Sacred Books of the East Vol. 40: Taoism Vol. 2

{fn. 2. It is more difficult to give an account of the operation of the five elements in the mind of man, though I have seen them distributed among the five viscera, and the five virtues of Benevolence, Righteousness, Propriety, Knowledge, and Faith. Granting, however, their presence and operation in the mind, what shall be said on the two concluding members of the paragraph? There underlies them {footnote p. 259} the doctrine of the three coordinate Powers;--Heaven, Earth, and Man, which I have never been able to comprehend clearly.} {p. 259} 3. The nature of Heaven belongs (also) to Man; the mind of Man is a spring (of power). When the Way of Heaven is established, the (Course of) Man is thereby determined.{fr. 1} {fn. 1. These short and enigmatic sentences seem merely to affirm the general subject of the Treatise,--the harmony between the unseen and the seen.} 4. When Heaven puts forth its power of putting to death, the stars and constellations lie hidden in darkness. When Earth puts forth its power of putting to death, dragons and serpents appear on the dry ground. When Man puts forth his power of putting to death, Heaven and Earth resume their (proper course). When Heaven and Man exert their powers in concert, all transformations have their commencements determined.{fr. 4_1} {fn. 4_1. 'The power of putting to death here' seems merely to indicate the 'rest' which succeeds to movement. The paragraph is intended to show us the harmony of the Three Powers, but one only sees its meaning darkly. The language of the third sentence about the influence of Man on Heaven and Earth finds its explanation from the phraseology of the thwan of the twenty-fourth hexagram of the Yî (vol. xvi, pp. 107, 108).}