"Then I would ask," continues Mencius, "what difference is there between putting people to death by the sword, and in causing them to die through bad government?" The king having replied as before, Mencius goes on to say, "True, that there is plenty of fat meat in your kitchens, and well-fed steeds in your stalls, but the stamp of starvation is set upon your people, and their dead bodies cumber the ground until beasts of prey devour them. How can he who causes these evils have any claim to be considered the parent of his people? It was said by Confucius that the inventor of the wooden image, made to simulate a man, which was buried with the dead, died childless; what then shall be the fate of him who produces real suffering and causes his subjects to die of want?"

A straightforward, fearless teacher this, who is quick to brush away the cobwebs of plausible and specious pretexts which are drawn across his path. But it must be confessed, it is difficult to know which most to admire, the courage of the philosopher, or the forbearance of the prince.

Being asked, on another occasion, to give an opinion on the comparative merits of Confucius, and some of the great worthies of antiquity; Mencius, after commenting on the qualities and actions of those amongst them, who had made themselves

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most conspicuous by their talents and virtues, sums up as follows:

"It is true that the highest mountain, belongs to the same category as the mere mound; and that the largest river, is but the reproduction on a grand scale of the gurgling brook; and that the sage, is after all but a man. Yet we must not forget, that he is a man who towers above his fellows, in all the majesty of attainments utterly beyond their power of acquirement. So it is with Confucius. I have devoted much time to the study of the past, and I have arrived at the conclusion that, when we take into consideration his great thoroughness, and the effects which have been produced by his teaching, he has no equal.”

The following is a good example of his manner of illustration. He is speaking of men's motives :—

'Men, may be equally good and actuated by the same motives, though at first sight it might seem as if the ends they had in view were quite different. For instance, what two men would appear to be so widely apart in their aims, as the armourer and the arrow-maker, the one seeking how best to preserve life, and the other how best to destroy it? but in reality they are both influenced by the same motive—to succeed in their respective trades, in making the best suits of armour, or the best arrows, for those who may have to use them."

Many of his discourses, descend from the higher regions of what may be called political morality, to the discussion of questions connected with political economy, such as the distribution of the land, the best mode of raising a revenue, and the means by which an impetus can be given to industry and commerce. According to the nomenclature of the present day, he was decidedly a "free-trader," and in common with the great master, of whom he professed himself to be but a humble disciple, had for his chief object, when insisting upon the necessity of good government, to effect such a change in the conduct of the ruler towards those he ruled over, as would spread the greatest amount of happiness, over the greatest proportion of the people.

Mencius does not indulge in speculations as to man's future destiny. He frequently alludes to Heaven, as the great dispenser of all good gifts; and insists upon natural laws, being but a visible expression of the Divine will; but, like his great master, he is content to rest there. He, too, is no dogmatic theologian, but another earnest teacher, who sought to permeate society with happiness, by the elevation of the individual character, and so produce an increased capacity for the imitation of great examples.

CHAPTER XX.

Concluding remarks-The place of Confucius amongst the teachers of the world-The insufficiency of his religious teaching for popular requirements-The effect produced by him on the character of his countrymen.

I HAVE, so far, given a sketch of the state of China at the time preceding the birth of Confucius; of the leading incidents of his life; of his mode and style of teaching; and of the literature by which his doctrines are taught at the present day.

It is now proposed to consider him under the light of the knowledge which has been thus gained, and to endeavour, whilst doing so, not only to determine the place he holds amongst the other great reformers of the world; but to estimate at its proper value, the effect produced, morally and politically, upon the Chinese by his teaching.

But, before proceeding to do this, I must again impress upon the reader the necessity for constantly bearing the fact in mind, that twenty-three centuries have passed away since Confucius stood forth to

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denounce the vices of his age, and to endeavour to reform it. The period in which he lived, and the circumstances by which he was surrounded, form the key to his every thought and action, and unless we keep this before us, it will be impossible to understand him, or to set a right estimate upon the degree of influence he was able to exert.

Twenty-three centuries of fame, of influence, of adoration. Of how few men can there be said as much?

For it is as a man, a simple, earnest-minded man, that he has to be regarded. No mythological creation of-it may be a distempered fancy; no great conqueror, the founder of a mighty empire upon the ruin of kingdoms, and by the destruction or enslavement of his fellow-men; no pretender to the possession of supernatural powers, or to a more than ordinary knowledge of the agencies by which this world is governed. No! none of these. He was but an

inquirer, a seeker after truth, a searcher after the right-the Divine-way; and it was when he thought he had found that way, that he became untiring in his efforts to induce others to walk in it.

It was this wish to share, that which he conceived to be the best, with others, which sets such a special stamp upon his teaching; and it is through this, that he has established such a lasting claim upon the