Monday, July 2, 2012

Mencius - Book 1, Part 2, Chapter 5C

The reply was, 'Formerly, king T'âi was fond of beauty, and loved his wife. It is said in the Book of Poetry,
"Kû-kung T'an-fû
Came in the morning, galloping his horse,
By the banks of the western waters,
As far as the foot of Ch'î hill,
Along with the lady of Chiang;
They came and together chose the site for their settlement."
At that time, in the seclusion of the house, there were no dissatisfied women, and abroad, there were no unmarried men. If your Majesty loves beauty, let the people be able to gratify the same feeling, and what difficulty will there be in your attaining the royal sway?'
~ James Legge translation via nothingistic.org ~
Go here to read the introductory post to this serialized version of the Works of Mencius.

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