________________
PT. I. SECT. IV.
THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-BZE.
211
is very important. Khî will probably treat me as his commissioner with great respect, but it will not be in a hurry (to attend to the business). Even an ordinary man cannot be readily moved to action), and how much less the prince of a state! I am very full of apprehension. You, Sir, once said to me that of all things, great or small, there were few which, if not conducted in the proper way ?, could be brought to a happy conclusion; that, if the thing were not successful, there was sure to be the evil of being dealt with after the manner of men?; that, if it were successful, there was sure to be the evil of constant anxiety 3 ; and that, whether it succeeded or not, it was only the virtuous man who could secure its not being followed by evil. In my diet I take what is coarse, and do not seek delicacies,-a man whose cookery does not require him to be using cooling drinks. This morning I received my charge, and in the evening I am drinking iced water ;-am I not feeling the internal heat (and discomfort) ? Such is my state before I have actually engaged in the affair ;-I am already suffering from conflicting anxieties. And if the thing do not succeed, (the king) is sure to deal with me after the manner of men. The evil is twofold; as a minister, I am not able to bear the burden (of the mission). Can
not a duke, but as the counts of Khù had usurped the name of king, they gave high-sounding names to all their ministers and officers.
1 Or, according to the Tâo. * As a criminal; punished by his sovereign.
& Anxiety night and day,' or 'cold and hot' fits of trouble ;-a peculiar usage of Yin Yang
P 2
Digitized by Google