Mencius Quotes

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

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

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

Truth uttered before its time is dangerous.

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

When Heaven is about to confer a great office upon you, it first exercises your mind with suffering and your sinews and bones with toil.

Charity is in the heart of man, and righteousness in the path of men. Pity the man who has lost his path and does not follow it and who has lost his heart and does not know how to recover it. When people's dogs and chicks are lost they go out and look for them and yet the people who have lost their hearts do not go out and look for them. The principle of self-cultivation consists in nothing but trying to look for the lost heart.

Friendship with a man is friendship with his virtue, and does not admit of assumptions of superiority.

The feeling of compassion is the beginning of humanity.

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

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

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

If you know the point of balance, You can settle the details. If you can settle the details, You can stop running around. Your mind will become calm. If your mind becomes calm, You can think in front of a tiger. If you can think in front of a tiger, You will surely succeed.

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

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

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.

Friends are the siblings God never gave us.

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.

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

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

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

When I say that all men have the mind which cannot bear to see the suffering of others, my meaning is illustrated this way: when two men suddenly see a child about to fall into a well, they all have a feeling of alarm and distress, not to gain friendship with the child's parents, nor to seek the praise of their neighbors and friends. From such a case, we see that a man without the feeling of commiseration is not a man. The feeling of commiseration is the beginning of humanity.

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

Mankind fears an evil man but heaven does not.

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

There is the work of great men and there is the work of little men. Therefore it is said, 'Some labor with their minds and some labor with their strength. Those who labor with their minds govern others; those who labor with their strength are governed by others.'1 Those who are governed by others support them; those who govern them are supported by them. This is a universal principle.

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

Friendship is one mind in two bodies.

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

Human nature is disposed to do good.

The great person never loses a childlike spirit.

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

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

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

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.

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

He who wishes to be benevolent will not be rich.

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

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

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

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.

The Tao is near and people seek it far away.

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

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

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

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

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

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.