Text of Confucianism Part 01

SR No.: 007675
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: James Legge
Publisher: Oxford
Publication Year: 1879
Total Pages: 2829
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 50 MB

Page 860

264
THE APPENDIXES.
SECT. II.
LXII. 1. In Hsiao Kwo (we see) the small (lines) exceeding the others, and (giving the intimation of) progress and attainment.
2. Such'exceeding, in order to its being advantageous, must be associated with firmness and correctness :'--that is, it must take place (only) according to (the requirements of) the time.
3. The weak (lines) are in the central places, and hence it is said that what the name denotes) may be done in small affairs, and there will be good fortune.
4. Of the strong (lines one) is not in its proper place, and (the other) is not central, hence it is said that (what the name denotes) should not be done in great affairs.
5. (In the hexagram) we have the symbol of a bird on the wing, and of the notes that come down from such a bird, for which it is better to descend than to ascend, thereby leading to great good fortune :'--to ascend is contrary to what is reasonable in the case, while to descend is natural and right.
empty boat, it is said (with doubtful truth), is not liable to be upset. The trigram Sun symbolises both wind and wood.
A good commentary on paragraph 3 is supplied in many passages of the Doctrine of the Mean,' e. g. chap. 20. 18:- Sincerity is the way of Heaven. The attainment of sincerity is the way of men.'
LXII. Paragraph 1. That the small lines exceed the others appears at a glance. The intimation of progress and attainment is less clear. Compare the first paragraph of Appendix I to hexagram 33.
•The requirements of the time' in paragraph 2 cannot make
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