Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 3.djvu/213

 they cannot change their way, they shall be classed with those who are to be put to death.'

The king says, 'O Făng, give constant heed to my admonitions. If you do not rightly manage the officers, the people will continue lost in drunkenness.'

' wood of the ze tree'—the Rottlera Japonica, according to Dr. Williams—is mentioned in the Book, and was adopted as the name for it. The ze was esteemed a very valuable tree for making articles of furniture and for the carver's art. The title perhaps intimates that the administrator of government ought to go about his duties carefully and skilfully, as the cabinet-maker and carver deal with their materials.

The Book is wanting in unity. Divided into two chapters, the first may be taken as a charge to 'the prince of Khang.' He is admonished of his duty to promote a good understanding between the different classes in his state, and between them all and the sovereign; and that, in order to this, his rule must be gentle, eschewing the use of punishments. The second chapter is of a different character, containing not the charges of a sovereign, but the admonitions or counsels of a minister, loyally cautioning him, and praying for the prosperity of his reign. We might suppose them the response of Făng to the previous charge, but the text does not indicate the introduction of a new speaker.

The king says, 'O Făng, to secure a good understanding between the multitudes of his people and his ministers (on the one hand), and the great families (on the other); and (again) to secure the same between all the subjects under his charge, and the sovereign:—is the part of the ruler of a state.

'If you regularly, in giving out your orders, say, "My instructors whom I am to follow, my Minister of Instruction, my Minister of War, and my Minister