truthfulness.' 'Extraordinary things; feats of strength; states of
disorder; and spiritual beings, he did not like to talk about [1].'
Confucius is not to be blamed for his silence on the
subjects here indicated. His ignorance of them was to a great
extent his misfortune. He had not learned them. No report of them
had come to him by the ear; no vision of them by the eye. And to
his practical mind the toiling of thought amid uncertainties
seemed worse than useless.
The question has, indeed, been raised, whether he did not
make changes in the ancient creed of China [2], but I cannot
believe that he did so consciously and designedly. Had his
idiosyncrasy been different, we might have had expositions of the
ancient views on some points, the effect of which would have
been more beneficial than the indefiniteness in which they are
now left, and it may be doubted so far, whether Confucius was not
unfaithful to his guides. But that he suppressed or added, in order
to bring in articles of belief originating with himself, is a thing
not to be charged against him.
I will mention two important subjects in regard to which
there is a conviction in my mind that he came short of the faith
of the older sages. The first is the doctrine of God. This name is
common in the Shih-ching and Shu-ching. Ti or Shang-Ti appears
there as a personal being, ruling in heaven and on earth, the
author of man's moral nature, the governor among the nations, by
whom kings reign and princes decree justice, the rewarder of the
good, and the punisher of the bad. Confucius preferred to speak of
Heaven. Instances have already been given of this. Two others may
be cited:-- 'He who offends against Heaven has none to whom he
can pray [3]?' 'Alas! ' said he, 'there is no one that knows me.'
Tsze-kung said, 'What do you mean by thus saying that no one