The Portland daily press., 1881-09-13
Wisdom Twenty Centuries Old.
N V crnr.l,in

~ = OfoPhiS.i
A very learned member Of the Chinese EN-
bassy at Washington is the possessor of book
of great antiquity and OF almost priceless val
ne. He believes that it was written more than
fifteen centuries ago, and that it was at that
time copied from a still older manuscript-so
old. in fact, that Noah might have had it with
him in the Ark This learned and genial dip
lomatist has, daring his leisure IN oments,
amused himself by translaung into English
certain portions of this venerable manuscript,
which appears to be a compound Of history,
political rules and observations upon the social
relations Of life. These observations display
deep insight into. human nature and keen
perceptio on Of the weakness as we'll as the
strength Of mankind. A number of these
translated passages have been kindly sent to
us by the courteous and erudise possessor OF
this valuable and unique work. Here are
some Of them:
If one purposes to be very much in love with
his wife, let him marry virgin and not wild
ow For If he marries widow, especially IL
she be sweet in her Disposition loving, smiable
and passionate, the more he loves her the
more unhappy he will be by reason OF his re-
Elections upon the past; upon what happened
before he welded her and when she was the
wife of her first husband. In what otherwise
would be his most happy moments, these dis
quieting reflections will obtrude themselves;
and the more lovely is his wife, and the more
affection she bestOWs upon him the more bitter
will be his regret that the same loveliness and
The same affection we're once the possession of
another. This is the manner in which mans
heart is made-he is intensely jealous and sell
fish.
In the bestowal of rewards by a ruler for past
services in war or in the civil service, the ruler
shonld not expect gratitude on the part of the
recipient. However great the reward may be,
the recipient will think that 1t is but the pay
ment of debt, and often that the payment is
not adequate. The self esteem of a man is al
ways greater than the estimate of his worth
formed by others. An affected humility may
seek to disguise this even in the mind OF the
man himself-but at the bottom OF his soul
there win rest the belief that he has only been
paid what was his due--in which case he will
not feel grateful, or that he has not has not
been paid enough, in which case, under the
cloak of affected gratitude, will lurk anger
and desire for revenge.
All men are naturally mean and self-seeking.
(the Chinese phrase here, our diplomatist 1n-
forms us, is very inadequately rendered by the
translation he has given. The phrase-ctttou-
piidp0uzd oDl0tdzen zdaotek tlngopotzet-ls not
at all modern, although it is found in compar-
atively modern Chinese writings, those OF the
sixth century after Christ, for instance. The
words have a very elastic meaning -as for in
stance they have been construed thus: by
nature each man. like hog, wishes to be first
at the feeding trough and to keep the other
hogs away
The selfshness of men, however is very dif-
ferent from that of women. The latter is the
most intense and a6s05plgg M and tq 9EhtitXh 9Eht itXh
jealousy of woman is essentially different from
that of man. She is far more egotistical. The
sense of having supplanted a rival is sweet to
her. A woman who has married widower is
not Jealous of the dead wife, provided that her
husband treats her lovingly. She is delighted
by the idea that she has displaced the memory
of the dead wife from the heart OF the living
husband, and that she now fills it. When he
caresses her she does not say to herselt-witn
regret "Thus he has caressed my predeces-
sor, f" but conscious that he has loved before,
is proud that she as she thinks, has rooted out
that love, and now controls him.
The essential difference between men and
women, in their domestic relations my also
be seen 10 the fact that women accept and are
happy under system of fpolygamy, while men
never have and never will accept system OF
polyandry. (The learned Chinese philosopher
was a little rash here-for he did not foresee
the Oneida Community