Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 3.djvu/161



to the great earth; and I lead the multitude of you to execute the punishment appointed by Heaven.* Heaven compassionates the people. What the people desire, Heaven will be found to give effect to.* Do you aid me, the One man, to cleanse for ever (all within) the four seas. Now is the time!—It should not be lost.'

On (the day) Wû-wû, the king halted on the north of the Ho. When all the princes with their hosts were assembled, the king reviewed the hosts, and made the following declaration:—'Oh! ye multitudes of the west, hearken all to my words.

'I have heard that the good man, doing good, finds the day insufficient; and that the evil man, doing evil, also finds the day insufficient. Now Shâu, the king of Shang, with strength pursues his lawless way. He has driven away the timeworn sires, and cultivates intimacies with wicked men. Dissolute, intemperate, reckless, oppressive, his ministers have become assimilated to him; and they form combinations and contract animosities, and depend on their power to exterminate one another. The innocent cry to Heaven. The odour of such a state is felt on high.*

'Heaven loves the people, and the sovereign should reverently carry out (this mind of) Heaven. Kieh, the sovereign of Hsiâ, would not follow the