governed the empire he caused sorrow to prevail to excess in man's nature; and consequently the people were not contented. Dissatisfaction and discontent are subversive of virtue; and without virtue there is no such thing for an empire as stability. Virtue, here in its ordinary sense. When man rejoices greatly he gravitates towards the positive pole. When he sorrows deeply he gravitates towards the negative pole. These "poles" are the male and female principles already alluded to on p. 82. Originally developed from the Great Monad, they became the progenitors of all creation. If the equilibrium of positive and negative In nature. is disturbed, the four seasons are interrupted, the balance of heat and cold is destroyed, and man himself suffers physically thereby. Because men are made to rejoice and to sorrow and to displace their centre of gravity, they lose their steadiness, and are unsuccessful in thought and action. And thus it is that the idea of surpassing others first came into the world, followed by the appearance of such men as Robber Chê, Tsêng, and Shih, the result being that the whole world could not furnish enough rewards for the good nor distribute punishments enough for the evil among mankind. And as this great world is not equal to the demand for rewards and punishments; and as, ever since the time of the Three Dynasties The legendary emperors Fu Hsi, Shên Nung, and Huang Ti, or the Yellow Emperor, already mentioned. downwards, men have done nothing but struggle over rewards and punishments,--what possible leisure can they have had for adapting themselves to the natural conditions of their existence? Besides, over-refinement of vision leads to debauchery in colour; over-refinement of hearing leads to debauchery in sound; over-refinement of charity leads to confusion in virtue; Here again the manifestation of TAO. See p. 45. over-refinement of duty towards one's neighbour leads to perversion of principle; The eternal principles which are of TAO and not of man. over-refinement of ceremonial leads to divergence from the true object; over-refinement of music leads to lewdness of thought; over-refinement of wisdom leads to an extension of mechanical art; and over-refinement of shrewdness leads to an extension of vice. As shown in the preceding chapter. If people adapt themselves to the natural conditions of existence, the above eight Vision, hearing, charity, duty to one's neighbour, ceremonial, music, wisdom, and shrewdness. may be or may not be; it matters not. But if people do not adapt themselves to the natural conditions of existence, then these eight become hindrances and spoilers, and throw the world into confusion. In spite of this, the world reverences and cherishes them, thereby greatly increasing the sum of human error. And not as a passing fashion, but with admonitions in words, with humility in prostrations, and with the stimulus of music and song. What then is left for me?