Mencius Quotes

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

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#2. Water indeed will flow indifferently to the east or west, but will it flow indifferently up or down? The tendency of our nature to good is like the tendency of water to flow downwards. There are none but have this tendency to good, just as all water flows downward.

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

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#4. 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.

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

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#6. All things are complete within ourselves.

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

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

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

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#10. Secure property in hand leads to peace in mind.

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

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#12. The great person never loses a childlike spirit.

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

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#14. I understand what lies hidden beneath beguiling words. I understand the trap beneath extravagant words. I understand the deceit beneath depraved words. And I understand the weariness beneath evasive words.

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

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

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#17. 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.

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

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#19. The feeling of right or wrong is the beginning of wisdom

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

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

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

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#23. 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.

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

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

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#26. 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.

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#27. I like fish, and I also like bear's paws. If I cannot have the two together, I will let the fish go, and take the bear's paws. So, I like life, and I also like righteousness. If I cannot keep the two together, I will let life go, and choose righteousness.

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

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#29. 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.

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

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#31. 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.

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#32. 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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#39. 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.

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

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

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

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#43. Human nature is disposed to do good.

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

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

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#46. The feeling of compassion is the beginning of humanity.

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

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#48. 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 ruler to death.

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

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

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

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

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#53. He who wishes to be benevolent will not be rich.

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

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#55. All things are already complete in us. There is no greater delight than to be conscious of right within us. If one strives to treat others as he would be treated by them, he shall not fail to come near the perfect life.

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

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

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#58. Never has there been one possessed of complete sincerity who did not move others. Never has there been one who had not sincerity who was able to move others.

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

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#60. 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.

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

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#62. If you love men and they are unfriendly, look into your love; if you rule men and they are unruly, look into your wisdom; if you are courteous to them and they do not respond, look into your courtesy. If what you do is vain, always seek within.

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#63. To act without clear understanding, to form habits without investigation, to follow a path all one's life without knowing where it really leads; such is the behavior of the multitude.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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#70. Treat your elders as elders, and extend it to the elders of others; treat your young ones as young ones, and extend it to the young ones of others; then you can turn the whole world in the palm of your hand

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#71. Mankind fears an evil man but heaven does not.

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

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#73. The Tao is near and people seek it far away.

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

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

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

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#77. The path of duty lies in what is near, and men seek for it in what is remote; the work of duty lies in what is easy, and men seek for it in what is difficult.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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#85. Let not a man do what his sense of right bids him not to do, nor desire what it forbids him to desire. This is sufficient. The skillful artist will not alter his measures for the sake of a stupid workman.

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#86. In abundance prepare for scarcity.

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

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#88. The five kinds of grains are considered good plants, but if the grains are not ripe, they are worse than cockles. It is the same with regard to kindness, which must grow into maturity.

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

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#90. Evil exists to glorify the good. Evil is negative good. It is a relative term. Evil can be transmuted into good. What is evil to one at one time, becomes good at another time to somebody else.

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#91. To feed men and not to love them is to treat them as if they were barnyard cattle. To love them and not respect them is to treat them as if they were household pets.

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#92. With melted snow I boil fragrant tea.

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#93. Truth uttered before its time is always dangerous.

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

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

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#96. 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 many desires, there may be some enduring principles in your mind, but they'll be few indeed.

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#97. Sincerity is the way to Heaven.

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#98. 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.

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#99. Benevolence is one of the distinguishing characters of man.

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

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