Page:Elementary Chinese - San Tzu Ching (1900).djvu/148

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Hui is composed of 心 hsin heart as radical, and 每 mei each, every, as phonetic.

Ch'ih is composed of the walking radical and 犀 hsi a rhinoceros as phonetic, and means to walk slowly, like a rhinoceros. Hence it has come to mean late in arriving. [Eitel and Père Zottoli both miss the point here. The former has "And that man, being already old, Yet repented of his dilatoriness." But the word lao here means late in life only as compared with the usual age for beginning, and yet fails to make sense, implying as it does surprise that being old he should still repent. The latter has "illum jam senescentem adhuc pænituit tarditatis." But even the Chinese who age early, do not begin to grow old at twenty-seven, and adhuc is as inaccurate as "yet." The only difficulty is with yu, which here means especially, as in the Book of History; see Legge's Chinese Classics, vol. III, Pt. I, p. 222, note 3.]


297. You little boys
Erh3 hsiao3 shêng1
You small born


Erh was originally composed of 爻 yao crosswise, its modern radical, duplicated and read li, its old radical, with 冂 chiung border lands, and 尒 êrh a particle as phonetic. Its modern sense is as given, and it is also used for 而 (line 45).

Hsiao see line 113.

Shêng was supposed under its old form to be a picture of vegetation springing from the earth. Presenting the root idea of birth, production, it means equally well to be born and to give birth to.


298. should take thought betimes.
I2 tsao3 ssŭ1
Ought early think


I see line 22.