Mencius Quotes

A real man is he whose goodness is a part of himself.

He who respects others is respected by them.

Truth uttered before its time is dangerous.

The great man is he who does not lose his child's heart

All beneath Heaven is rooted in nation. Nation is rooted in family. And family is rooted in self.

Sincerity is the way to Heaven.

The feeling of compassion is the beginning of humanity.

A man must first despise himself, and then others will despise him.

Getting something done is like digging a well. You can dig a well seventy feet deep, but if you don't hit water it's just an abandoned well.

Only when someone refuses to do certain things will he be capable of doing great things.

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

221. "Great is the man who has not lost his childlike heart."~

All tongues savor the same flavors, all ears hear the same music, and all eyes see the same beauty.

Listen to a man's words and look at the pupil of his eye. How can a man conceal his character?

The foundation of the world lies in the nation. The foundation of the nation lies in the family. The foundation of the family lies in the individual.

A trail through the mountains, if used, becomes a path in a short time, but, if unused, becomes blocked by grass in an equally short time.

The gap between enthusiasm and indifference is filled with failures. The great man is he that does not lose his child's heart.

Don't do what should not be done, and don't desire what should not be desired. Abide by this one precept, and everything else will follow.

To lay hold of the mean without taking into account the occasion is like grasping one thing only.

People can have a long-term life plan only if they know their private property is secure.

The Way lies at hand yet it is sought afar off; the thing lies in the easy yet it is sought in the difficult.

A small country cannot contend with a great; the few cannot contend with the many; the weak cannot contend with the strong

The tendency of mans nature to good is like the tendency of water to flow downward.

In abundance prepare for scarcity.

Never has a man who has bent himself been able to make others straight.

Filling with food,
Warming with clothes,
Living leisurely without learning,
It is little short of animals.

With melted snow I boil fragrant tea.

Only when a man will not do some things is he capable of doing great things.

The Tao is near and people seek it far away.

He who attends to his greater self becomes a great man, and he who attends to his smaller self becomes a small man.

Treat others as you would be treated. Devote yourself to that, for there's no more direct approach to Humanity.

Virtue alone is not sufficient for the exercise of government; laws alone cannot carry themselves into practice.

The ways are two: love and want of love. That is all.

Is it only the mouth and belly which are injured by hunger and thirst? Men's minds are also injured by them.

The people turn in allegiance to Humanity, as surely as water flows downward or as a wild animal takes cover in the wilderness.

Friends are the siblings God never gave us

The myriad things are complete in us. There is no greater joy than to reflect on ourselves and become sincere.

The poor attend to their own virtue in solitude.

People are distressed by their inability to do it. The problem, however, is simply that they don't do it.

All things are complete within ourselves.

Friendship with a man is friendship with his virtue.

Let men decide firmly what they will not do, and they will be free to do vigorously what they ought to do.

Make your learning abundant and speak of it with precision, then you will speak of essentials.

Heaven sees as the people see. Heaven hears as the people hear.

The best things in life come in threes, like friends, dreams, and memories.

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.

Truth uttered before its time is always dangerous.

A great man is he who has not lost the heart of a child.

He who wishes to be benevolent will not be rich.

He who exerts his mind to the utmost knows his nature

He who loves others is constantly loved by them. He who respects others is constantly respected by them.

A great man is one who has not lost the child's heart.

Every duty is a charge, but the charge of oneself is the root of all others.

By exhaustively examining one's own mind,one may understand his nature.One who understands his own nature understands Heaven.

Those who follow the part of themselves which is great are great men; those who follow the part which is little are little men.

Where it is permissible both to die and not to die, it is an abuse of valour to die.

The man of true greatness never loses his child's heart.

The sole concern of learning is to seek one's original heart.

The great person never loses a childlike spirit.

Incessant falls teach men to reform, and distress rouses their strength. Life springs from calamity, and death from ease.

The way is near, but men seek it afar. It is in easy things, but men seek for it in difficult things.

If you know that a thing is unrighteous, then use all dispatch in putting an end to it
why wait till next year?

One who believes all of a book would be better off without books

That's like climbing a tree to find a fish.

The people are the most important element in a nation; the spirits of the land and grain are the next; the sovereign is the least.

The way of truth is like a great highway. It is not hard to find.

I am not fond of disputation; I have no alternative.

Human nature is good, just as water seeks low ground. There is no man who is not good, just as there is no water that does not flow downward.

All people have the common desire to be elevated in honour, but all people have something still more elevated in themselves without knowing it.

The disease of men is that they neglect their own fields and go to weed the fields of others.

Only when there are things a man will not do is he capable of doing great things.

If Confucius wasn't born, the long night would have no bright lamp.

If the prince of a State love benevolence, he will have no opponent in all the empire.

Without effective protection of the citizens' right to property, it will be difficult to attract and accumulate valuable capital.

Men must be decided on what they will not do, and then they are able to act with vigor in what they ought to do.

Sincerity is the way to heaven; to think how to be sincere is the way of man.

Try your best to treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself, and you will find that this is the shortest way to benevolence

Secure property in hand leads to peace in mind.

He who goes to the bottom of his own heart knows his own nature;
And knowing his own nature, he knows heaven.

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

There is a power in everything; it is the job of the artist to determine it and express it.

I dislike death, however, there are some things I dislike more than death. Therefore, there are times when I will not avoid danger.

The feeling of right or wrong is the beginning of wisdom

Mankind fears an evil man but heaven does not.

The root of the kingdom is in the state. The root of the state is in the family. The root of the family is in the person of its head.

People are eager to comment on something when they themselves are not in the situation of doing it.

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

Human nature is disposed to do good.

Benevolence is one of the distinguishing characters of man.

The way of truth is like a great road. It is not difficult to know it. The evil is only that men will not seek it.

If the King loves music, it is well with the land.

There is no greater delight than to be conscious of sincerity on self-examination.

Kindly words do not enter so deeply into men as a reputation for kindness.

The regular path of virtue is to be pursued without any bend, and from no view to emolument.

A man must not be without shame, for the shame of being without shame is shamelessness indeed.

Never lose your child's heart.

When one by force subdues men, they do not submit to him in heart. They submit because their strength is not adequate to resist.

It is not difficult to govern. All one has to do is not to offend the noble families.

The way is One and only One. The way is close at hand, but men seek it afar.

Only those who develop their minds and spirits to the utmost can serve Heaven and fulfill their own destinies.