 Section 14 of Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern, Volume 9. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org, recording by Avae in June 2019. Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern, Volume 9. Section 14, The Literature of China by Robert K. Douglas The distinguishing feature and the crowning glory of the Chinese nation is its literature. It is true that the Chinese can boast of an ancient empire of a time-honored civilization, of conquests in the fields of science and, in spite of recent events, in the field of battle. But in the mind of every true son of Han, these titles to fame sink into insignificance, before that of the possession of a literature which dates back to a time when the western world was yet in a state of barbarism, and which, as centuries have rolled by, has been worthily supplemented in every branch of knowledge. It may now be accepted as beyond dispute that the Chinese migrated into China from southwestern Asia about 2300 BC, bringing with them a knowledge of writing, and in all probability, the beginnings of a literature. In the records of that distant past, history and fable are so closely intermingled that it is difficult to pronounce definitely upon any subject treated in them, and we are compelled to seek in comparative philology for reasonable explanations of many points which Chinese chroniclers are content to leave, not from want of assertion, in the mists of uncertainty. By common consent it is acknowledged that the Yi King, Book of Changes, is the oldest work extant in Chinese literature, though other works, of which only have come down to us, were contemporaneously current in the country. A peculiar veneration is naturally felt by the Chinese for this sole surviving wave from a past literature, and from the time of Confucius downward, scholars of every age have attempted to explain its mystic pages. The basis of the work is popularly believed to be eight diagrams which are said to have been designed by Fu He, BC 2852, and which by subdivision have become multiplied into 64. One of these stands at the head of each of the 64 chapters into which the work is now divided. Following these diagrams is in each case an initial character, with short phrases which have been held by Confucius and every subsequent native commentator to explain the meaning of the diagrams. But the key to the puzzle was denied to these scholars who made confusion worse, confounded by their attempts to make sense to that which was unintelligible to them. So mysterious a text was naturally believed to be a work on divination, and, accepting this cue, the commentators devoted their energies to forcing into the procrastin bed of divination the disjointed phrases which follow the diagrams. The solution of the mystery, which had escaped the keen study of five-and-twenty centuries of native scholars, was discovered by the late professor Therieu de la Couperie, who, by many irrefragable proofs demonstrated that the Yi King consists of old fragments of early times in China, mostly of a lexical character. With this explanation the futility of the attempts of the native scholars to translate it as a connected text at once becomes apparent. A large proportion of the chapters are merely syllabaries, similar to those of Caldea. The initial character represents the word to be explained, and the phrases following express its various meanings. An excellent translation of the Yi King, as it is understood by native scholars, was published by Professor Legge in the Sacred Books of the East, 1882, and a comparison of his translation of the seventh chapter with Professor Therieu de la Couperie's rendering of the same passage must be enough to convince the most skeptical that even if he is not absolutely correct, the native scholars must undoubtedly be wrong. The chapter is headed by a diagram consisting of five divided lines and one undivided, and the initial character is sè, which is described in modern dictionaries as meaning a teacher, a instructor, model, an army, a poet, a multitude, the people, all, laws, and elder. Of the phrases which follow Professor Legge gives the following rendering. Sè indicates how, in the case which it supposes, with firmness and correctness, and a leader of, age and experience, there will be good fortune and no error. The first line, divided, shows the host going forward according to the rules for such a movement. If these be no good, there will be evil. The second line, undivided, shows the leader in the midst of his host. There will be good fortune and no error. The king has thrice conveyed to him the orders of his favor. The third line, divided, shows how the host may possibly have many inefficient leaders. There will be evil. The fourth line, divided, shows the host in retreat. There is no error. The fifth line, divided, shows birds in the fields, which it will be advantageous to seize and destroy. In that case, there will be no error. If the oldest son leads the host, and younger men, idly occupy offices assigned to them, however firm and correct he may be, there will be evil. The topmost line, divided, shows the great ruler delivering his charges, appointing some to be rulers of states, and others to undertake the hardship of clans, but small men should not be employed in such positions. It is impossible to read such an extract as the above, without being convinced that the explanation was not that which was intended by the author or authors, and on the doctrine of probabilities, a perusal of the following version by Professor Tidella Couperry would incline us to accept his conclusions. But his theory does not rest on probabilities alone. He is able to support it with many substantial proofs, and though exception may possibly be taken to some of his renderings of individual phrases, his general views may be held to be firmly established. This is the version of the chapter quoted above, with the exception of the words of good or ill omen. Se is a righteous great man. The Se defines laws not biased. The center of the army. The three conveying orders, officers of the sovereign. Se is also corpse-like. Se is an assistant officer. In the fields are birds, so called. Many take the name. The elder sons are the leaders of the army. The younger are the passive multitude. Great princes instructing. The group of men who have helped in the organization of the kingdom. People gathered by the Wu flag. From what has been said, as well as from the above extracts, it will be observed that to all except the native scholars who imagine that they see in its pages deep divinatory lore, the chief interest of the Yi king lies in the linguistic and ethnographical indications which it contains, and which at present we can but dimly discern. It is difficult to assign a date to it, but it is certain that it existed before the time of King Wen, B.C. 1143, who, with his son, the Duke of Chou, edited the text and added a commentary to it. That parts of it are very much earlier than this period there can be no doubt, and it is safe to assume that in the oldest portion of the work we have one of the first literary efforts of the Chinese. It was not, however, until the time of Confucius, that the foundations of the national literature may be said to have been laid. From constant references in the early histories it is obvious that before that period a literature of a certain kind existed. The Chinese have an instinctive love of letters, and we know from the records that to the courts of the various princes were attached historians, whose duty it was to collect the folklore songs of the people of the various states. If a man were permitted to make all the ballots of a nation, he need not care who should make its laws, said Sir Andrew Fletcher of Salton. So thought the Chinese legislatures, who designed their enactments with direct regard to the dispositions of the people as displayed in their songs. At the time of Confucius, 551 to 579 B.C., a large collection of these ballots existed in the archives of the sovereign state of Chou, and as is generally believed, the sage revised the collection and, omitting those he considered unworthy of preservation, formed an edition containing 305 pieces. This work has come down to us under the title of the Shi King or Book of Olds. The ballots are just such as we should expect to find under the circumstances. They are plainly the utterances of the people in a primitive state of civilization, who nevertheless enjoyed considerable freedom, and though they occasionally had to lament the tyranny of individual princes, they cannot be described as having been among the downtrodden nations of the earth. The domesticity which is still a distinctive feature of Chinese life figures largely in them, and the filial piety which to the present day is so highly esteemed finds constant expression. The measure in which the Olds have been handed down to us makes it difficult to understand how any rhythm could be found in them. With few exceptions they are all written in lines of four characters each, and as read in the present day, consisted therefore of only four syllables. This seems to be so stunted and unnatural a meter that one is inclined to accept Professor Tide la Coupérise's suggestion, which he had much to say, that at the time at which they were sung, the characters which now represent a syllable each were polysyllabic. It would seem probable that certainly in some cases compound characters were pronounced as compounded of syllables in accordance with their component parts, as certain of them are read by the Japanese at the present time. Numerous translations of the Olds into European languages have been made, and the following extracts from Professor Legge's rendering of the Second Ode, celebrating the industry and filial piety of the reigning queen, give a good idea of the general tone of the pieces. Suite was the scene. The spreading dolicus extended far down to the valley's depths, with leaves luxuriant. The Orioles fluttered around and on the bushy trees in throngs collected, whence their pleasant notes resounded far in richest melody. Now back to my old home, my parents dear to see I go, the matron I have told who will announcement make. Meanwhile my clothes, my private clothes I wash and rinse my robes. Which of them need be rinsed and which need not? My parents dear to visit back I go. Santuari Ode's which Confucius found collected ready to his hand, and faithful to his character of transmitter of the wisdom of ancients, he made them the common property of his countrymen. But these were not the only records at the court of Chou which attracted his attention. He found their historical documents containing the leading events in the history of the Chinese states from the middle of the 23rd century BC to 721. These curious records of a past time possessed an irresistible attraction for him. By constant study he made them his own, and with loving care collated and edited the texts. These fragments are, from a historical point of view, of great value, and they incidentally furnish evidence of the fact that China was not always the stage on which the Chinese people have played their parts. There is no sign in these records of the first steps in ethics and science which one would expect to find in the primitive history of a race. The utterances of the sovereigns and sages, with which they abound, are marked by a comparatively matured knowledge and an advanced ethical condition. The knowledge of astronomy displayed, though not profound, is considerable and the directions given by the emperor Yao to his astronomer's royal are quite such as may have been given by any emperor of China until the advent of the Jesuit missionaries in the 17th century, and the moral utterances of the sovereigns and their ministers are on a par with the sentiments expressed in the Peking Gazette at the present time. Virtue, said the minister Yi addressing his emperor Yu, is the basis of good government and this consists first in procuring for the people the things necessary for their sustenance such as water, fire, metals, wood and grain. The ruler must also think of rendering them virtuous and of preserving them from whatever can injure life and health. When you would caution them, use gentle words. When you would correct, employ authority. Do not be ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes was another piece of advice uttered 40 centuries ago which has a peculiarly modern ring about it. According to the system in vogue at the Chinese courts the duty of recording historical events was confided to historians of the right hand and of the left. The latter was given the duty of recording the speeches and edicts of the sovereigns and their ministers and to the first, that of compiling chronicles of events. The historians who had placed on record the documents which Confucius edited in the Shu King or Book of History were historians of the left hand and in the only original work which we have by the sage the spring and autumn annals he constituted himself a historian of the right. In this work he traces the history of his native state of Lu from the year BC 722 to BC 484 and in the boldest and most calendar-like style enumerates without any comment or expression of opinion the facts which he considers of sufficient importance to report. However faulty we may consider his manner of treatment any criticism should be leveled against the system rather than against the author. But in other respects Confucius cannot shelter himself under the plea of usage. As a historian it was his bounden duty above all things to tell the truth and to distribute praise and blame without fear or favor. In this elementary duty Confucius failed and has left as a record in which he has obviously made events to chime in with his preconceived ideas and opinions. Considering the assumption of virtue with which Confucius always clothed himself this is the more noticeable and still more it is remarkable that his disciples should be so overcome by the glamour which attached to his name that his obvious lapses from the truth are not only left unnoted but the general tone and influence of the work are described in the most eulogistic terms. The world, said Mencius, has fallen into decay and right principles have dwindled away. Perverse discourses and oppressive deeds had again wax and rife. Cases had occurred of ministers who had murdered their rulers and of sons who had murdered their fathers. Confucius was afraid and made the tune chew. So great we are told was the effect of the appearance of this work that rebellious ministers quaked with fear and undutiful sons were overcome with terror. Love of truth is not a characteristic of the Chinese people and unhappily their greatest men, Confucius among them, have shown their countrymen a lamentable example in this respect. So great is the admiration of the people for this work of Confucius that by universal consent the tune chew has through all ages been included among the five classics of the country. Three others have already been spoken of and there remains only one more, the Book of Rights, to mention. This book is the embodiment of and authority for the ceremonial which influences the national policy of the country and directs the individual destinies of the people. We are informed on the highest authority that there are 300 rules of ceremony and 3,000 rules of behavior. Under a code so overwhelmingly oppressive it is difficult to imagine how the race can continue to exist. But five and twenty centuries of close attention to the Book of Rights have so molded the nation within the lines of the ceremonial which it prescribes that acquiescence with its rules has become a second nature with the people and requires no more guiding effort on their part than does the automatic action of the nerves and limbs at the bidding of the brain. Within its voluminous pages every act which one man should perform to another is carefully and fully provided for and this applies not only to the daily life of the people but also to the official acts of the whole hierarchy of power from the emperor downward. No court ceremony is undertaken without its guidance and no official deed is done throughout the length and breadth of the eighteen provinces of the empire without its sanction. Its spirit penetrates every yamen and permeates every household. It regulates the sacrifices which should be offered to the gods. It prescribes the forms to be observed by the Son of Heaven in his intercourse with his ministers. It lays down the behavior proper to officials of all ranks and it directs the conduct of the people in every relation of life. It supplements in a practical form the teachings of Confucius and others and forms the most important link in the chain which binds the people to the chariot wheels of the sages. Of canonical authority equal to the five classics, if not greater, are the four books in which are recorded the Ipsissima Verba of Confucius. These are the Lu Nyu or Sayings of Confucius, twenty books which contains a detailed description of the sages' system of philosophy, the Ta Hsiao, the Great Learning, ten chapters, the Zhong Yong or the Doctrine of the Mean, 33 chapters and the development of Confucianism as enunciated by his great follower Mencius in the Meng Tzu, seven books. These works cover the whole field of Confucianism and as such their contents claim the allegiance and demand the obedience of ninety-nine out of every hundred China men. To the European student their contents are somewhat disappointing. The system they enunciate once completeness and life although the sentiments they express are unexceptionable as for example when Confucius said hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles have no friends not equal to yourself when you have faults do not fear to abandon them. Admirable maxims such as these flowed from his lips in abundance but he could offer no reason why a man should rather obey the advice thus presented than his own inclination. He had no reward to offer for virtue and no terrors with which to threaten the doers of evil. In no sense do his teachings as they came from his lips constitute a religion. He incalcated no worship of the deity and he refrained altogether from declaring his belief or disbelief in a future existence. The author of the great learning commonly said to be the disciple Tseng describes the object of his work to be to illustrate illustrious virtue, to renovate the people and to rest in the highest excellence. And following on the lines indicated by his great master he lays down the ethical means by which these admirable ends may in his opinion be attained. The doctrine of the mean takes for its text the injunction that the states of equilibrium and harmony exist in perfection and a happy order will prevail throughout heaven and earth and all things will be nourished and flourish. The author of this work, Tzu Su, goes deeper into the motives of human conduct than Confucius himself. First he shows clearly how the path of duty will be traced to its origin in heaven and is unchangeable while the substance of it is provided in ourselves and may not be departed from. Next he speaks of the importance of preserving and nourishing this and of exercising a watchful self-scrutiny with reference to it. Finally he speaks of the meritorious achievements and transforming influence of sage and spiritual men in their highest extent. From the teachings of Mencius 372 to 289 BC we see a distinct advance on the doctrines of Confucius. He was a man of far more practical frame of mind than his great predecessor and possessed the courage necessary to speak plainly in the presence of kings and rulers. His knowledge of political economy was considerable and he brought to the test of experience many of the opinions and doctrines which Confucius was willing to express only in the abstract. Filial piety was his constant theme. The richest fruit of benevolence is this, he said, the service of one's parents. The richest fruit of righteousness is this, the obeying of one's elder brothers. The richest fruit of wisdom is this, the knowing of these two things and not departing from them. These five classics and four books may be sedged to be the foundations on which all Chinese literature has been based. The period when Confucius and Mencius taught and wrote was one of great mental activity all over the world. While the wise men of China were proclaiming their system of philosophy, the seven sages of Greece were pouring out words of wisdom in the schools at Athens and the sound of the voice of Buddha, died 480 BC, had hardly ceased to be heard under the Bodhi tree in central India. From such beginnings arose the literatures which have since added fame and splendor to the three countries in Asia and Europe. In China, the impetus given by these pioneers of learning was at once felt and called into existence a succession of brilliant writers who were as distinguished for the boldness of their views as for the freedom with which they gave them utterance. The main subject discussed by these men was the principle underlying the Confucian system, namely that man's nature is in its origin perfectly good and that so long as each one remains uncontaminated by the world and the things of the world, the path of virtue is to him the path of least resistance. While therefore a man is able to remain unenticed by the temptations which necessarily surround him, he advances in spotless purity towards perfection until virtue becomes in him so confirmed a habit that neither the stings of conscience nor the exertion of intellectual effort is required to maintain him in his position of perfect goodness and of perfect peace. These are still the opinions of orthodox Confucianists but at different times scholars have arisen who from their own experiences in the world have come to conclusions diametrically opposed to those taught by the sage. In their opinion the Salmist was right when he said the heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Scarcely had Confucius been gathered to his fathers when the philosopher Sun enunciated this view and since then the doctrine has formed the chief ground of contention among all schools of philosophy down to the present day. By certain writers it has been held that in man's nature there is a mixture of good and evil and by no one was this view more ably expounded than by the philosopher Chu He, AD 1130-1200. In season and out of season this great writer who has done more than anyone else to elucidate the dark pages of the classics taught that good and evil were present in the heart of every man and that just as in nature a duality of powers is necessary to the existence of nature itself so good and evil are inseparably present in the heart of every human being. But there were others who felt that the bold and conventional system proclaimed by Confucius was insufficient to satisfy the desire for the supernatural which is implanted in men of every race and of every climb and then at once a school arose headed by Lao Tzu, 6th century BC the old philosopher which adopting the spirit of Brahminism taught its sectaries to seek by self-abnegation freedom from the entanglements of the world and a final absorption into the deity. The minds of most China men are not attuned to the apprehension of philosophical subtleties and the wisdom imparted by Lao Tzu to his countrymen in the pages of his Tao Te King the Book of Reason and Virtue soon became debased into a superstitious system by a succession of charlatans who adopting Lao Tzu's doctrine that death was only another form of life taught their followers to seek to prolong the pleasures of the present state of existence by searching in the mazes of alchemy for the elixir of life and the philosopher's stone. Before the faith reached this degraded position however several writers supplemented and enlarged on the doctrines advanced by Lao Tzu for most among these were Li Tzu and Zhuang Tzu who were both men of great metaphysical ability and whose speculations though not always in harmony with those of their great master helped to some extent to elucidate his system and certainly add considerable interest to it. Around the systems of Confucius and Lao Tzu a considerable literature grew up which was cherished, copied and discussed by all those scholars who had time to spare from the contemplation of the records of states into which the country was divided. These records had assumed a permanent place in the literature of the land and were bound up with the feudal system which then existed. The time came however when this feudal system was destined to come to an end. In the third century before Christ a leader arose who proclaimed the states an empire and himself as emperor. To so conservatively minded a people as the Chinese the revolution was difficult of acceptance and Qi Huang Ti seeking to facilitate the transfer of their allegiance ordered the destruction of all books which might preserve the memory of a bygone constitution. With ruthless severity the ukaz was put into force and all works with the exception of those on medicine and alchemy were thrown to the flames. Happily no tyrant however powerful can enforce the complete fulfillment of such an edict and in spite of threats and persecutions events showed that through all that fiery time manuscripts had been carefully preserved and that men had been found ready to risk their lives in the sacred cause of learning. Fortunately the dynasty founded by Qi Huang Ti was short-lived and in 202 BC a revolution placed Cao Ti the founder of the Han dynasty on the throne. With commendable wisdom Cao Ti placed himself at once in complete harmony with the national mind and had no sooner assumed the imperial yellow than he notified his desire to restore the national literature to its former status. Under his fostering care manuscripts which had lain hidden were brought out from their places of concealment and to these works were added others which were dictated by scholars who had treasured them in their memories. That the works thus again brought out were numerous is proved by the fact that in the catalogue of the imperial library of the Han dynasty BC 202 to AD 25 mention is made of 11312 works consisting of volumes on the classics philosophy, poetry, military tactics mathematics and medicine. It was during this dynasty that the national history and poetry took their rise in the shapes with which we are now familiar. After the night of turmoil and darkness which had just passed away men as though invigorated by the time of sterility devoted themselves to the production of cultured prose and original though pedantic poetry. It was then that Summa Qian who has been called the herodotus of China wrote his Xi Chi historical records which embraces a period of between two and three thousand years namely from the reign of Huang Ti BC 2697 to the reign of Wu Ti of the Han dynasty BC 140 to 86. Following the example of this great chronicler Pan Ky compiles the records of the Han dynasty in 120 books and it is on the model thus laid down that all succeeding dynastic history of China have been written. Almost without variation the materials of these vast depositories of information are arranged in the following order. One, imperial records consisting of the purely political events which occurred in each reign. Two, memoirs including treatises on mathematical chronology rights, music, jurisprudence political economy, state sacrifices astronomy, elemental influences geography, literature, biographies and records of the neighbouring countries. Temporar non-anime mutant and in the poetry of this period we see a close resemblance to the spirit which breathes in the odes collected by Confucius. The measure shows sign of some elasticity five characters to align taking the place of the older four-syllable meter but the ideas which permeate it are the same. Like all Chinese poetry it is rather quaint than powerful and is rather noticeable for romantic sweetness than for the expression of strong passions. There is for the most part a somewhat melancholy ring about it. The authors love to lament their absence from home or the oppressed condition of the people or to enlarge on the depressing effect of rain or snow and find sadness in the strange beauty of the surrounding scenery or the loveliness of a flower. The diction is smooth and a fancy wondering but its lines do not much stir the imagination or arouse the passions. These are criticisms which apply to Chinese poetry of all ages. During the Tang and Song dynasties AD 618 to 1127 periods which have been described as forming the Augustan ages of Chinese literature poets flourished abundantly and for the better expression of their ideas they adopted a meter of seven characters or syllables instead of the earlier and more restricted measures. A few Li Tai Pai and a host of others enriched the national poetry at the time and varied the subjects which had been the common themes of earlier poets by singing the praises of wine. To be a poet it was considered necessary by them that a man should be a wine beaver and their verses describe with enthusiasm the pleasures of the cup and the joys of intoxication. The following is a specimen of such an old taken from the works of Li Tai Pai. If life be nothing but an empty dream why vex oneself about the things of time? My part shall be to drain the flowing cup and sleep away the fumes of drowsy wine. When roused to life again I straightway ask the bird which sings in yonder leafy trees what season of the year had come its round. The spring he says when every breath of air suggests a song. Sad and disturbed I heave a gentle sigh and turn again to brightening cheering wine and sing until the moon shines and until sleep and oblivion close my eyes again. But before the time of the Tang dynasty a new element had been introduced into the national literature. With the introduction of Buddhism the Chinese became acquainted with religious doctrines and philosophical ideas of which until then they had only been faintly conscious from their contact with the debased form of Brahminical teaching which under the name of Taoism had long existed in the land. A complete knowledge of the teachings of Sakya Muni was however imparted to them by the arrival at the beginning of the first century of our era of two shamans from India who settled at Lohyang in the province of Honan and who translated the Sanskrit sutra in 42 sections into Chinese. From this time onward a constant succession of Buddhist missionaries visited China and labored with indefatigable industry both by oral teaching and by the translation of Sanskrit works into Chinese to convert the people to their faith. The knowledge thus acquired was of great advantage to the literature of the country. It enriched it with new ideas and added wider knowledge to its pages. The history and geography of India with which scholars had previously been scarcely acquainted became, though indistinctly, matters of knowledge to them. Already Fa Xian, the great forerunner of Chinese Buddhist pilgrims BC 399, had visited India and had described in his Fu Kuo Qi the records of Buddhist countries, the wonders which he had seen in Hindustan. With the spread of Buddhism in China a desire to follow in his footsteps prompted others to undertake the long and arduous journey across the Mongolian steppes and over the passes of the Himalayas into the plains of India. Sun Yun in the 6th century and Hu An Tsang in the 7th are conspicuous among those who undertook this toilsome pilgrimage in the interest of the faith. Notwithstanding the occasional influx of new sentiments, however, the circumscribed circle of knowledge which was within the reach of Chinese scholars and the poverty of their vocabulary have always necessarily limited the wealth of their ideas and at an early period of the history of the country we see symptoms of sterility creeping over the national mind. It is always easier to remember than to think and it cannot but be looked upon as a sign of decadence in literature when collections of ready-made knowledge take the place of original compositions and when scholars devote themselves to the production of anthologies and encyclopedias instead of seeking out new thoughts and fresh branches of learning. In the 6th century a period which coincides with the invention of printing there was first shown that this position to collect extracts from works of merit into anthologies which have ever since been such a marked peculiarity of Chinese literature that the effect of these works and of the encyclopedias which are in a sense allied to them has been detrimental to the national mind there cannot be a doubt. Scholars are no longer required to search for themselves in all the nuggets of knowledge in the minds of learning. They have but to turn to the great depositories of carefully extracted information and they find ready to their hand the opinions and thoughts of all those who are considered to be authorities on the subject with which they desire to acquaint themselves. From the purposes of cram for students at the competitive examinations these treasuries of knowledge are of inestimable value and by their help scholars who have neither depth of knowledge nor power of thought are able to make a show of erudition which is as hollow as it is valueless. During the Ming dynasty 1368 to 1644 this class of literature may be said to have reached its highest development. In the reign of the Emperor Yun Luo 1403 to 1425 was compiled the largest encyclopedia which has ever seen the light. This gigantic work which was entitled Yun Luo Tatian consisted of no fewer than 22,877 books and covered every branch of knowledge possessed by the Chinese. Possibly owing to its immense extent it was never published and such volumes as still survived the destroying influences of neglect and decay are yet to be found in manuscript on the shelves of the Imperial Library. Inspired perhaps by the example thus set the Emperor Kang He of the present dynasty appointed a commission of scholars to compile a similar work and after 40 years had been consumed in extracting from the past literatures every passage bearing on the 6109 headings which it was the will of Kang He should be illustrated. The compilers were able to lay before their sovereign a work consisting of 5,020 volumes which they entitled Unlike Yun Luo's great work this one was printed and though only as it is said a hundred copies were issued some still remain of the original edition. One such copy complete in every particular is to be seen at the British Museum. For completeness from a Chinese point of view this work stands out preeminently above all others but owing to the very limited number of copies it has never superseded the Wen Xing Chun Kao by Ma Tuan Lin which though published 400 years earlier still holds its own in popular estimation. Much has been written by Chinese authors on scientific subjects but the substance is remarkable for its extent rather than for its value. In each branch of knowledge they have advanced under foreign influence up to a certain point and beyond that they have been unable to go. Their knowledge of astronomy which is of Kaldian origin is sufficient to enable them to calculate eclipses and to recognize the precession of the equinoxes but it has left them with confused notions on subjects which are matters of common knowledge among western people. It is the same in the case of medicine. They understand certain general principles of therapeutics and the use of certain herbs but their knowledge is purely empirical and their acquaintance with surgery is of the most elementary kind. It is perhaps in their novels and plays however that the most market defects in the national mind become apparent. The symptoms of education and the consequent mental habit in vogue are the outcomes of that lack of imagination which distinguishes the people and which finds its reflection in all those branches of literature which are more directly dependent on the flow of new and striking ideas. There is little delineation of character either in their novels or their plays. The personages portrayed are all either models of virtue and learning or examples of ignorance and turpitude. Their actions are mechanical and the incidents described have little or no connection with one another. The stories are in fact arranged much as a clever child might be expected to arrange them and they are by no means free from the weary iterations in which untutored minds are apt to indulge. Chinese scholars are conscious of these defects and attempt to explain them during novel writing is being beneath the serious attention of all those who are interested in learning. This view is commonly accepted by their learned world who divide literature into four classes that is classics, history, philosophy and Bell Lecture. The last of these does not include either romances or plays and with the exception of two or three standard works of fiction and the hundred plays of the Yuan dynasty AD 1280 to 1368 no specimens of either of these two classes of literature would ever be found in a library of standing. But this contempt for works of imagination is probably less the cause of their inferiority than the result of it. The providence which has given China men untiring diligence inexhaustible memories and a love of learning has not vouchsafed to touch their tongues with the live call of imagination. They are plodding students and though quite capable of narrating events and of producing endless dissertations on the interpretation of the classics and the true meaning of the philosophy on which they are based are entirely unprovided with that power of fancy which is able to bring before the eye as in the living picture the phantoms of the brain. End of section 14 Section 15 of Library of the World's Best Literature Ancient and Modern Volume 9 This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Avae in July 2019 Library of the World's Best Literature Ancient and Modern Volume 9 Section 15 Selected Maxims on morals, philosophy of life, character, circumstances etc. from the Chinese moralists Fieldial Piety and Fraternal Submission Are they not the root of all benevolent actions? Confucian Analects He or Her Chapter 2 Work of duty lies in what is near and men seek for it in what is remote. The work of duty lies in what is easy and men seek for it in what is difficult. If each man would love his parents and show due respect to his elders the whole empire would enjoy tranquility. Mencius Part 1 Chapter 11 Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles. Confucian Analects He or Her Chapter 8 If what we see is doubtful how can we believe what is spoken behind the back? Inscription in Celestial Influence Temple Words which are simple while their meaning is far reaching are good words. Principles which are held as compendious while their application is extensive are good principles. The words of the superior man are not necessarily high sounding but great principles are contained in them. Mencius Jinxin Chapter 32 The superior man is correctly firm and not firm merely. Confucian Analects Wei Lingkeng Chapter 36 For one word a man is often deemed to be wise and for one word he is often deemed to be foolish. We ought to be careful indeed in what we say. Confucian Analects Observations of Tse Kun In archery we have something like the way of the superior man. When the archer misses the center of the target he turns round and seeks for the cause of his failure in himself. Doctrine of the Mean Chapter 14 God leads men to tranquil security. Xu King 2 Numerous Officers Chapter 2 The glory and tranquility of a state may arise from the excellence of one man. Xu King 2 Speech of the Duke of Qin Mencius said the superior man has two things in which he delights and to be ruler of the empire is not one of them. That his father and mother are both alive and that the condition of his brother affords no cause for anxiety. This is one delight. Then when looking up he has no occasion for shame before heaven and below he has no occasion to blush before men. This is a second delight. Mencius Qin Xin Chapter 20 Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom associated with virtue. Confucian Analects Yang Huo Chapter 17 I am pleased with your intelligent virtue not loudly proclaimed nor portrayed without extravagance or changeableness without consciousness of effort on your part in accordance with the pattern of God. Xu King Major Odes Huang Yi Learning without thought is labour lost. Thought without learning is perilous. Confucian Analects Wei Qing Chapter 15 The ordinances of heaven it is impossible to be a superior man. Confucian Analects Yao Yue Chapter 3 Be tremblingly fearful. Be careful night and day. Men trip not on mountains. They trip on ant hills. Yao's Warning Poem from Huo Nan The ways of God are not invariable. On the good doer he sends down all blessings and on the evil doer he sends down all miseries. Xu King Instructions of A. Chapter 4 In the way of superior man there are four things, not one of which have I as yet attained. To serve my father as I would require my son to serve me. To serve my prince as I would require my minister to serve me. To tell the brother as I would require my younger brother to serve me. To set the example in behaving to a friend as I would require him to behave to me. Doctrine of the Mean Chapter 13 Virtue has no invariable model. A supreme regard to what is good gives the model of it. What is good has no invariable characteristic to be supremely guarded. It is found where there is conformity to the uniform decision of the mind. Xu King Both possessed pure virtue. Chapter 3 This King One watchfully and reverently with entire intelligence served God and so secured the great blessing. Xie King Decade of King One The Second This nature to good is like the tendency of water to flow downwards. There are none but have this tendency to good just as all water flows downwards. Mencius Cao Xie Part 1, Chapter 2 Virtue is the root. Wealth the result. The Great Learning Chapter 10 Its sovereigns on their part were humbly careful not to lose the favor of God. Xu King, too numerous officers, Chapter 8 He who loves his parents will not dare to incur the risk of being hated by any man and he who reveres his parents will not dare to incur the risk of being condemned by any man. Cao King Filial Piety, Chapter 2 Do not speak lightly. Your words are your own. Do not say this is of little importance. No one can hold my tongue for me. Words are not to be cast away. Every word finds its answer. Every good deed has its recompense. Xie King, too Major Odes, the Yi Looked at in friendly intercourse with superior men you make your countenance harmonious and mild anxious not to do anything wrong. Looked at in your chamber you ought to be equally free from shame before the light which shines in. Do not say this place is not public. No one can see me here. The approaches of spiritual beings cannot be calculated beforehand but the more should they not be slighted. Xie King, too Major Odes, the Yi Let me not say that heaven is high aloft above me. It ascends and descends about our doing. It daily inspects us wherever we are. Xie King, one Sacrificial Odes of cow Od King, Qi What future misery have they and odd day to endure who talk of what is not good in others? Mencius Lay Loh Part 2, Chapter 9 Above all sternly keep yourself from drink. Shu King Announcement about drunkenness Chapter 8 Of ten thousand evils ludeness is the hit Of one hundred virtues filial piety is the first. Confucian Proverb There are three thousand offences against which the five punishments are directed and there is not one of them greater than being unfilial. Xie King The five punishments Benevolence is man's mind and righteousness is man's path. How lamentable is it to neglect the path and not pursue it to lose the mind and not know to seek it again. Mencius Part 1, Chapter 11 Xie King asked, saying What do you say of a man who is loved by all the people of his village? The master replied We may not for that accord our approval of him. And what do you say of him who is hated by all the people of his village? The master said We may not for that conclude that he is bad. It is better than either of these cases that the good in the village love him and the bad hate him. Confucian Analects Xie Lu, Chapter 24 Men must be decided on what they will not do and then they are able to act with vigor in which they ought. Mencius Lay Low Part 2, Chapter 8 Learn as if you could not read your object and were always fearing also lest you should lose it. Confucian Analects Xie P. Chapter 17 King I looked on the people as he would on a man who was wounded and he looked toward the right path as if he could not see it. Mencius Lay Low Part 2, Chapter 20 To nourish the heart there is to make the desires few. Mencius Jin Xin, Chapter 35 When heaven is about to confer a great office on any man it first exercises his mind with suffering and his sinews and bones with toil. It exposes his body to hunger and subjects him to extreme poverty. It confounds his undertakings. By all these methods it stimulates his mind hardens his nature and supplies his incompetencies. Mencius Khao Tsé Part 2, Chapter 15 You should ever stand in awe of the punishment of heaven. Shu King too Prince of Low on punishments. Great Heaven is intelligent and is with you in all your doings. Shu King too Major Odes the Pan Ke Lu asked about serving the spirits of the dead. The master said while you are not able to serve men how can you serve their spirits? Ke Lu added I venture to ask about death. He was answered while you do not know life how can you know about death? Confucian Analect Xin Qin Chapter 11 For all affairs let there be adequate preparation. With preparation there will be no calamities. Shu King Charge of Yue Chapter 1 As to what the superior man would feel to be a calamity King. He does nothing which is not according to propriety. If there should befall him one morning's calamity the superior man does not account it a calamity. Mencius Lay Low Part 2, Chapter 28 God is with you have no doubts in your heart. Shu King Decade of King 1 What proceeds from you will return to you again. Mencius King Hui Part 2, Chapter 12 Show reverence for the weak. Shu King Timber of the Tse Tree Chapter 3 When the year becomes old then we know how the pine and the cypress are the last to lose their leaves. That is, men are not known in times of adversity. Confucian Analyze Tse Han Chapter 27 By nature men are nearly alike. By practice they get to be wide apart. Confucian Analyze Yang Ho, Chapter 2 All are good at first but few prove themselves to be so at the last. Tse King Major Odds The Tongue In serving his parents a son may remonstrate with them but gently. When he sees that they do not incline to follow his advice he shows an increased degree of reverence but does not abandon his purpose. And should they punish him he does not allow himself to murmur. Confucian Analyze Lay Yin, Chapter 18 The great God has conferred on the inferior people a moral sense compliance with which would show their nature invariably right. Tse King Announcement of Tongue Chapter 2 Confucius said there are three things which the superior man guards against. In youth, when the physical powers are not yet settled he guards against lust. When he is strong and the physical powers are full of vigor he guards against quarrel-someness. When he is old and the animal powers are decayed he guards against covetousness. Confucian Analyze Kei Shei, Chapter 7 He who stops short where stopping short is not allowable will stop short in everything. He who behaves shabbily to those whom he ought to treat well will behave shabbily to all. Mencius Jin Xin, Part 1, Chapter 44 Men are partial when they feel affection and love partial when they despise and dislike partial when they stand in awe and reverence partial when they feel sorrow and compassion partial when they are arrogant and rude. Thus it is that there are few men in the world and that at the same time know the bad qualities of the object of their love or who hate and yet know the excellences of the object of their hatred. The Great Learning, Chapter 8 Heaven's plan in the production of mankind is this that they who are first informed should instruct those who are later in being informed and they who first apprehend should instruct those who are slower to do so. I am one of Heaven's people who first apprehended I will take these principles and instruct these people in them. Mencius Wang Chang Part 1, Chapter 7 From the proverbial philosophy of Confucius copyrighted 1895 by Forster H. Jennings G. P. Putnam's son's publishers. End of Section 15 Section 16 of Library of the World's Best Literature Ancient and Modern Volume 9 This is a LibriVox recording. A LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Dion Jones Salt Lake City, Utah Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern Volume 9 Section 16 Rufus Chot 1799 to 1859 by Albert Stigney Rufus Chot one of the greatest if not the greatest of advocates who have appeared at the English or American bar was one of the most remarkable products of what is ordinarily considered hard, prosaic matter effect New England. He was a man quite apart from the ordinary race of lawyers or New Englanders. He was as different from the typical New Englander as was Hawthorne or Emerson. He had the imagination of a poet and to his imagination singular as it may seem was largely due his success in handling questions of fact before juries. He was born of good old English stock in the southeastern part of the town of Ipswich in the county of Essex and state of Massachusetts on the first day of October 1799. His ancestors had lived in Essex county from a very early date in its history and had filled important public positions. He was born and bred in sight of the sea and his love for it stayed with him through life. One of his most eloquent addresses was on the romance of the sea and in his last illness at Halifax his keenest pleasure was to watch the sailing in front of his windows. Dropping into sleep on one occasion a few days before his death he said to his attendant if a schooner or sloop goes by don't disturb me but if there is a square rigged vessel wake me. Mr. Chote had the ordinary education then given in New England to young men who had a love of learning. He began in the district school from there he went to the academy at Hampton New Hampshire and later he entered Dartmouth College where he graduated the first scholar in his class in 1819. It is hard to find an accurate standard of comparison between the scholarship of that period and that of the present no doubt in our New England colleges of today there is a larger number of young men who have a considerable store of knowledge on many subjects of classical learning but it is very doubtful if the graduates of Harvard and Yale of today are able to read the standard classic authors at the day of their graduation with the ease and accuracy of Mr. Chote at the end of his active professional career in the year 1859. His continued devotion to the classics is shown by the following extract from his journal in the year 1844 while he was a member of Congress one, some professional work must be done every day recent experiences suggest that I ought to be more familiar with evidence and Cohen's develops therefore daily for half an hour I will thumb conscientiously when I come home again in the intervals of actual employment my recent methods of reading accompanying the reports with the composition of arguments upon the points judged may be properly resumed too in my Greek Latin and French readings Odyssey, Thucydides Tacitus, Juvenile and some French orator or critic I need make no change so too Milton, Johnson, Burke Semper in Manu it most asked to my Greek I ought to add a page a day of Crosby's grammar and the practice of parsing every word in my few lines of Homer on Sunday the Greek Testament and Septuagint and French this and the oration of the crown which I will completely master translate, annotate and commit will be enough in this kind if not I will add a translation of a sentence or two from Tacitus a similar extract from his journal under the date of December 15th 1844 reads I begin a great work Thucydides in Bloomfield's new edition with the intention of understanding a difficult and learning something from an instructive writer something for the more and more complicated interior interstate American politics with Thucydides I shall read Walksmouth with historical references and verifications on the assemblies of the Athenians especially I am to meditate and master Daniels Horace Ode 1 11th to 14th translation and notes a pocket edition to be always in pocket throughout his life Mr. Chout kept up his classical studies few of the graduates of our leading colleges today carry from commencement a training which makes the study of the Greek and Latin authors either easy or pleasant Mr. Chout like nearly every lawyer who has ever distinguished himself at the English bar was a monument to the value of the study of the classics as a mere means of training for the active practical work of a lawyer Mr. Chout studied law at Cambridge in the Harvard Law School nearly a year he spent at Washington in the office of Mr. Wirt then Attorney General of the United States this was in 1821 thereafter he was admitted to the bar in September 1823 he opened his office in Salem but soon removed to Danvers where he practiced for four or five years during these earliest years of his professional life he had the fortune which many other brilliant men in his profession have experienced that of waiting and hoping during his first two or three years it is said he was so despondent as to his chances of professional success that he seriously contemplated abandoning the law in time he got his opportunity to show the stuff of which he was made his first professional efforts were in petty cases before justices of the peace very soon however his great ability and his entiring industry and his intense devotion to any cause in his hands brought the reputation which he deserved and reputation brought clients in 1828 he removed to Salem the Essex Bar was one of great ability Mr. Chote at once became a leader among his contemporaries at that bar was Caleb Cushing Mr. Chote at first had many criminal cases in the year 1830 he was with Mr. Webster one of the counsel for the prosecution in the celebrated white murder case in 1830 he was elected to Congress as a member of the House of Representatives at the age of 31 years at once he laid out a course of study which was to fit him for the duties of his public life and extract from it reads as follows November 4, 1830 Facienda Admunas Nupur Kham Personal Qualities Memory Daily Food Kalper Dumambulo Voice Manor Dernay Current Politics Nautilus Geography Annual Register Regentsers Civil History of United States in Pitkin and Original Sources Examination of Pending Questions Tariff Public Lands Indians Nullifications American and Britain Elegance Writing Practice Words of 20 pages of close writing consisting of memoranda and statements drawn from a multitude of sources on the subjects laid down by him at the beginning as the ones to be investigated in Congress he found himself in competition with many men of marked ability among the members of Congress then from Massachusetts were Mr. Webster in the Senate and in the House John Quincy Adams Edward Everett Nathan Appleton George and Briggs and John Davis in the Senate from other States were Pellig Sprague from Maine one of the ableist jurists this country has produced Samuel Prentice Mr. Clayton and Mr. Benton in the House were James M. Wayne Mr. McDuffie Mr. Polk Mr. Corwin and Mr. Furplank among men of this caliber Mr. Chote at once with ease took rank as one of the first he made but two speeches during the session but these gave him a position which he ever afterwards held among the most eloquent and convincing speakers in public life in April 1833 Mr. Chote was re-elected to Congress at this session he made a speech on the removal of the public deposits by President Jackson from the bank of the United States the following incident shows his power as an orator Benjamin Harden was then a member from Kentucky of the House of Representatives and was himself intending to speak on the same side of the question with Mr. Chote in such cases Mr. Harden's rule was to listen to no other speaker before speaking himself consequently when Mr. Chote began speaking Mr. Harden started to leave the House he waited however for a moment to listen to a few sentences from Mr. Chote and with this result as told in his own words the member from Massachusetts rose to speak and in accordance with my custom I took my hat to leave lingering a moment just to notice the tone of his voice and the manner of his speech was fatal to my resolution I became charmed by the music of his voice and was captivated by the power of his eloquence and found myself wholly unable to move until the last word of his beautiful speech had been uttered at the close of this session Mr. Chote resigned his seat in Congress and went to Boston there to follow the practice of his profession at the Boston Bar he met a remarkably brilliant group of men there were Jeremiah Mason whom Mr. Webster is said to have considered the strongest man that he ever met in any legal contest Franklin Dexter Chief Justice Shaw then at the bar judges Wilde, Hoare and Thomas afterwards of the Massachusetts Supreme Court Mr. Fletcher Judge Benjamin R. Curtis Sydney Bartlett Richard H. Dana William D. Sawyer Henry W. Payne Edward D. Sawyer with others whose names are now almost forgotten these men formed a bar the like of which has seldom if ever been assembled in any one jurisdiction here too Mr. Chote at once came to the front with every talent which could make a man a great advocate with a marvelous memory a keen logical intellect a sound legal judgment he had now acquired a large professional experience and a very complete professional training as has been seen he had a thorough classical training that is of the kind best fitted to his needs his professional studies before beginning his professional practice had been the best then attainable very possibly for him they were quite as good as can be had at any of the law schools of today his range of reading and information was extremely wide he had had several years of experience at Washington in Congress and ever since leaving the law school his mere professional studies had been most severe it is hard to see how any man could be better equipped for professional practice than Mr. Chote was at this time his success at the Boston Bar was phenomenal he was in a contest with giants who were alone could be deemed to dispute with Mr. Chote the place of supremacy the general verdict has been that for pure intellectual power Mr. Webster was the superior but it may well be doubted whether as an all round advocate Mr. Chote did not carry off the poem the common idea of Mr. Chote has been that his marvelous has his great source of strength and success in his forensic contests this is an error eloquent he undoubtedly was few men have ever been more so but unless in frontier communities eloquence alone has never commanded great success at the bar if indeed it has ever existed without strong logical power of convincing intelligent men always depends largely and mainly on soundness of judgment in the selection of positions especially this is so in the profession of the law there have been no doubt many instances where men of eloquence have captivated juries by appeals to passion or prejudice of cases success as an advocate cannot be had without sound judgment in the selection of positions coupled with the power of clear logical statement Mr. Chote was no exception to this rule Mr. Henry W. Payne one of the leaders of the Boston Bar in Mr. Chote's time himself one of the most logical of men that he did not care to hear Mr. Chote address a jury but to hear him argue a bill of exceptions before the full bench of the Supreme Court was one of the greatest intellectual treats with the ordinary 12 men in a jury box Mr. Chote was a wizard his knowledge of human nature his wide and deep sympathies his imagination his power of statement with his rich musical voice and his wonderful fascination of manner made him a charmer of men and a master in the great art of winning verdicts so far as the writer is able to form an opinion there has never been at the English or American Bar a man who has been his equal in his sway over juries comparisons are often condemned but they are at times useful comparing Mr. Chote with Mr. Webster it must be conceded that Mr. Webster might at times carry a jury against Mr. Chote by his force of intellect and the tremendous power of his personal presence Mr. O'Connor once said that he did not consider Mr. Webster an eloquent man Mr. Webster he said was an intellectual giant but he never impressed me as being an eloquent man the general judgment is that Mr. Webster had eloquence of a very high order but Mr. Chote was a magician with any opponent of his time except Mr. Webster he was irresistible before juries Mr. Justice Catherine of the United States Court is reported to have said of Mr. Chote I have heard the most eminent advocates but he surpasses them all his success came from a rare combination of eloquence sound logical judgment and great powers of personal fascination in another respect the common opinion of Mr. Chote must be corrected his great powers of persuasion and conviction undoubtedly gave him some victories which were not deserved by the mere merits of his cases from this fact there went abroad the impression that he was a man without principle and that his ethical standards were not high in his selection and conduct of cases this impression is quite contrary to the judgment of the competent the impression was due largely to his success in the celebrated defense of Terrell Terrell was indicted for the murder of a woman named Bickford with whom Terrell had long associated who was found dead in a house of ill repute at about the hour when the woman lost her life either by her own hand or by that of Terrell the house caught fire the cause of the fire was not proved Terrell had been in her company the preceding evening and articles of clothing belonging to him were found in the morning in her room many circumstances seem to indicate that the woman had been killed by Terrell he was also indicted for arson in setting fire to the house in addition to other facts proved by the defense it was shown by reputable witnesses that Terrell had from his youth been subject to some nambulism and one of the positions taken by Mr. Chote for the defense was that the killing if done by Terrell at all was done by him while unconscious in a condition of some nambulism was tried under both indictments and was acquitted on both the indictment for murder was tried before Justices Wilde, Dewey and Hubbard the indictment for arson was tried before Chief Justice Shaw and Justices Wilde and Dewey the foreman of the jury stated that the defense of some nambulism received no weight in the deliberations of the jury the judgment of the profession has been that the verdicts were the only ones which could properly have been rendered on the evidence in the arson case the charge to the jury was by Chief Justice Shaw and was strongly in favor of the defense no doubt the defense was extremely able and ingenious but the criticisms against Mr. Chote for his conduct in those cases in the opinion of those members of the profession best qualified to judge have been held to be without good foundation lawyers, that is reputable ones do not manufacture evidence nor are they the witnesses who testify to facts the severe tests of cross examination usually elicit the truth no one ever charged Mr. Chote with manufacturing evidence and no lawyer of good judgment so far as the writer is aware has ever charged him with practices which were not in keeping with the very highest professional standards in this space here allotted any attempt to give an adequate idea of Mr. Chote's professional and public work is quite out of the question to the conduct of an unusually large professional practice he did a large amount of literary work mainly in the delivery of lectures which at that time in New England were almost a part of the public system of education throughout his life he took an active part in politics he attended the WIG convention at Baltimore in 1852 where General Scott received his nomination for the presidency and where Mr. Chote made one of the most eloquent speeches of his life in his effort to secure the nomination for Mr. Webster Mr. Chote finally killed himself by overwork though a man of great physical strength and remarkable vitality no constitution could stand the strain of intense labors in the different lines of law literature and politics his magnificent physique finally broke down he died on July 13th 1859 being not quite 60 years his death was an important public event in the public press at many public meetings throughout the country and by public men his death was treated as a public misfortune in his day he rendered distinguished public services he had the capacities and the interests which fitted him to be a great statesman had it not been for our system of short terms and rotation in office Mr. Chote would probably have remained in public life from the time of his entry into Congress would have been a most valuable public servant and would have left a great reputation as a statesman as it was he left so far as now appears only the ephemeral reputation of a great advocate this scanty sketch can best be closed by a quotation from the address of Richard H. Dana at the meeting of the Boston Bar held just after Mr. Chote's death that extract will show the judgment of Mr. Chote which was held by the giants among whom he lived and of whom he was the leader the wine of life is drawn the golden bowl is broken the age of miracles has passed the day of inspiration is over the great conqueror unseen and irresistible broken into our temple and has carried off the vessels of gold the vessels of silver the precious stones the jewels and the ivory and like the priests of the temple of Jerusalem after the invasion from Babylon we must content ourselves as we can with vessels of wood and of stone and of iron with such broken phrases as these Mr. Chairman perhaps not altogether just to the living we endeavor to express the emotions natural to this hour of our bereavement talent, industry, eloquence and learning there are still and always will be at the bar of Boston but if I say that the age of miracles has passed that the day of inspiration is over if I cannot realize this place where we now are the cloth of gold was spread and a banquet set fit for the gods I know sir you will excuse it anyone who has lived with him and now survives him will excuse it anyone who like the youth in words worths owed by the vision splendid is on his way attended and fade into the light of common day it will also tend to secure justice to Mr. Chote's memory if there be here recorded the statement by Judge Benjamin R. Curtis of the judgment of the men of Mr. Chote's own profession as to the moral standards by which Mr. Chote was governed in his practice Judge Curtis said at the same meeting of the Boston Bar I desire therefore on this occasion and in this presence to declare our appreciation of the injustice which would be done to this great and eloquent advocate by attributing to him any want of loyalty to truth or any deference to wrong because he employed all his great powers and attainments and used to the utmost his consummate skill and eloquence in exhibiting and enforcing the comparative merits of one side of the cases in which he acted in doing so he but did his duty if other people did theirs the administration of justice was secured End of section 16