The Wisdom of Confucius


Page 49 of 49



[Pg 235]

PART IV.—ODES OF THE TEMPLE AND ALTAR

BOOK I

Sacrificial Odes of Chow

 

APPROPRIATE TO A SACRIFICE TO KING WAN

My offerings here are given,
A ram, a bull.
Accept them, mighty Heaven,
All-bountiful.
Thy statutes, O great king,
I keep, I love;
So on the realm to bring
Peace from above.
From Wan comes blessing rich;
Now on the right
He owns those gifts to which
Him I invite.
Do I not night and day,
Revere great Heaven,
That thus its favor may
To Chow be given?

 

[Pg 236]

ON SACRIFICING TO THE KINGS WOO, CHING, AND K‘ANG

The arm of Woo was full of might;
None could his fire withstand;
And Ching and K‘ang stood forth to sight,
As kinged by God's own hand.
We err not when we call them sage.
How grandly they maintained
Their hold of all the heritage
That Wan and Woo had gained!
As here we worship, they descend,
While bells and drums resound,
And stones and lutes their music blend.
With blessings we are crowned.
The rites correctly we discharge;
The feast we freely share.
Those Sires Chow's glory will enlarge,
And ever for it care.

THE END


Transcriber's Note

  • The footnotes have been moved to the end of the respective chapters.
  • Hyphenation of words were left as printed.
  • Punctuation errors have been corrected.
  • Pg x Corrected spelling of word "Cnodition" to "Condition" located in "The Cnodition of King ..."
  • Pg 16 Corrected spelling of words "i nthe" to "in the" located in "... appropriated i nthe ancestral ..."
  • Pg 16 Corrected spelling of word "Thre" to "Three" located in "... Hall of the Thre Families?"
  • Pg 48 Corrected spelling of word "one" to "once" located in "Tsz-kung one said to ..."
  • Pg 194 Corrected spelling of word "FESTEL" to "FESTAL" located in "A FESTAL ODE"


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