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Mohism -> Mozi -> Book 8 -> On Ghosts III -> 1

墨子Mozi said:
With the passing of the sage-kings of the Three Dynasties,
天下the world lost its righteousness
諸侯 and the feudal lords took might as right.
The superior and the subordinates are no longer gracious and loyal;
father and son, elder and younger brother are no longer affectionate and filial, brotherly and respectful, virtuous and kind.
The rulers do not attend diligently to government
and the artisans do not attend earnestly to their work.
1
The people practise immorality and wickedness and become rebellious. Thieves and bandits
with weapons, poison, water, and fire
退 hold up innocent travellers on the highways and the bypaths,
robbing them of their carts and horses, coats and fur coats, to enrich themselves.
All these start therewith (with the passing of the sage-kings).
天下 And so the world falls into chaos.
Now what is the reason for this confusion?
It is all because of the doubt of the existence of the ghosts and spirits, and the ignorance of their being able to reward virtue and punish vice.
使天下天下If all the people in the world believed that the spirits are able to reward virtue and punish vice, how could the world be in chaos?

1. 亂 : Inserted. 孫詒讓《墨子閒詁》


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