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Article THE LIFE OF CONFUCIUS. ← Page 2 of 5 →
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The Life Of Confucius.
them afterwards without reluCtance , when he found them no longer useful to the end which he proposed . In his 55 th year , he engaged in one of the chief offices of the kingdom of Lu , now the province of Shan tong , his native country , which he had not possessed more than three months , without a visible , reformation of the whole people and improvement of the general state of the kingdom ; the laws were no longer broken , or the
breach of them was legularly punished ; property was secure from invasion , and was therefore by every man diligently increased . The prosperity and affluence produced in this kingdom by the maxims of Confucius soon excited the envy of the neighbouring Princes , by whom it was imagined that they were in danger from a neighbour , whom , as he grew every day more powerful , they should
not long be able , to resist . The King of Tsi being more disturbed than any other at this imaginary danger , consulted with his Ministers upon the most provable method of interrupting that prosperity , which he looked upon as ihe certain parent of ambition , and which therefore ought to be obstructed ; and determined to make use of means which have seldom failed of success , and by which the greatest monarchs have been destroyed , when neither policy could circumvent , nor armies oppose
them . A magnificent embassy was , in pursuance of this consultation , dispatched to the King of Lu , with a fatal present of a great number of young maidens of exquisite beauty and finished accomplishments , skilful in every art of attracting the eye and alluring the mind , of awakening the affections and lulling reason . These g irls soon gained the attention of their new master and his counsellorsby their airs ,
, their dances , and their songs . Business and politics , learning and morality were banished from the Court , where nothing was now regarded but feasts , revelry , and diversions , scenes of pleasure and assemblies of gaiety - , and where the amusement of these lovelystrangers was preferred to the care of the public . It is no small addition to the honour of Confucius , that he remained
umnfe & ed amidst so fatal a contagion ; a contagion against which the preservatives of philosophy have been often found of very little effeCt . He endeavoured not onl y' to escape , but to stop the infection , and animated the King with all the force of his eloquence and reason , to resume his dignity , and re-establish the authority of the laws ; but finding his persuasions unregarded , and his arguments over-born by - sensual gratifications , he laid , down his employments , and retired in search of men less immersed in luxury , and less hardened to habitual
vice . With this view he travelled over several kingdoms , where , the superiority of his virtue and abilities procured him more enemies than admirers ; and the ministers , instead ofintroducing to the princes a man capable of promoting the public happiness , endeavoured to suppress his reputation , lest his abilities should be brought into comparison with their osvu .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Life Of Confucius.
them afterwards without reluCtance , when he found them no longer useful to the end which he proposed . In his 55 th year , he engaged in one of the chief offices of the kingdom of Lu , now the province of Shan tong , his native country , which he had not possessed more than three months , without a visible , reformation of the whole people and improvement of the general state of the kingdom ; the laws were no longer broken , or the
breach of them was legularly punished ; property was secure from invasion , and was therefore by every man diligently increased . The prosperity and affluence produced in this kingdom by the maxims of Confucius soon excited the envy of the neighbouring Princes , by whom it was imagined that they were in danger from a neighbour , whom , as he grew every day more powerful , they should
not long be able , to resist . The King of Tsi being more disturbed than any other at this imaginary danger , consulted with his Ministers upon the most provable method of interrupting that prosperity , which he looked upon as ihe certain parent of ambition , and which therefore ought to be obstructed ; and determined to make use of means which have seldom failed of success , and by which the greatest monarchs have been destroyed , when neither policy could circumvent , nor armies oppose
them . A magnificent embassy was , in pursuance of this consultation , dispatched to the King of Lu , with a fatal present of a great number of young maidens of exquisite beauty and finished accomplishments , skilful in every art of attracting the eye and alluring the mind , of awakening the affections and lulling reason . These g irls soon gained the attention of their new master and his counsellorsby their airs ,
, their dances , and their songs . Business and politics , learning and morality were banished from the Court , where nothing was now regarded but feasts , revelry , and diversions , scenes of pleasure and assemblies of gaiety - , and where the amusement of these lovelystrangers was preferred to the care of the public . It is no small addition to the honour of Confucius , that he remained
umnfe & ed amidst so fatal a contagion ; a contagion against which the preservatives of philosophy have been often found of very little effeCt . He endeavoured not onl y' to escape , but to stop the infection , and animated the King with all the force of his eloquence and reason , to resume his dignity , and re-establish the authority of the laws ; but finding his persuasions unregarded , and his arguments over-born by - sensual gratifications , he laid , down his employments , and retired in search of men less immersed in luxury , and less hardened to habitual
vice . With this view he travelled over several kingdoms , where , the superiority of his virtue and abilities procured him more enemies than admirers ; and the ministers , instead ofintroducing to the princes a man capable of promoting the public happiness , endeavoured to suppress his reputation , lest his abilities should be brought into comparison with their osvu .