Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 3.djvu/421

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ODE 6.
THE MAJOR ODES OF THE KINGDOM.
387

yellow liquid sparkling in it[1]. Easy and self-possessed was our prince, The fit recipient of blessing and dignity.

The hawk flies up to heaven, The fishes leap in the deep[2]. Easy and self-possessed was our prince:—Did he not exert an influence on men?

His clear spirits were in the vessels; His red bull was ready[3];—To offer, to sacrifice, To increase his bright happiness.

Thick grow the oaks and the buckthorn, Which the people use for fuel[4]. Easy and self-possessed was our prince, Cheered and encouraged by the spirits[4].

Luxuriant are the dolichos and other creepers, Clinging to the branches and stems. Easy and self-possessed was our prince, Seeking for happiness by no crooked ways.

Ode 6. The Sze Kâi.

The virtue of Wăn, with his filial piety and constant reverence, and their wonderful effects. The excellent character of his mother and wife.

Pure and reverent was Thâi Zăn[5], The mother of king Wăn. Loving was she to Kâu Kiang[6];—


  1. As a cup of such quality was the proper receptacle for the yellow, herb-flavoured spirits, so was the character of Wăn such that all blessing must accrue to him.
  2. It is the nature of the hawk to fly and of fishes to swim, and so there went out an influence from Wăn unconsciously to himself.
  3. Red, we have seen, was the proper colour for victims in the ancestral temple of Kâu.
  4. 4.0 4.1 As it was natural for the people to take the wood and use it, so it was natural for the spirits of his ancestors, and spiritual beings generally, to bless king Wăn.
  5. Thâi Zăn is celebrated, above, in the second ode.
  6. Kâu Kiang is 'the lady Kiang' of ode 3, the wife of Than-fû or

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