could not dismiss from our minds the unpleasant suspicion that Mr. Beal had drawn upon the valuable notes to that despised volume to a greater extent than he was frank enough to acknowledge. We shall avoid this imputation by invariably quoting the sources of information given; and whenever we have occasion to raise a question as to the proper way of translating any passage, we shall try to put the arguments for and against both views before the reader in as impartial a manner as possible. Our object will be to express the real meaning of the text in the most simple language, unadorned with tawdry flowers of composition: in fact, rather partaking of the rugged, unpolished style of the original. We shall wellcome any strictures, however severe, that may lead us to a better appreciation of this difficult author. We have not spared the feelings of Mr. Beal, and we court no quarter ourselves. For there is nothing disgraceful in misunderstanding a sentence of Chinese; it need not brand anyone with infamy or overwhelm him with shame. In support of which dangerous theory and for the encouragement of all erring students of Chinese, we will now relate how a very extraordinary blunder was once made by a celebrated sinologue, and escaped the eagle eye of criticism for many years, during which period the author of its existence rose to power and fame, and is now Her Majesty's Minister at the Court of Peking.
In the Hsin Ching Lu, published in 1859 by Sir Thomas Wade, a translation is given of the first chapter of the well-known Sacred Edict. Paragraph 37, on page 50, contains Sir Thomas Wade's rendering of a Chinese proverb quoted in the original text. For the benefit of those who have not a copy of this work at hand we will give the
