Mencius Quotes

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

Friendship is one mind in two bodies.

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

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

Those with cringing postures and flattering smiles work harder than those who till the fields in summer.

The great man does not think beforehand of his words that they may be sincere, nor of his actions that they may be resolute; — he simply speaks and does what is right.

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

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 affords no cause for anxiety;—this is one delight. That, when looking up, he has no occasion for shame before Heaven, and, below, he has no occasion to blush before men;—this is a second delight. That he can get from the whole kingdom the most talented individuals, and teach and nourish them;—this is the third delight.

If a man does great deeds, then amongst his descendants in generations to come there will be one who will become a true King. All a gentleman can do in starting an enterprise is to leave behind a tradition which can be carried on. Heaven alone can grant success. What can you do about [your endeavours]? You can only try your best to do good.

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

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

They agree with the current customs. They consent with an impure age. Their principles have a semblance of right-heartedness and truth. Their conduct has a semblance of disinterestedness and purity. All men are pleased with them, and they think themselves right, but you cannot enter into the Way of Yao and Shun with them. For this reason they are called “The thieves of virtue.

When grain, fish, turtles, and wood are inexhaustible, this will make the people have no regrets in caring for the living or mourning the dead. When the people have no regrets about caring for the living or mourning the dead, it is the beginning of the Kingly Way.

The heart of compassion is the germ of benevolence; the heart of shame, of dutifulness; the heart of courtesy and modesty, of observance of the rites; the heart of right and wrong, of wisdom. Man has these four germs just as he has four limbs. For a man possessing these four germs to deny his own potentialities is for him to cripple himself.

Mohists aimed at impartial consequences rather than individual self-interest. But Mengzi argues that this practice is self-undermining: aiming directly at profit is, paradoxically, unprofitable.