When the prince awaked, he referred his dream to the soothsayers, who said, "This is a divine tortoise." "Is there any fisherman," asked the prince, "whose name is Yü Ch'ieh?" Being told there was, the prince gave orders for his appearance at court; and the next day Yü Ch'ieh had an audience. "Fisherman," said the prince, "what have you caught?" "I have netted a white tortoise," replied the fisherman, "five feet in semi-circumference." "Bring your tortoise," said the prince. But when it came, the prince could not make up his mind whether to kill it or keep it alive. Thus in doubt, he had recourse to divination, and received the following response:-- _Slay the tortoise for purposes of divination and good fortune will result._ So the tortoise was despatched. After which, out of seventy-two omens taken, not a single one proved false. "A divine tortoise," said Confucius, "can appear to prince Yüan in a dream, yet it cannot escape the net of Yü Ch'ieh. Its wisdom can yield seventy-two faultless omens, yet it cannot escape the misery of being cut to pieces. Truly wisdom has its limits; spirituality, that which it cannot reach. "In spite of the highest wisdom, there are countless snares to be avoided; If a fish has not to fear nets, there are always pelicans. Get rid of small wisdom, and great wisdom will shine upon you. Put away goodness and you will be naturally good. A child does not learn to speak because taught by professors of the art, but because it lives among people who can themselves speak." * * * * * Hui Tzŭ said to Chuang Tzŭ, "Your theme, Sir, is the useless." "You must understand the useless," replied Chuang Tzŭ, "before you can discuss the useful. "For instance, the earth is of huge proportions, yet man uses of it only as much as is covered by the sole of his foot. By and by, he turns up his toes and goes beneath it to the Yellow Spring. Has he any further use for it?" "He has none," replied Hui Tzŭ. "And in like manner," replied Chuang Tzŭ, "may be demonstrated the use of the useless. "Could a man transcend the limits of the human," said Chuang Tzŭ, "would he not do so? Unable to do so, how should he succeed? "The determination to retire, to renounce the world,--such alas! is not the fruit of perfect wisdom or immaculate virtue. From cataclysms ahead, these do not turn back; nor do they heed the approach of devouring flame. Although there are class distinctions of high and low, these are but for a time, and under the changed conditions of a new sphere are unknown. In the transcendental state. "Wherefore it has been said, 'The perfect man leaves no trace behind.' "For instance, to glorify the past and to condemn the present has always been the way of the scholar. Laudator temporis acti. Yet if Hsi Wei Shih and individuals of that class _Sc._ patriarchs. were caused to re-appear in the present day, which of them but would accommodate himself to the age?