118 TUB THEISTIC IMPORT OF THE SUNG PHILOSOPHY 



in the narrow sense Love is only one, but in the comprehen- 

 sive sense it includes the four. Therefore Love itself is the 

 original substance of Love, Keverence is Love expressing 

 itself in graceful form, Bighteousness is Love in Judgment, 

 and Wisdom is Love discriminating. It is like the Four 

 Seasons which, though they differ one from another, all 

 proceed from the Spring, Summer is its growth, Autumn is 

 its consummation, and Winter is the storing up of Spring."* 

 The second of the Four Ultimata is Heng ( ^ ) , the 

 Principle of Beauty. In the gloss on the original text of the 

 Yi Ching the meaning of Heng is given as the "assemblage 

 of excellencies" ( ^iH^'f' tk).t But the idea of t'ung 

 (aE), "permeating" or "continuing," is also present. It 

 is the latter meaning which is most emphasized in explaining 

 the relation of the Ultimata to the seasons. Heng finds its 

 manifestation in the Summer season which is the con- 

 tinuance or development of the Vital Impulse of Spring. 

 But the meaning "excellence" also, in this connection, is 

 obviously appropriate. Summer is the Beauty Season just 

 as Spring is the Love season. In fact, the underlying 

 thought in the use of this term seems to be a combination 

 of both ideas — t'ung, "permeating" or "continuing" and 

 chia, "excellence." Pervading all physical phenomena is 

 a peculiar appropriateness and harmony, a surpassing ex- 

 cellence which produces in us a sense of Beauty. And this 

 *' assemblage of excellencies" manifest in physical pheno- 

 mena, this prodigality of Beauty diffused throughout the 

 Cosmos, is due to an ethical principle behind and beneath 

 it all which ranks among the Ultimata of the Universe. 

 It is this meaning which best explains the relation of Heng 

 to its corresponding virtue Eeverence. Poet and artist alike 

 will tell us how near akin are Beauty in the universe and 

 Keverence in man, and there is no need to enlarge upon it. 

 But this is not the only connection.. Eeverence is itself 

 beautiful. It is "Love expressing itself in graceful form." J 

 It is the spirit of worship, the essence of ceremony. Wor- 

 ship and Ceremony are perhaps the most common meanings 

 of the word Li ( H), which in this article is translated 

 Eeverence; and worship and ceremony are, or are intended 

 to be, forms of Beauty. But again, while "beauty" best 

 explains the relation of Heng to Eeverence, the other mean- 

 ing of the WT>rd, namely continuance, is not excluded. Ee- 

 verence is the development of Love just as Summer is the 



* & * & m , Bk. VII, f . 12. 



t Sacred Books of the East, Vol. XVI, p. 408. 



Xifcl'&m, Bk. XLVIII, f. 17. 



