" Wen~li: "Again
there is a class of people whose grandfather had to toil and labour.
there is a class of people whose grandfather had to toil and labour.
A-Companion-to-the-Cantos-of-Ezra-Pound-II
.
A lie he will not utter for he is wise indeed" rOd.
III, 18-20].
31. pen yeh: [98:55,56]. A recurrent leit- motif.
32. Wang . . . incense: Wen-Ii: "The mind of man, as given by heaven, was, in the first instance upright and free from depravity; but from no other reason than cupidity it has deviated into depraved courses. . . . If you fulfill your duty to your parents at home, what need is there to go to a distance to burn incense. "
33. INTENZIONE: I, "Intention. " Pound translates the word in Donna mi prega [36/178]: "Deeming intention to be rea- son's peer and mate. " But he says there is "a mare's nest" in the word and allies it with a number of scholars in the Aristotelian tradi- tion, including the Arabs Alfarabi and Aver- roes, and Albertus Magnus and Scotus Eri- gena in the European tradition [LE, 178]. The "mare's nest" includes such canto themes as directio voluntatis and reason as "the light descending. "
34. Han: Wen-Ii: The Han scholars had a saying: "The nature of all people contains the five basic principles. But temperamen- tally some are energetic, some gentle, some
S, "I the
king. "
29. Odysseus'
. . .
: [Cf. 16 above].
disintegration-
l
nected with social
symbolized by increasing droughts [An- thology, 204-210].
39. se non fosse cive: I, "if he were not a citizen" [Par. VIII, 116]. The end of a ques- tion that began, "Now tell me would it be worse for man or earth. . . . "
40. Heaven . . . biceps: Wen-li: "Now in the laws and statutes there are a thousand sec- tions . . . and none go beyond the measure of affection and the calculation of reason. "
41. fa3 -5 : [MI762], tt, "law. " This char- acter has three components: r = "water"; . ? = "earth"; and ,. . L. . . . = "biceps. "
42. Crusaders' . . . : Whatever good intent the crusaders may have had was undone by those who lusted for money.
43. Normandy pawned . . . : By kings, to go on the Crusades [6+7:passim].
44. T. C. P '78: Thaddeus Coleman Pound [97:205]. His credit memos in effect cre- ated "non-interest-bearing money" or, as So-
cial Creditors would put it, "'debt-free money. "
45. Khati: [93:2].
46. kuang: [M3583], [M4534], "intelligence. "
"light. " Ming
"upright";
cheng 4
47. Synesius: S. of Cyrene, A. D. 370-413, Christian Neoplatonist who bewailed in let-
55. Four tuan: [85:33].
56. t'ung tree: Wen-Ii: "The Phoenix rests
48. Al Kindi: Abu
Ishaq. . . al-Kindi (L, Alkindus), ca. 810- ca. 873, born in Bazra, fl. in Baghdad. He became known as the philosopher of the Arabs because he was the first and only Arab philosopher. As an encyclopedic scientist, he transmitted Aristotle through the Neopla- tonic traditions and became an influence on Avicenna and Averroes as well as Roger Ba- con et a1.
49. Mencken: [81:31].
50. fromm: G, "innocent" or "hannless. "
51. Han(IX, i. e. nine): Wen-Ii: "The scholars of the Han Dynasty have said, 'The princi- ples of benevolence, right, propriety, know- ledge and sincerity, are in the hearts of all the people. But of people born in different places. . . . All this is the result of climatic influences [Literally, imbued with the wind breath of the water soil] ; hence it is spoke of as "Feng" (or Breath of Nature). ' "
52. Ven Ogn: Wen-Ii: "In the Han Dynasty there was a certain Wen-ong, a Prefect in the province of Si-ch'uan. Perceiving that the place was boorish and untaught, he built
tent . . . to accompany him. . . . The result was that the people became aware of the excellencies of study. . . . Now only Provin- cial Graduates . . . are employed to fill the post of Officer of Instructions who have . . . a literary degree. . . . Scholars on their part must . . . establish a character. First let the character be upright and then produce essays which are not mere paper talk. "
colleges. . . .
Whenever
cuit . . . he selected those who were compe-
53. can't . . . : Before office bought them.
54. tuan L [M6541], [M351], "upright. "
this, candidates for
Y usuf
Y a'qub ibn
he went
on cir-
? ? ? ? ? ? 640
on the wu-T'ung tree, a favorable omen. " A rhyme with an earlier statement about the Buddha: "Besides, he gave up his Harem, the Dragon Chamber, and the Phoenix Hall"
[98:67].
57. a mirrour . . . : Wen-Ii: "If we can eschew all covetousness, anger, and foolish thoughts, all points will be as (clear as) flow? erS in a looking glass, as the moon in water- all suspense and fear will be no more: then will the heart be perfect. "
58. Chu Wan Kung: Wen? li: "Hence Chu the Accomplished, of the Sung Dynasty, said, 'Buddhism does not concern itself with any- thing in the four corners of the universe, but simply with the heart. ' "
59. Bother . . . neither . . . : Pound's great? uncle Albert used to say this to show his contempt for tbe Church of England because it did not concern itself with either politics or religion. Pound said that serious Victori- ans, from Hardy to Swinburne, thought like? wise [GK, 290]. Such a dim sense ofmorali? ty on tbe part of a state religion would be enough to give one a pain in various parts of one's anatomy.
60. Plotinus . . . : In Porphyry's brief life of P. at the opening of The Enneads, we read: "Plotinus was often distressed by an intes- tinal complaint, but declined clysters, pro- nouncing the use of such remedies unbecom- ing in an elderly man" [Enneads I, 1; Pai 2? 3, 45]. At St. Elizabeths Pound used the French version of Emile Brehier (Paris,
1954) [DG].
61. Body inside: [98:20].
62. Sd/Chu: The late Taoist tbeories of an elixir of gold which would purify the soul leads to the rejoinder, "clean out the body"; then the soul would take care of itself.
63. Tao talk: On the Taoist promise of im? mortality [98:61], the Wen? 1i says: "It is simply to nourish well the animal spirits, and to prolong life a few years-that is all! Chu the Accomplished said, 'Taoism does but conserve a little vitality. ' "
99/700-702
64. "e basta": I, "and enough. "
65. ut supra: L, "as above.
" Wen~li: "Again
there is a class of people whose grandfather had to toil and labour. . . hoarding, in a regular skin-flint fashion, before thay made a fortune. " The characters for hoarding are "scraping-the-iron? off? the? end? of? a? needle? fashion saving" [98:153].
66. tuan! cheng4: [Cf. 54 above].
67. amicitia: [Amicizia] : I, "friendship. "
68. Four books: Great Learning, Analects, Doctrine o f the Mean, Mencius.
69. 5 relations: [98:62].
70. Mr. Baller: [98:124].
71. Canto whatever: [28/136].
72. The Papist . . . : Wen? li: "Neither are the Papists orthodox, who speak of heaven and earth and the Invisible. It was simply be? cause they understood astronomy, and were able to calculate the rules for astronomical tables, that tbe government made use of them to compile the Calendar. This is by no means to say their sect is good: you must on no account believe them. "
73. pu k'o hsin: [M5379], "not"; [M3381], "can"; [M2748], "believe. "
74. hsin! shu4. 5 hai4 : [M2735], "mind"; [M5889], "device"; [M2015], "injure":
"mind's principles damaged. "
4
75. cheng : [Cf. 66 above].
76. huo4? 5 fU2. 5: Hu02? 5 [not hu04. 5]
99/702-706
"heart"; li3. . [not li3-5] [M3865]; "in": "Heaven's temple is in the heart. "
80. The phallos . . . : At least the Buddhists didn't create a whole spectrum of "sins of the flesh" as did the various Christian sects after Augustine and again after the 12th century.
81. chih3: Chi'ih [MI037], "upper inci? sors"; [MI037? 25], "gnash the teeth. "
82. wo4. 5: [M7163], "paltry. "
83. ch'o4. 5: [MI287], "grate the teeth. "
3
84. kuan : [M3557], "control. "
85. chao4: [M238], "care for. "
86. che yang ti jen: Che4 [M265, "in this way"; yang4 [M7256], "kind"; ti4. 5 [M6213], a particle; jen2 [M3097], "man. "
87. ! iu2 : [M4080], "flow. "
88. pai lui: Pai4 [M4866], "ruin"; lui4
96. grain. the ear. "
641 : Hsiu4 also means "grain in
[M2401] , "2
[MI982], 'Buddha. " Wen? li: "If men were aware that at the present time there are two Living Buddhas [their parents] placed in tbeir own homes, why need they go else?
where to worship on the mountains and to seek happiness from idols? "
77. Kuang Ming: [Cf. 46 above].
78. Kbaty: [Cf. 45 above].
79. tien t'ang2 hsin! li3. 5: T'ien [M6361]' "heaven"; [M6107] , "temple"; [M2735];
incarnations
of Buddha";
[M4244], "bad class. " The components of
lui4 are *,"rice"; -K, "dog"; and r, 104. Yao: [53:14]. The "lovelies" are his
"head. "
89. An Ting: Wen? li: "In the Sung Dynasty there was one Hu-u'en called An-ting, a dis- trict officer of Instruction. . . . "
90. Wen2 Weng! : Wen? li: "In the Han Dy? nasty there was a certain Wen-ong, A Prefect in tbe Province of Se? ch'uan" [cf. 52 above].
92. Ne ultra . . . : [98:169].
93. Dohnetsch: [81 :48]. He carried on his family tradition of making great musical in- struments, as the circus performers of the "Big Top" carried on their tradition.
94. hsiu4 ts'an2 : [M2803], "cultivated tal? ents"; ts'ai2 Jnot tS'an2 ] [M6660], "ability. "
95. kuan! ch'ang2 : [M3552], "mandarin"; [M213] , "excelling. "
two daughters.
105. Hsiang i . . . : Hsiang3 [M2564], "think it over"; [M30l6], "one. "
106. hsiao4 : Hsiao! [not hsia04] [M2611]' "put into circulation. "
107. tsou: Tsou4 [M6808], "memorialize the emperor. "
108. k'ao ch'eng: [M3299? 16], "settlement between a superior and a subordinate. " The share of the harvest to be titbed, agreed upon through an argument between a land- owner and a tenant.
109. Thiers: [100:115]. Pound felt Thiers offered valid criticism of the income tax which was an advance on the earlier ideas of Talleyrand. .
110. Talleyrand: [101 :22].
111. PANURGIA: H, "knavery. "
112. SOPHIA: H, "wisdom. " Pound dis? cusses sophia and its relation to knowledge
[98:168].
musical instrument, which recalls Dol-
metsch.
91. pen yeh:
is also
a
Yeh 4 - 5
97. Kiang Sheng: Meaning the Sheng U or Sacred Edict The emperor required that it be read to all tbe people once a month.
98. Generation . . . : Wen-Ii: "The why and wherefore of these regulations no doubt is that mankind rely entirely upon their chilo dren to perpetuate their posterity. ".
99. hao hsin2 : Ha03 hsin! [M2062], "good heartedness"; [M2735], "affections. "
100. 0 4-5 : [M4809], "evil, foul. " A rhyme with "There is no darkness but ignorance"
[80: 141]. Education is the cure for that.
101. huai: Huai4 [M2232], "ruin" [cf. 88 above].
102. kids . . . homestead: [Pai, 2? 1, 79; n &2,319].
103. Born . . . gong: The words come from components of the characters.
? ? ? 642
and will as conceived by Aristotle and finds
that Aristotle's ideas will not do [GK, 326- 328].
113. scienza: I, "science. "
114. XN: Chap. 14 of the Edict concerns an enlightened tax system: "The ten voices . . . " is a way of saying "from time immemorial" or "according to ancient customs,"
99/706-710
prob. wants to suggest "roots. " Wen~li: "We have heard that nourishing the people is the basic root, consisting in clothing and food: farming and mulberry culture are the source for clothing and food. "
127. nung: Nung2 [M4768], "to farm. "
128_ sang: Sang!
31. pen yeh: [98:55,56]. A recurrent leit- motif.
32. Wang . . . incense: Wen-Ii: "The mind of man, as given by heaven, was, in the first instance upright and free from depravity; but from no other reason than cupidity it has deviated into depraved courses. . . . If you fulfill your duty to your parents at home, what need is there to go to a distance to burn incense. "
33. INTENZIONE: I, "Intention. " Pound translates the word in Donna mi prega [36/178]: "Deeming intention to be rea- son's peer and mate. " But he says there is "a mare's nest" in the word and allies it with a number of scholars in the Aristotelian tradi- tion, including the Arabs Alfarabi and Aver- roes, and Albertus Magnus and Scotus Eri- gena in the European tradition [LE, 178]. The "mare's nest" includes such canto themes as directio voluntatis and reason as "the light descending. "
34. Han: Wen-Ii: The Han scholars had a saying: "The nature of all people contains the five basic principles. But temperamen- tally some are energetic, some gentle, some
S, "I the
king. "
29. Odysseus'
. . .
: [Cf. 16 above].
disintegration-
l
nected with social
symbolized by increasing droughts [An- thology, 204-210].
39. se non fosse cive: I, "if he were not a citizen" [Par. VIII, 116]. The end of a ques- tion that began, "Now tell me would it be worse for man or earth. . . . "
40. Heaven . . . biceps: Wen-li: "Now in the laws and statutes there are a thousand sec- tions . . . and none go beyond the measure of affection and the calculation of reason. "
41. fa3 -5 : [MI762], tt, "law. " This char- acter has three components: r = "water"; . ? = "earth"; and ,. . L. . . . = "biceps. "
42. Crusaders' . . . : Whatever good intent the crusaders may have had was undone by those who lusted for money.
43. Normandy pawned . . . : By kings, to go on the Crusades [6+7:passim].
44. T. C. P '78: Thaddeus Coleman Pound [97:205]. His credit memos in effect cre- ated "non-interest-bearing money" or, as So-
cial Creditors would put it, "'debt-free money. "
45. Khati: [93:2].
46. kuang: [M3583], [M4534], "intelligence. "
"light. " Ming
"upright";
cheng 4
47. Synesius: S. of Cyrene, A. D. 370-413, Christian Neoplatonist who bewailed in let-
55. Four tuan: [85:33].
56. t'ung tree: Wen-Ii: "The Phoenix rests
48. Al Kindi: Abu
Ishaq. . . al-Kindi (L, Alkindus), ca. 810- ca. 873, born in Bazra, fl. in Baghdad. He became known as the philosopher of the Arabs because he was the first and only Arab philosopher. As an encyclopedic scientist, he transmitted Aristotle through the Neopla- tonic traditions and became an influence on Avicenna and Averroes as well as Roger Ba- con et a1.
49. Mencken: [81:31].
50. fromm: G, "innocent" or "hannless. "
51. Han(IX, i. e. nine): Wen-Ii: "The scholars of the Han Dynasty have said, 'The princi- ples of benevolence, right, propriety, know- ledge and sincerity, are in the hearts of all the people. But of people born in different places. . . . All this is the result of climatic influences [Literally, imbued with the wind breath of the water soil] ; hence it is spoke of as "Feng" (or Breath of Nature). ' "
52. Ven Ogn: Wen-Ii: "In the Han Dynasty there was a certain Wen-ong, a Prefect in the province of Si-ch'uan. Perceiving that the place was boorish and untaught, he built
tent . . . to accompany him. . . . The result was that the people became aware of the excellencies of study. . . . Now only Provin- cial Graduates . . . are employed to fill the post of Officer of Instructions who have . . . a literary degree. . . . Scholars on their part must . . . establish a character. First let the character be upright and then produce essays which are not mere paper talk. "
colleges. . . .
Whenever
cuit . . . he selected those who were compe-
53. can't . . . : Before office bought them.
54. tuan L [M6541], [M351], "upright. "
this, candidates for
Y usuf
Y a'qub ibn
he went
on cir-
? ? ? ? ? ? 640
on the wu-T'ung tree, a favorable omen. " A rhyme with an earlier statement about the Buddha: "Besides, he gave up his Harem, the Dragon Chamber, and the Phoenix Hall"
[98:67].
57. a mirrour . . . : Wen-Ii: "If we can eschew all covetousness, anger, and foolish thoughts, all points will be as (clear as) flow? erS in a looking glass, as the moon in water- all suspense and fear will be no more: then will the heart be perfect. "
58. Chu Wan Kung: Wen? li: "Hence Chu the Accomplished, of the Sung Dynasty, said, 'Buddhism does not concern itself with any- thing in the four corners of the universe, but simply with the heart. ' "
59. Bother . . . neither . . . : Pound's great? uncle Albert used to say this to show his contempt for tbe Church of England because it did not concern itself with either politics or religion. Pound said that serious Victori- ans, from Hardy to Swinburne, thought like? wise [GK, 290]. Such a dim sense ofmorali? ty on tbe part of a state religion would be enough to give one a pain in various parts of one's anatomy.
60. Plotinus . . . : In Porphyry's brief life of P. at the opening of The Enneads, we read: "Plotinus was often distressed by an intes- tinal complaint, but declined clysters, pro- nouncing the use of such remedies unbecom- ing in an elderly man" [Enneads I, 1; Pai 2? 3, 45]. At St. Elizabeths Pound used the French version of Emile Brehier (Paris,
1954) [DG].
61. Body inside: [98:20].
62. Sd/Chu: The late Taoist tbeories of an elixir of gold which would purify the soul leads to the rejoinder, "clean out the body"; then the soul would take care of itself.
63. Tao talk: On the Taoist promise of im? mortality [98:61], the Wen? 1i says: "It is simply to nourish well the animal spirits, and to prolong life a few years-that is all! Chu the Accomplished said, 'Taoism does but conserve a little vitality. ' "
99/700-702
64. "e basta": I, "and enough. "
65. ut supra: L, "as above.
" Wen~li: "Again
there is a class of people whose grandfather had to toil and labour. . . hoarding, in a regular skin-flint fashion, before thay made a fortune. " The characters for hoarding are "scraping-the-iron? off? the? end? of? a? needle? fashion saving" [98:153].
66. tuan! cheng4: [Cf. 54 above].
67. amicitia: [Amicizia] : I, "friendship. "
68. Four books: Great Learning, Analects, Doctrine o f the Mean, Mencius.
69. 5 relations: [98:62].
70. Mr. Baller: [98:124].
71. Canto whatever: [28/136].
72. The Papist . . . : Wen? li: "Neither are the Papists orthodox, who speak of heaven and earth and the Invisible. It was simply be? cause they understood astronomy, and were able to calculate the rules for astronomical tables, that tbe government made use of them to compile the Calendar. This is by no means to say their sect is good: you must on no account believe them. "
73. pu k'o hsin: [M5379], "not"; [M3381], "can"; [M2748], "believe. "
74. hsin! shu4. 5 hai4 : [M2735], "mind"; [M5889], "device"; [M2015], "injure":
"mind's principles damaged. "
4
75. cheng : [Cf. 66 above].
76. huo4? 5 fU2. 5: Hu02? 5 [not hu04. 5]
99/702-706
"heart"; li3. . [not li3-5] [M3865]; "in": "Heaven's temple is in the heart. "
80. The phallos . . . : At least the Buddhists didn't create a whole spectrum of "sins of the flesh" as did the various Christian sects after Augustine and again after the 12th century.
81. chih3: Chi'ih [MI037], "upper inci? sors"; [MI037? 25], "gnash the teeth. "
82. wo4. 5: [M7163], "paltry. "
83. ch'o4. 5: [MI287], "grate the teeth. "
3
84. kuan : [M3557], "control. "
85. chao4: [M238], "care for. "
86. che yang ti jen: Che4 [M265, "in this way"; yang4 [M7256], "kind"; ti4. 5 [M6213], a particle; jen2 [M3097], "man. "
87. ! iu2 : [M4080], "flow. "
88. pai lui: Pai4 [M4866], "ruin"; lui4
96. grain. the ear. "
641 : Hsiu4 also means "grain in
[M2401] , "2
[MI982], 'Buddha. " Wen? li: "If men were aware that at the present time there are two Living Buddhas [their parents] placed in tbeir own homes, why need they go else?
where to worship on the mountains and to seek happiness from idols? "
77. Kuang Ming: [Cf. 46 above].
78. Kbaty: [Cf. 45 above].
79. tien t'ang2 hsin! li3. 5: T'ien [M6361]' "heaven"; [M6107] , "temple"; [M2735];
incarnations
of Buddha";
[M4244], "bad class. " The components of
lui4 are *,"rice"; -K, "dog"; and r, 104. Yao: [53:14]. The "lovelies" are his
"head. "
89. An Ting: Wen? li: "In the Sung Dynasty there was one Hu-u'en called An-ting, a dis- trict officer of Instruction. . . . "
90. Wen2 Weng! : Wen? li: "In the Han Dy? nasty there was a certain Wen-ong, A Prefect in tbe Province of Se? ch'uan" [cf. 52 above].
92. Ne ultra . . . : [98:169].
93. Dohnetsch: [81 :48]. He carried on his family tradition of making great musical in- struments, as the circus performers of the "Big Top" carried on their tradition.
94. hsiu4 ts'an2 : [M2803], "cultivated tal? ents"; ts'ai2 Jnot tS'an2 ] [M6660], "ability. "
95. kuan! ch'ang2 : [M3552], "mandarin"; [M213] , "excelling. "
two daughters.
105. Hsiang i . . . : Hsiang3 [M2564], "think it over"; [M30l6], "one. "
106. hsiao4 : Hsiao! [not hsia04] [M2611]' "put into circulation. "
107. tsou: Tsou4 [M6808], "memorialize the emperor. "
108. k'ao ch'eng: [M3299? 16], "settlement between a superior and a subordinate. " The share of the harvest to be titbed, agreed upon through an argument between a land- owner and a tenant.
109. Thiers: [100:115]. Pound felt Thiers offered valid criticism of the income tax which was an advance on the earlier ideas of Talleyrand. .
110. Talleyrand: [101 :22].
111. PANURGIA: H, "knavery. "
112. SOPHIA: H, "wisdom. " Pound dis? cusses sophia and its relation to knowledge
[98:168].
musical instrument, which recalls Dol-
metsch.
91. pen yeh:
is also
a
Yeh 4 - 5
97. Kiang Sheng: Meaning the Sheng U or Sacred Edict The emperor required that it be read to all tbe people once a month.
98. Generation . . . : Wen-Ii: "The why and wherefore of these regulations no doubt is that mankind rely entirely upon their chilo dren to perpetuate their posterity. ".
99. hao hsin2 : Ha03 hsin! [M2062], "good heartedness"; [M2735], "affections. "
100. 0 4-5 : [M4809], "evil, foul. " A rhyme with "There is no darkness but ignorance"
[80: 141]. Education is the cure for that.
101. huai: Huai4 [M2232], "ruin" [cf. 88 above].
102. kids . . . homestead: [Pai, 2? 1, 79; n &2,319].
103. Born . . . gong: The words come from components of the characters.
? ? ? 642
and will as conceived by Aristotle and finds
that Aristotle's ideas will not do [GK, 326- 328].
113. scienza: I, "science. "
114. XN: Chap. 14 of the Edict concerns an enlightened tax system: "The ten voices . . . " is a way of saying "from time immemorial" or "according to ancient customs,"
99/706-710
prob. wants to suggest "roots. " Wen~li: "We have heard that nourishing the people is the basic root, consisting in clothing and food: farming and mulberry culture are the source for clothing and food. "
127. nung: Nung2 [M4768], "to farm. "
128_ sang: Sang!
