1. The Master was speaking about the unprincipled course of the duke Ling of Wei, when Ke K'ang said, "Since he is of such a character, how is it he does not lose his throne?"

2. Confucius said, "The Chung-shuh, Yu, has the superintendence of his guests and of strangers;

18. THE MERIT OF KWAN CHUNG:—A CONVERSATION WITH TSZE-KUNG. 1. Tszeloo's doubts about Kwan Chung arose from his not dying with the prince Kew; Tsze-kung's turned principally on his subsequently becoming premier to Hwan. 2. 匡=正, 'to rectify', 'reduce to order'.—blends with匡its own verbal force,= 'to unite'. 微=无, 'not', 'if not'. 被(p'e, low. 1st tone)发,—see the Le-ke, III. iii. 14, where this is mentioned as a characteristic of the eastern barbarians. 左衽—see the Shoo-king, V. xxv. 13. A note in the 集证 says, that anciently the right was the position of honour, and the right hand, moreover, is the more convenient for use, but the practice of the barbarians was contrary to that of China in both points. The sent. of Conf. is, that but for Kwan Chung, his countrymen would have sunk to the state of the rude tribes about them. 3. 匹夫, 匹妇,—see IX. 25. 谅=小信, 'small fidelity', by which is intended the faithfulness of a married couple of the common people, where the husband takes no concubine in addition to his wife. The argument is this:—'Do you think Kwan Chung should have considered himself bound to Kew, as a common man considers himself bound to his wife? And would you have had him commit suicide, as common people will do on any slight occasion?' Commentators say that there is underlying the vindication this fact:—that Kwan Chung and Shaou Hwuh's adherence to Kew was wrong in the first place, Kew being the younger brother. Chung's conduct therefore was not to be judged as if Kew had been the senior. There is nothing of this, however, in Confucius' words. He vindicates Chung simply on the ground of his subsequent services, and his reference to 'the small fidelity' of husband and wife among the common people is very unhappy. 自经, 'to strangle one's-self', but in connection with 沟渎, the phrase must be understood generally,= 'to commit suicide'.

19. THE MERIT OF KUNG-SHUH WAN IN RECOMMENDING TO OFFICE A MAN OF WORTH. 1. Kung-shuh Wa?n,—see ch.14. The par. is to be understood as intimating that Kung-shuh, seeing the worth and capacity of his minister, had recommended him to his sovereign, and afterwards was not ashamed to appear in the same rank with him at court. 公,=our 'duke's', i.e., the duke's court. 2. 文, as an honorary epithet, sometimes means—锡民爵位, 'He who confers on a common man rank and office.' 20. THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD AND ABLE MINISTERS:—SEEN IN THE STATE OF WEI. 1. Ling was the hon. epithet of Yuen(元), duke of Wei. B.C. 533-492. He was the husband of Nan-tsze, VI. 26. 2. The Chung-shuh, Yu, is the K'ung Wǎn of V. 14. 仲叔 express his family position, according to the degrees of kindred. 'The litanist, T'o',—see VI. 14. Wang-sun Kea,—see III. 13.

the litanist, T'o, has the management of his ancestral temple; and Wang-sun Kea has the direction of the army and forces:—with such officers as these, how should he lose his throne?"