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canting on the corruption of mankind, which he represents as universal, says

"And lo! the eye of Jove, that all things knows,
Can when he will the heart of man disclose;
Open the guilty bosom all within,

And trace the infant thoughts of future sin."

The Chinese usually divide man into three great classes, thus:-The shing, who are wise or virtuous independently of instruction; the hien, who become moral by the aid of study and application; and the yu, who are, in spite of all instruction, vicious or worthless. Such a triplicate classification of mankind, however, does not seem to belong exclusively to the Chinese, for the traces of it are distinctly discovered in the works of the poet above quoted. He says

"Far does that man all other men excel,
Who, from his wisdom, thinks in all things well;
Wisely considering, to himself a friend,
All for the present best, and for the end.
Nor is the man without his share of praise,
Who well the dictates of the wise obeys;
But he that is not wise himself, nor can
Hearken to wisdom, is a worthless man."

In this extract the very germ of the Chinese sentiment concerning the division of mankind is found; and it is probable that the philosophers of China derived it from the very same source as Horace, namely, knowledge handed down from the early recipients of revealed truth.

The Lun-yu. This work consists of the conversations or sayings of Confucius, together with the most remarkable actions of his life. It has been aptly termed a complete Chinese Boswell;" for the same submissive reverence towards

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the philosopher, and the same display of selfdevotion in erecting the fabric of his greatness, is discerned in the one as in the other. following is a specimen of its style. Being asked by a disciple to define the man of superior virtue, Confucius replied, "He knows neither sorrow nor fear." Surprised at such an answer, the other asked again, "Does that alone constitute the character ?" The sage rejoined, "If a man searches within, and finds nothing wrong, need he have either sorrow or fear?" This sentiment of the Chinese philosopher is nothing more than the sentiment which Horace breathes in his flowery verse, thus

"Is there a man whom incorrupt we call,
Who sits alike unprejudiced to all?
By him the city flourishes in peace,

Her borders lengthen, and her sons increase;
From him far-seeing Jove will drive afar
All civil discord and the rage of war.
No days of famine to the righteous fall,
But all is plenty, and delightful all;
Nature indulgent o'er the land is seen,

With oaks high towering are their mountains green;
With heavy masts their arms diffusive bow,

While from their trunks rich streams of honey flow;
Of flocks untainted are their pastures full,

Which slowly strut beneath their weight of wool;
And sons are born the likeness of their sire,
The fruits of virtue and a chaste desire:

O'er the wide seas for wealth they need not roam,
Many and lasting are their joys at home."

Such sentiments as these are, indeed, to be met with in the writings of every age and country; and they abound, unmixed with any heathenish alloy, in the Sacred Writings, and especially

in the book of Proverbs, of which the following

is a notable example :

"The wicked flee when no man pursueth;

But the righteous are bold as a lion."

PROV. XXViii. 1.

The most remarkable passage in the Lun-yu is the following:-Being asked if any one word could express a rule for the conduct of one's life, he answered, "Will not the word shoo serve?" And he explained this by the sentiment, "Do unto others as you would wish them to do unto you." Our Saviour's golden rule will be noticed as of similar import; but he added that benevolent injunction, "I say unto you, Love your enemies"a standard to which heathenism could not attain.

The Lun-yu consists, in all, of twenty chapters, divided into two equal parts; the Shang and Hea, or "first" and "second." Its maxims turn chiefly upon private and public conduct, or morals and politics; the latter, as in all the other canonical works, preponderating. Confucius and his disciples may, indeed, be termed political, rather than moral teachers. The great end of the life of man seems to have been considered by them, either to rule or to obey; and the morals they taught were either directly or indirectly made subservient to that purpose. Thus one precept of the reads:sage -"The father may conceal the faults of his son, and the son those of the father; virtue consists in this." On this sentiment, one of the provisions of the penal code of China is founded; it runs thus:- Children, near relations, and dependents, shall not be punishable for concealing the faults of those with whom they dwell." While Confucius and his followers,

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however, strictly enjoined implicit respect and obedience to existing governments and institutions, and an observance of national usages and customs, they did not teach religious veneration towards any created thing. So far from this is the actual case, that they have shown that, even in veneration itself, there should be nothing of an idolatrous tendency. In this respect, therefore, they rose superior to their fellow countrymen. At the same time, they did not actually wage war against the prevailing systems of idolatry; and there was nothing in their works which tended to lower their "gods many and lords many," in the estimation of the people.

The Book of Mencius.-Mencius was a disciple of Confucius, to whom he is considered only second in point of wisdom. He lived about a century after his predecessor; and the great aim of his life was to illustrate and promote his doctrines. In the book which bears his name, his chief object is, to inculcate the one leading principle of Confucius-philanthropic government. In the Four Books, indeed, there is nothing more remarkable than the freedom with which these sages give advice to kings. Thus, in the sixth chapter of the Book of Mencius, in reply to a proposition from the emperor, that certain severe taxes should be only lightened this year, and abolished the next, this sentence occurs :- -"This is like a man who should steal his neighbour's goods, and being censured, should answer, 'I: will take so much less every month, and stop next year.' If you know that the tax is unjust, it should be instantly remitted." Then again it is represented, that the hearts of the people are

only the legitimate foundations of empire, or permanent rule, under the following expressive figure:-"If, when with equal strength you invade a country, the people come to welcome you with supplies, can this be on any other account than because you are about to rescue them from fire and water? But if you deepen the water, and add fuel to the fire, they will turn from you."

How bold Mencius was in giving advice to kings, is illustrated by the first chapter of his book, which opens with a conversation between him and the king of the state, called Leang, who had usurped that title. When he invited the philosophers of the day to his court, Mencius went with the rest; and the king having thus accosted him, "I suppose you come to increase the gains of my court ?" he replied, "Why speak of gain? benevolence and justice are all in all :" and he illustrated this, by showing, that if avarice universally existed, mutual strife and anarchy must be the inevitable consequence.

Such is the purport of the Four Books. While they teach some moral, and even great truths, they leave the heart of man universally unaffected. Like the writings of the Greek and Roman philosophers, they only tend to show that their sage authors were deeply convinced of the fact, that man needs Divine inspiration far superior to any that had hitherto been imparted.

This will more fully appear, by a view of the five canonical works called King, of each of which Confucius was either the author or compiler. These are entitled, the Sky-king, the

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