Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 27.djvu/353

 14. 𝖅ǎng-𝖟ze asked, "In a case of the mourning for five months, may (the principal) take part in the other sacrifices (of mourning) ?"

Confucius said, "Why speak only of the mourning for five months? In all cases from the mourning for three years downwards, (the principals) take part in those sacrifices."

𝖅ǎng-𝖟ze said, "Would not this be making the mourning of little importance, and giving (undue) importance to the sacrifices?"

Confucius said, "In the mourning sacrifices for the son of Heaven and the prince of a state, none but those who wear the sackcloth with the jagged edges take part in them. In those for a Great officer, they who wear the sackcloth with the even edges do so. In those for another officer, if the participants be insufficient, they add to them from their brethren who should wear mourning for nine months downwards."

15. 𝖅ǎng-𝖟ze asked, "When acquaintances are in mourning, may they participate in one another's sacrifices?"

Confucius said, "When wearing the three months' mourning, one has no occasion to sacrifice (in his own ancestral temple), and how should he assist another man (out of his own line)?"