| Will of Heaven II: |
This is still not all by which I know Heaven loves man dearly. There are those who love the people and benefit the people and obey the will of Heaven and obtain reward from Heaven. There are also those who hate the people and oppress the people and oppose the will of Heaven and incur punishment from Heaven. Who are those that love the people and benefit the people, obey the will of Heaven and obtain reward from Heaven? They are the ancient sage-kings of the Three Dynasties, Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen, and Wu. What did Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen, and Wu do? They engaged themselves in universality and not partiality (in love). Loving universally, they did not attack the small states with their large states, they did not molest the small houses with their large houses. The strong did not plunder the weak, the many did not oppress the few, the clever did not deceive the stupid, the honoured did not disdain the humble. Such a regime was agreeable to Heaven above, to the spirits in the middle sphere, and to the people below. Being helpful to these three, it was helpful to all. And this was Heavenly virtue. The most excellent names in the world were gathered and attributed to them, and they were called magnanimous, righteous, beloved of man and beneficial to the people, obedient to the will of Heaven and rewarded of Heaven. Besides this, it is also recorded on the bamboos and silk, cut in metals and stones, and engraved on the dishes and cups to be handed down to posterity. What is this for? It is to mark out those who loved the people and benefited them, obeyed the will of Heaven and obtained reward from Heaven. Thus the ode of Huang Yi says: "God said to King Wen, 'I cherish your intelligent virtue. It was not proclaimed with much noise or gesture. It was not modified after the possession of the empire. How instructively and naturally submissive to the scheme of Heaven!'" Because he was obedient to God's scheme, He rewarded him with Yin and honoured him to be emperor and enriched him with the empire. And his fame is not forgotten even unto this day. Hence we are enabled to know who are those that loved the people and benefited them, obeyed the will of Heaven and obtained reward from Heaven. Now, who are those that hated the people and oppressed them, opposed the will of Heaven and incurred punishment from Heaven? They are the ancient wicked kings of the Three Dynasties, Jie, Zhou, You, and Li. What did they do? They were selfish and ungenerous. Being selfish they attacked the small states with their large states, they molested the small houses with their large houses. The strong plundered the weak, the many oppressed the few, the clever deceived the ignorant, the honoured disdained the humble. Such a regime was not helpful to Heaven above, to the spirits in the middle sphere, or to the people below. Since it was not helpful to these three it was helpful to none. And they were called the enemies of Heaven. The most evil names in the world were gathered and attributed to them, and they were called unmagnanimous, unrighteous, haters of man and oppressors of the people, disobedient to the will of Heaven and punished by Heaven. Besides this, it is also recorded on the bamboos and silk, cut in the metals and stones, and engraved on the plates and cups to be handed down to posterity. What is this for? It is to mark out those that hated the people and oppressed them, opposed the will of Heaven and incurred punishment from Heaven. Thus relates the "Great Declaration": "Zhou went beyond the proper limits and became insolent. He would not worship God and pushed away the ancestors and spirits without offering them sacrifices. And he said: 'Fortune is with me,' and neglected and betrayed his duty. Heaven thereupon deserted him and withdrew its protection." Heaven deserted Zhou and withdrew its support because Zhou opposed the will of Heaven. Hence we are enabled to know who are those that hated the people and oppressed them, opposed the will of Heaven and incurred punishment from Heaven. 1. 賊人 : Inserted. 孫詒讓《墨子閒詁》
2. 處 : Inserted.
3. 天下 : Deleted. 孫詒讓《墨子閒詁》
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