Page 197 - 《孟子》（一）中·英对照版

公
孙
丑
上

not penetrated throughout the kingdom. It required
king Wu and the duke of Zhou to continue his
course, before that influence greatly prevailed. Now
you say that the royal dignity might be so easily
obtained: —is king Wen then not a sufficient object
for imitation?”

Mencius said, “How can king Wen be matched?
From Tang to Wu Ding there had appeared six or
seven worthy and sage sovereigns. The kingdom had
been attached to Yin for a long time, and this length
of time made a change difficult. Wu Ding had all
the princes coming to his court, and possessed the
kingdom as if it had been a thing which he moved
round in his palm. Then, Zhou was removed from
Wu Ding by no great interval of time. There were
still remaining some of the ancient families and of
the old manners, of the influence also which had
emanated from the earlier sovereigns, and of their
good government. Moreover, there were the viscount

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