THE EPISTLE

...at last original: "tandem" he will name that Prince, for the sight of whom he has until now burned with such great zeal in vain. For when that extraordinary man had sketched in his books a distinguished Emperor original: "Imperatorem"—one such as he had shaped in his own mind—and could find no one among the ancient Princes of the Empire who truly matched his desires, in whom alone all those royal gifts might unite, and who would reflect that form and idea of a most perfect Prince, complete in every part, he then broke out into these words: Tai Ki Gin original: "Tái Kî Gîn." Likely a transliteration of "Dà Shèng Rén" (The Great Sage). The Jesuits often interpreted this Confucian concept as a prophecy of a future perfect ruler or even the Messiah. "This Man must be expected; he is the one who will come one day, and being endowed with a certain divine and admirable wisdom original: "sapientia", will reveal himself as such a one in whom neither our own desires nor public ones could find anything lacking."

Would he not, if only he were to come back to life and behold You, GREAT KING, contemplate You and recognize that You are that very person whom he had foreseen in his mind? And, filled with incredible joy, would he not cry out that his prayer had finally been granted? Would he not propose Your wisdom in governing such a vast Kingdom to all other kings? Would he not seek examples from Your character and laws from Your utterances? Finally, would he not wish for Your piety, mercy, justice, and that steady serenity and presence of mind and countenance—maintained amidst such a heavy burden of great affairs and business—joined with such great Majesty, to serve as a standard and rule for all Princes?

Indeed, because that most wise Philosopher Confucius had realized, by the light of nature and reason alone, that nothing ought to be more important to man than religion, and since he directed his own teaching and discipline toward this one goal—that mortals should arrange their entire lives according to the laws and precepts of the Supreme Deity original: "supremi Numinis." This phrase reinforces the Jesuit argument that ancient Chinese thought was proto-Christian or monotheistic.—therefore, nothing was more important or preferable to him than to [oppose] sects and foreign...