Quotes by Mencius

“Words that speak of things close at hand and carry far-reaching implications – those are the good words.”

“Words that defy reality are ominous. And it’s ominous reality that confronts those who would obscure the wise and worthy.”

“There’s only one way to know if people are good or evil: look at the choices they make. We each contain precious and worthless, great and small. Never injure the great for the sake of the small, or...”

“Integrity, wisdom, skill, intelligence – such things are forged in adversity.”

“For nurturing the mind, there’s nothing like paring your desires away to a very few. If you have few desires, there may still be some capricious whims in your mind, but they’ll be few. If you have ...”

“If someone stops where they should not, they’ll stop anywhere. If someone slights a person they should treat generously, they’ll slight anyone. And if someone races ahead, they retreat in a hurry.”

“If the king loves music, there is little wrong in the land.”

“Mencius went to see King Huei of Liang. The king said, Venerable sir, since you have not counted it far to come here, a distance of a thousand li, may I presume that you are provided with counsels ...”

“He who outrages benevolence is called a ruffian: he who outrages righteousness is called a villain. I have heard of the cutting off of the villain Chow, but I have not heard of the putting of a rul...”

“Those who are humane achieve glory. Those who are inhumane suffer disgrace.”

“The feeling of commiseration is the beginning of humanity; the feeling of shame and dislike is the beginning of righteousness; the feeling of deference and compliance is the beginning of propriety;...”

“They who accord with Heaven are preserved, and they who rebel against Heaven perish.”

“If you let people follow their feelings, they will be able to do good. This is what is meant by saying that human nature is good.”

“The sense of mercy is found in all men; the sense of shame is found in all men; the sense of respect is found in all men; the sense of right and wrong is found in all men.”

“The way of learning is none other than finding the lost mind.”

“He who exerts his mind to the utmost knows his nature.”

“The superior man has three things in which he delights, and to be ruler over the kingdom is not one of them. That his father and mother are both alive, and that the condition of his brothers afford...”

“Before a man can do things there must be things he will not do.”

“The virtues are not poured into us, they are natural. Seek, and you will find them: neglect, and you will lose them.”

“The great end of learning is nothing else but to seek for the lost mind.”