2. "The high and the low,"—that is, the distinction of ranks. 礼义 may be considered a hendiadys, and so 政事 in the next paragraph. 义 is the right, or rightness, on which the rules of propriety are founded,and 事 is the various business that flows from the right principles of government.
CHAPTER 13. ONLY BY BENEVOLENCE CAN THE EMPIRE BE GOT.
Many comm. put 有之 in the potential mood, as if it were 或有之. This is not allowable. Facts may be alleged that seem to be in opposition to the concluding statement. The commentator Tsow (邹) says: "From the dynasty of Ts＇in downwards, there have been cases, when the empire was got by men without benevolence, but in such cases, it has been lost again after one or two reigns."