APPENDIX. 399 



" The ways of Heaven are great. It nourishes all things in the universe. Even among the 

 dark countries who dwell hy the icy sea, there is not an individual who is not a child of Heaven 

 and Earth— not one who is not made to love his fellows, and be friendly with them. On this 

 account the sages embraced all men with a common benevolence, without distinction of one from 

 another. The principles for mutual intercourse, all over the globe, are the same— propriety, 

 complaisance, good faith, and Righteousness. By the observance of these a noble harmony is 

 diffused, and the heart of Heaven and Earth is abundantly displayed. 



"If, on the contrary, commerce is conducted merely with a view to gain, quarrels and 

 litigations will spring from it, and it will prove a curse instead of a blessing. Against such a 

 result my ancestors were profoundly anxious. Looking thus at the subject, the one topic of 

 intercourse, it is the means by which people exchange the commodities which they have 

 abundantly, for those which they have not, and one nation succours the distresses of another ; 

 its prosperity is plainly indicated by Providence, and peace, harmony, and good feeling are its 

 true results. Yet if gain — gain — be what is sought for by it, it will only develope the lusts 

 and angry passions of men, and there will be a melancholy termination to what may be begun 

 under good auspices. It is but a hair's breadth which separates those different results ; for, give 

 selfishness the reins, and righteousness is instantly merged in the desire of gain. 



"From ancient times till now, for hundreds and thousands of years, confusion and disorder 

 the rise and fall of states, recourse to arms and words of peace, all have been determined by 

 this. Whenever nations agree to carry on intercourse together, they should speak clearly on 

 this point of righteousness, and then let them exercise their soldiers and discuss the subject of 

 war, that they may be prepared to inflict any punishment which Heaven demands. No 

 sovereign of any kingdom should be unprovided for this. 



"It happens, however, that when peace has long prevailed, these important matters are 

 slighted, and thence comes the decay of States. But, in our country, the due precautions 

 for safety have been well attended to. Our soldiers have been trained ; the art of war has 

 been discussed ; guns have been cast ; ships have been built, day after day, and month after 

 month, for many years, and now our troops are like those of the ancient heroes T'ang and Woo. 

 It is in this way that we have secured the continuance of our peace. If we had not done so, 

 some nefarious ministers or powerful thieves might have arisen to excite confusion, and to begin 

 to plunder, and we should be unable to punish them. All over the globe the strong destroy 

 the weak, and the great swallow the small, as if societies of men were like collections of tigers 

 and wolves. God, by his spiritual pervasion, however, sees, with a parent's heart, how His 

 children impose on and strive with one another. Must he not be grieved ? must he not be 

 moved to pity ? 



" But the world may be compared to a chessboard, and every nation, also. There cannot be 

 wanting worthy princes and heroic lords. Who is he that shall go before his fellows, whip in 

 hand, to execute the laws of Heaven ? Now great changes are occurring. It is a time of revo- 

 lutions, when every prince should set his heart to act in obedience to providence, and labor for 



the good of his people. You now live in a steamship of the United States, and you 



wander over the seas. Have you seen such a man as I indicate ? If you have not, I pray you, 

 wherever you go, to inculcate the principles I have stated on every sovereign and ruler ; so 

 shall the wishes of Confucius and Mencius, so many centuries after their time, be made to shine 

 conspicuously in the whole world. 



