He observed to a disciple that the empire had long been in a state of anarchy, and mentioned a dream of the previous night, which he regarded as the presage of his own departure; and so it came to pass, for after seven days of sickness he died. The 18th day of the second moon is kept by the Chinese as the anniversary of their sage's death. In the Hân dynasty, long subsequent to his existence, Confucius was dignified with the highest title of honour, Koong; and he was subsequently styled the Sovereign Teacher. The Ming, or Chinese dynasty, which succeeded the Mongols, called him "The most holy teacher of ancient times," a title which the present Tartar family has continued.

Though only a single descendant (his grandson) survived Confucius, the succession has continued through sixty-seven or sixty-eight generations to the present day, in the very district where their great ancestor was born. Various honours and privileges have always distinguished the family. The heads have enjoyed the rank of nobility; and in the time of Kâng-hy the total number of descendants amounted to eleven thousand males. In every city, down to those of the third order, styled Hien, there is a temple dedicated to Confucius. The emperor himself, the magistrates, and all the learned of the land do him homage. The philosopher in his lifetime sometimes spoke as if persuaded that he had received a special commission to instruct the world. In a moment of apparent danger he exclaimed, "If Heaven is resolved that my doctrine shall not fail, the men of Kuâng can do nothing to me.”

Dr. Morrison justly observes that "Confucius was engaged in politics all his life; and even his ethics dwell chiefly on those social duties which have a political bearing. A family is the prototype of his nation or

empire, and he lays at the bottom of his system, not the visionary notions (which have no existence in nature) of independence and equality, but principles of dependence and subordination-as of children to parents, the younger to the elder, and so on. These principles are perpetually inculcated in the Confucian writings, as well as embodied in solemn ceremonials, and in apparently trivial forms of mere etiquette. It is probably this feature of his doctrines that has made him such a favourite with all the governments of China for many centuries past, and down to this day. These principles and these forms are early instilled into young minds, and form the basis of their moral sentiment: the elucidation and enforcement of these principles and forms is the business of students who aspire to be magistrates or statesmen, and of the wealthy who desire nominal rank in the country; and it is, in all likelihood, owing chiefly to the influence of these principles on the national mind and conscience that China holds together the largest associated population in the world." It is certain that no pagan philosopher or teacher has influenced a larger, if so large, a portion of the whole human race, or met with more unalloyed veneration. Whatever the other opinions or faith of a Chinese may be, he takes good care to treat Confucius with respect; and, as we have before observed that Confucianism is rather a philosophy than a religion, it can scarcely be said to come into direct collision with religious persuasions. The Catholics got on very well until they meddled with the civil and social institutions of China.

A summary view of the original works or compilations which have come down from the age of Confucius and his disciples will perhaps enable us to form some judgment respecting that school of philosophy and literature of which he was the head, and which constitutes, at this

day, the standard of Chinese orthodoxy. The classical or sacred works consist in all of nine: that is to say, the 'Four Books, and the Five Canonical Works.' In the course of a regular education, the former of these are the first studied and committed to memory, being subsequently followed up by the others; and a complete knowledge of the whole of them, as well as of the standard notes and criticisms by which they are elucidated, is an indispensable condition towards the attainment of the higher grades of literary and official rank. The original text of these works is comprised within a very moderate compass; but the numerous commentaries, which from time to time have been added, contribute to swell the whole to a formidable bulk. The art of printing, however, which gives the Chinese such an advantage over other Asiatic nations, together with the extreme cheapness of paper, has contributed to multiply the copies ad infinitum, and to bring these and most other books of the country within the reach of almost everybody.

1. The first of the Four Books' is the Ta-heo, which has been correctly rendered 'The School of Adults' by the Jesuits, meaning literally the study of grown persons. A later work, which has been named in contradistinction Seaou-hed, 'The Study of Youth,' commonly precedes the other in education. The Ta-heo proceeds to show that in the knowledge and government of oneself the economy and government of a family must originate; and going on thence to extend the principle of domestic rule to the government of a province, it deduces from this last the rules and maxims which should prevail in the ordering of the whole empire. The first section of the work is ascribed to Confucius himself, and the remaining ten to his principal disciple. The pithy and condensed style of these celebrated bequests of antiquity may be inferred

from the fact that the text of this work (however it may be swelled by commentaries) contains less than two thousand words; and its contents are briefly summed up as tending "to the improvement of oneself; the regulation of a family; the government of a state; and the rule of an empire." The end and aim of the work is evidently political; and in this instance, as in others, the philosopher and statesman of China commences with morals as the foundation of politics; with the conduct of an individual father in his family, as the prototype of a sovereign's sway over his people. In the sixth section of this work "the beauty of virtue" is inculcated somewhat in the manner of the Stoics, and its practice recommended as a species of enjoyment. There is some wisdom shown in pointing out the importance and utility of rectifying "the motives of action." The following sentence, too, is remarkable :-" He who gains the hearts of the people secures the throne; and he who loses the people's hearts loses the throne." There is

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every reason to believe that the recollection of this has tended to soften in practice the absolute theory of the Chinese government, and contributed to its general quiet and stability.

A very detailed analysis of their classics cannot be attempted in a work of this popular description, and we therefore conclude our notice of the Ta-heo by quoting a maxim from the tenth section, which might be recommended to the notice of European financiers: "Let those who produce revenue be many, and those who consume it few; let the producers have every facility, and let the consumers practise economy: thus there will be constantly a sufficiency of revenue," and (it might have been added) no national debts. There is a fair translation of the Ta-heo, with the text, in Dr. Marshman's

Clavis Sinica; and M. Pauthier has lately published a Latin version at Paris.

2. The title of the second of the Four Books' is Choong-yoong, which means the 'Infallible Medium,' or the juste-milieu. It is an application of the Greek

maxim

ἡ δε μεσοτης εν πασιν ασφαλέστερα,

that "the middle is in all things the safer course." Whatever vicissitudes a man may undergo, he is taught to be always equal and moderate; never haughty or elate in an exalted station, nor base in an humble one. It must not, however, be supposed that the thirty-three sections into which this work is divided are always of a practical nature, for they contain much that is extremely obscure, and sometimes almost unintelligible. The work serves generally to expound the ideas of the Chinese respecting the nature of human virtue. They commonly divide mankind into three great classes:-1. The Shing, perfect or inspired, who are wise or virtuous independently of instruction-the saints of China. 2. The Hien, good or moral, who become so by the aid of study and application. 3. The Yu, vicious or worthless, who degenerate into that state in spite of teaching. The Chinese consider that the nature of man is originally pure and inclined to virtue, and that it becomes vitiated only by the force of evil example, and by being soiled with what they call "the dust of the world." The old Greek poet Hesiod has four lines which define with surprising exactness the above triplicate classification of mankind. He says that

"He indeed is the BEST of men who of himself is wise in all things; Though he is GooD who follows a good instructor;

But he who is neither wise of himself, nor, in listening to another, Remains mindful of advice-this is the WORTHLESS Man."