the Hsia
dynasty, 'If the Emperor visiteth not, what will become of us?' But now,
may your majesty permit me to say, matters are very different, for, when
in these days a ruler visits his people he is accompanied by a huge
army, who with himself and suite have to be maintained by the people
visited. And so it comes to be that the hungry are robbed of their food,
and the toilers are wearied with the extra tasks imposed upon them. If a
ruler wishes to have the hearts of his people, and to' be regarded as
their father, he must consider their needs and endeavour to supply
them."

_MENCIUS USES STRATAGEM TO BRING HOME TO THE EMPEROR HIS GUILT_

Mencius said on one occasion to Hsuan, King of Chi, "Suppose one of thy
ministers were to entrust his family during his absence to a
subordinate, and that the latter neglected his duty so that the wife and
children were exposed to great suffering and danger. What should that
minister do?"

"Dismiss him at once," was the royal reply.

"But," continued the philosopher, "suppose that the government of your
own kingdom were bad, the people suffering and disunited and disloyal on
account of their king's bad rule. What then should be done?" The king,
looking this way and that, turned the conversation to other themes.

_IT MAY BE RIGHT TO KILL A SOVEREIGN_

King Hsuan asked Mencius, "Is it true that Thang banished his own
sovereign, Kieh [the last king of the Hsia dynasty], and that Wu
attacked the tyrant Emperor Kau-hsin and slew him?" "It is true," said
Mencius, "for it is so written in the 'Shu King.' But if a sovereign
acts as Kieh did he is no longer a sovereign but a robber, and to be
dealt with as such. And if a ruler is, like Kau-hsin, the enemy of his
people, he is no longer their ruler, and therefore to be put out of the
way, and how better than by death?"

_THE GIFTS THAT MAY AND THOSE THAT MAY NOT BE ACCEPTED_

Chan Tsin spoke to Mencius as follows:

"The King of Chi once offered thee a present and thou declinedst it, but
didst accept gifts offered at Sung and at Hsieh. Why this inconsistency?
If it were right to refuse in the first case it was equally right to
refuse in the other two. If it were right to accept in the latter two
cases, it was equally right to accept in the first case." The
philosopher answered, "I acted rightly and consistently. The gifts at
Sung were to provide me with what was needed for a long journey which I
was about to undertake. Wh