The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1889-07-08
qbf 9Mtelliaenter.
0aieei No., 10 apd " Fo@tsoalh street.,
Written for ne hi1ligAeer.
INTERESTING EXAMINATIONS.

Written for ne ~IaieligaeT.
INTERESTING lRANSLATl0NS,
C~onfueius and the Chinese Philosophy
Quotations from tho Great Author an
Notwithstanding about tho Chimes
Language.
BY HU MAXWELL,
Superior and alone Contuclua stood
And taught that noble science, to be good. Pop
1t would not he easy to expressin tW,
lines q fuller statement Of the characte
and teachings Of the Chinese Phil
osopher than Pope has done, Coniu
cius was the molder aud creator OF TIL
customs, laws and usages otthe Chimes
nation, He made them o nation. Vi
70 his time 1t appears that the grea
Empire which we now call Chin
existed only as fragment and as pett!
principalities. He united them, not b.
the sword, but by his teachings, M
other man, not even excepting Mohamet
has ever exerted such an influence owe
a people az C~onfuclus has, Napoleon
said that the hardest thing lnthe history
OF the world for him to understand was
how the Catholic Church could be helG
together as it had been. But that Il
more easily Comprehepded than how
the four hundred millions OF the fol
lowers Of OoniuCius have been kept In
the path worked out by the great
founder Of their faith,
II seems 10 me that the philosopher
has been misunderstood to a great ex-
tent, He taught no religion; he had
none he believed in none, But, at the
same time, he sought to tear no religion
down. He was constantly i%nstructing
his disciples TO observe due rites and
ceremonies, and sacrifice TO their idols
as their fathers had done, but he always
added; ~ do not understand why 1t
should be so; ! know nothing about It;
our fathers did II, and We will do iii
II may be right and cannot be wrong"
He cautioned his followers against In
quiring into supernatural things, He
was constantly insisting that "the pro-
per study OF mankind is man." And
he restricted himself still further and
considered man only asa social and po-
liticAl machine, nothing spirital, nothing
moral, except 80 far as morality was nee
essary in order to make a good citizen.
The family, the society and the State
were all he knew OF. The sum OF all his
doctrine was: Obedience to those In
authority, To those in authority, he
taught obedlencet to the ancient rites and
customs OF the country. He was no re-
former, in thesense OF introducing some
thing new. He never tried to do that.
His whole life.work was in digging up
the customs OF his ancestors, aud preach.
ing obedience to them. 1t seems that
the Chinese people were beginning to
advance from their old creeds, and were
moving forward; but he set them back
and chained them 10 their old idols and
their ancient customs, and there they
have remained for thousands OF years,
seeming to be incapable OF advancing
ono step. He was different from all the
other great teachers who have arisen In
the world. They all advanced some
new doctrine, and built their church ON
that; hut he advanced nothing new;
brought back what was ancient and
made that the foundation Of his creed.
Confucils is often compared with
Socrates, the Greek philosopher; but /
cannot see wherein the two had any re.
semblance, except that both lived fault
less lives, and were both poor. Socrates
was immeasureabl ysuperiorto ConfuCius
in everything, only the practice ofmoral.
ity; and in that he was fully his equal.
The Greeks mind ran forward with
something OF a prophets foresight To the
future. He turned from the past with
all Its errors, and looked to a more per-
feet time to come. He believed intense.
ly in the spiritual nature OF man, and
that mans soul was immortal. He re.
fused to adopt the false ideas of his age,
and at last dies rather than renounce his
belief. In many departments OF abstract
science the world to-day has not caught
up with the mind Of Socrates. He dealt
with truth and morality and religion in
the abstract. But Coniucius saw only
what was practical-nothing but what
could be useful to the Emperor, the treas
ury or to society.
As Pope says, he taught that noble
sCience-to be good" but It was good"
in its application to politics in some
shape or form.
Confucius was born 551 B. O. Hewas
q politician until in advanced life, when
a change in the administration turned
him out. He travelled several years, and
in his old age retired to his home and
wrote his book, which the Chinese have
ever since looked upon as sacred. He
wrote many treatises, all relating In some
way to government, and to customs and
laws. One book OF 81 poems is perhaps
the most valuable as o literary produc.
Nton , h,t no 1itarak,nn ~ IL ali nIumov
and ugly.
The Chinese have no literature Of q
fine order. There is almost no senti.
ment, and absolutely no spirituality in
their writings. The lines OF their books
run from the top to the bottom Of the
pages, instead OF from left to right, as
with us, and from right to left as with
the Hebrew and Arabian tongues. Their
letters are ungainly and rude, and their
sentences are often no sentences at all
when literally translated into English.
Mathematics is almost an unknown
science in China. So far as ! have OBJ
served, geometry, trigonometry and the
higher branches OF mensuration are I'm.
known, or nearly SO. Arithmetic exists
but little beyond addition and subtrac-
ton. Multiplication Is performed by
successive additions, and division by
repeated %subtractions. Their numerals
are rough and uncouth, and 1t requires
more marks to write anumberin Chinese
than 10 spell II out in English letters.
The language is hardto learn, and does
not amount to much when II Is learned.
There must beiew written languagesthat
are not richer in literature than the Chi.
nese. They have books enough, but the
majority Of them are worthless treatises
on medicine, customs and politics. No
language is harder to learn, and but few
repay 50 poorly when they are learned.
The student will search In vain through
the massive volumes for such poems as
are found in the early literature OF the
Greek, Hebrew, Latin and sanscrit
tongues,
Twill subjoin a few extracts from Con!
fucius. / have selected them from his
best-those that have some touch Of sem
tlment and human feeling In them. lido
not claim that they are literal tranBla.
lions, / have endeavored TO reproduce
his thought, and not his exact words;
tgee yOn small bird that folds lis winRS 10 fcst,