1. The minister of crime of Ch'in asked whether the duke Ch'aou knew propriety, and Confucius said, "He knew propriety."

28. THE READINESS OF CONFUCIUS TO MEET APPROACHES TO HIM THOUGH MADE BY THE UNLIKELY. 1. In 互乡, the 乡 appears to be like our local termination ham.—'The people of Hoo-ham.' Its site is now sought in three different places. 2. Choo He would here transpose the order of the text, and read人洁已云云 immediately after子曰. He also supposes some characters lost in the sentence 唯何甚. This is hardly necessary. 与, as in V.8,3,=许, 'to allow', 'to concede to'.

29. VIRTUE IS NOT FAR TO SEEK. 哉, after 乎, implies the negative answer to be given.

30. HOW CONFUCIUS ACKNOWLEDGE HIS ERROR. 1. Ch'in, one of the states of China in Conf. time, is to be referred probably to the present department of Ch'in-chow in Ho-nan province. 司败was the name given in Ch'in and Tsoo to the minister elsewhere called 司寇, which terms Morrison and Medhurst translate—'criminal judge'. But judge does not come up to his functions, which were legislative as well as executive. He was the adviser of his sovereign on all matters relating to crime. See 周礼, 秋官司寇. Ch'aou was the hon. ep. of Chow (稠), duke of Loo, B.C.541-509. He had a reputation for the knowledge and observation of ceremonies, and Conf. answered the minister's question accordingly, the more readily that he was speaking to the officer of another state, and was bound. therefore, to hide any failings that his own sovereign might have had. 2. With all his knowledge of proprieties, the duke Ch'aou had violated an import. rule,—that which forbids the intermarriage of parties of the same surname. The ruling houses of Loo and Woo were branches of the imperial house of Chow, and consequently had the same surname—Ke (姬). To conceal his violation of the rule, Ch'aou called his wife by the surname Tsze (子), as if she had belonged to the ducal house of Sung. 取, up.3d tone=娶. 3. Conf. takes the criticism of his questioner very lightly.

2. Confucius having retired, the minister bowed to Woo-ma K'e to come forward, and said, "I have heard that the superior man is not a partizan. May the superior man be a partizan also? The prince married a daughter of the house of Woo, of the same surname with himself, and called her,—'The elder lady Tsze of Woo'. If the prince knew propriety, who does not know it?"

3. Woo-ma K'e reported these remarks, and the Master said, "I am fortunate! If I have any errors, people are sure to know them."