The Canon of Beason and Virtue : being Lao-tze's Tao
Teh King ; Chinese and English. Edited by Paul Carus. (The Open Court Publishing Company, Chicago, and 149 Strand, W.C. 4s. net.)—"Lao-tze resided in Chen most of his life," says Sze-Ma-Chien, the Herodotus of China. "When he foresaw the decay of Chen he departed and came to the
frontier. The Custom-house officer, Yin-Hi, said, 'Sir, since it pleases you to retire, I request you for my sake to write a book.' Thereupon Lao-tze wrote a book of two parts, consisting of five thousand and odd words, in which he dis- cussed the concepts of reason and virtue. Then he departed. No one knows where he died." It is this book which Mr. Carus has edited in a handy volume, with a commentary, a foreword, and an introduction. China owes much to the Custom-house officer, for the Tao Teh King is one of the great mystical books of the world. Unfortunately its extreme obscurity makes it difficult for the Western mind to compre- hend, but with Mr. Care's explanations it is not difficult to attain to some appreciation of a philosophy which, though compiled in the sixth century B.C., finds many points of contact with the teaching of Plato, and even with that of Christ.
Previous page
