is to be obedient, though the husband (here called 夫子) is not expressly mentioned. See the 仪礼注疏, Bk. II. pp. 49, 50. For the ceremonies of Capping, see the name. Bk. I. In送之门 and, more especially, in 往之女 (汝)家 the之 joins the verbs and nouns, and is construed as the verb,=往. 妾妇 are to be taken together,—＇a concubinewoman＇. Mencius uses the term 妾 in his contempt for Yen and Ȋ, who, with all their bluster, only pandered to the passions of the princes. Obedience is the rule for all women, and specially so for secondary wives.
3. ＇The wide house of the world＇ is benevolence or love, the chief and home of all the virtues; ＇the correct seat＇ is propriety; and ＇the great path＇ is righteousness.与民由之 (the 之 refers to the virtues so metaphorically indicated),—＇walks according to them along with the people＇. The paraphrase in the 日讲 says:—＇Getting his desire, and being employed in the world, he comes forth, and carries out these principles of benevolence,propriety, and righteousness towards the people, and pursues them along with them.＇此之谓,—＇this is what is called＇,=such is the description of, a really ＇great man＇.
