They who accord with Heaven are preserved, and they who rebel against Heaven perish. - Mencius

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.

1A1 can be read as a criticism of Mohism, a consequentialist philosophy that encouraged people to judge actions in terms of the benefits (or “profit”) they bring to people in general and not just to oneself or one’s group.

As for the people, if they lack a constant livelihood, it follows that they will lack a constant heart. No one who lacks a constant heart will avoid dissipation and evil. When they thereupon sink into crime, to go and punish the people is to trap them.