will entirely put away their faults. (Deal with them) as if you were protecting your own infants, and the people will be tranquil and orderly. It is not you, O Făng, who (can presume to) inflict a (severe) punishment or death upon a man;—do not, to please yourself, so punish a man or put him to death.' Moreover, he says, 'It is not you, O Făng, who (can presume to inflict a lighter punishment), cutting off a man's nose or ears;—do not, to please yourself, cause a man's nose or ears to be cut off.'
The king says, 'In things beyond (your immediate supervision), have laws set forth which the officers may observe, and these should be the penal laws of Yin which were rightly ordered.' He also says, 'In examining the evidence in (criminal) cases, reflect upon it for five or six days, yea, for ten days or three months. You may then boldly come to a decision in such cases[1].'
The king says, 'In setting forth the business of the laws, the punishments will be determined by (what were) the regular laws of Yin. But you must see that those punishments, and (especially) the penalty of death, be righteous. And you must not let them be warped to agree with your own inclinations, O Făng. Then shall they be entirely accordant with right, and you may say, "They are properly ordered;" yet you must say (at the same time), "Perhaps they are not yet entirely accordant with right." Yes, though you are the little one, who has a heart like you, O Făng? My heart and my virtue are also known to you.
- ↑ This is supposed to refer to a case where guilt would involve death, so that there could be no remedying a wrong decision.
