University of Virginia Library

I look up to great Heaven ,
But it shows us no kindness .
Very long have we been disquieted ,
And these great calamities are sent down [upon us] .
There is nothing settled in the country ;
Officers and people are in distress .
Through the insects from without and from within ,
There is no peace or limit [to our misery] .
The net of crime is not taken up ,
And there is no peace nor cure [for our state] .

Men had their ground and fields ,
But you have them [now] .
Men had their people and followers ,
But you have violently taken them from them .
Here is one who ought to be held guiltless ,
But you snare him [in the net of crime] .
There is one who ought to be held guilty ,
But you let him escape [from it] .

A wise man builds up the wall [of a city] ,
But a wise woman overthrows it .
Admirable may be the wise woman ,
But she is [no batter than] an owl .
A woman with a long tongue ,
Is [like] a stepping-stone to disorder .
[Disorder] does not come down from heaven ;—
It is produced by the woman .
Those from whom come no lessons , no instruction ,
Are women and eunuchs .

They beat men down , hurtful , deceitful .
Their slanders in the beginning may be falsified in the end ,
But they do not say [that their words were] very wrong ;—
[They say] , ' What evil was there in them ?
As if in the three times cent per cent of traffic ,
A superior man should have any knowledge of it ;
So a woman who has nothing to do with public affairs ,
Leaves her silk-worms and weaving .

Why is it that Heaven is [thus] reproving [you] ?
Why is it that the Spirits are not blessing [you] ?
You neglect your great barbarian [foes] ,
And regard me with hatred .
You are reagrdless of the evil omens [that abound] ,
And your demeanour is all-unseemly ;
[Good] men are going away ,
And the country is sure to go to ruin .

Heaven is letting down its net ,
And many [are the calamities in it] .
[Good] men are going away ,
And my heart is sorrowful .
Heaven is letting down its net ,
And soon [will all be caught in it ] .
Good men are going away .
And my heart is sad .

Right from the spring comes the water bubbling ,
Revealing its depth .
The sorrow of my heart ,—
Is it [only] of to-day ?
Why were these things not before me ?
Or why were they not after me ?
But myteriously Great Heaven ,
Is able to strengthen anything ;
Do not disgrace your great ancestors ,
And it will save your posterity .