ourite studies; edited the
_Book of Poetry_--perhaps the most interesting collection of ancient
songs extant--and wrote _Spring and Autumn_. His closing years were
darkened by the loss of those dearest to him. First his son died, then
Yen Yuean, the disciple whom he loved best. At his death the Master was
overcome by grief, and he left none behind him that loved learning.
Lastly Tzu-lu, the frank and bold, was killed in battle. A little
later, in his seventy-first year, Confucius himself passed away, 479
B.C.

This book of the Master's Sayings is believed by the Chinese to have
been written by the disciples of Confucius. But there is nothing to
prove this, and some passages in the book point the other way. Book
viii speaks of the death of Tseng-tzu, who did not die till 437 B.C.,
forty-two years after the Master. The chief authority for the text as
it stands to-day is a manuscript found in the house of Confucius in
150 B.C., hidden there, in all likelihood, between the years 213 and
211 B.C., when the reigning emperor was seeking to destroy every copy
of the classics. We find no earlier reference to the book under its
present name. But Mencius (372-289 B.C.) quotes seven passages from
it, in language all but identical with the present text, as the words
of Confucius. No man ever talked the language of these sayings. Such
pith and smoothness is only reached by a long process of rounding and
polishing. We shall probably come no nearer to the truth than Legge's
conclusion that the book was put together by the pupils of the
disciples of Confucius, from the words and notebooks of their masters,
about the year 400 B.C.

LEONARD A. LYALL.

AMALFI,

_January, 1909_

* * * * *

NOTE

Such information as seemed necessary to enable the reader to
understand the text, or that appeared to me to be of general interest,
I have given in the notes at the foot of the page. Further details
about the men and places mentioned in the text will be found in the
Index.

Dates I have taken from Legge, Hirth and other standard authors.

In Chinese names, consonants are generally pronounced as in English,
vowels as in Italian.

_E_, when not joined with _i_, is pronounced nearly as German _oe_, or
much as _u_ in English l_u_ck.

_ao_ rhymes approximately with h_ow_
_ei_ " " " th_ey_
_ou_ " " " th_ough_
_uo_ " " " p_oo_r,

the _u_ b