Mencius Men Quotations

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

Mankind fears an evil man but heaven does not.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The feeling of commiseration is the beginning of humanity; the feeling of shame and dislike is the beginning of righteousness; the feeling of deference and compliance is the beginning of propriety; and the feeling of right or wrong is the beginning of wisdom.Men have these Four Beginnings just as they have their four limbs. Having these Four Beginnings, but saying that they cannot develop them is to destroy themselves.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Benevolence is one of the distinguishing characters of man.

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

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.

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

It is true that water will flow indifferently to east and west, but will it flow equally well up and down? Human nature is disposed toward goodness, just as water tends to flow downwards. There is no water but flows downwards, and no man but shows his tendency to be good. Now, by striking water hard, you may splash it higher than your forehead, and by damming it, you may make it go uphill. But, is that the nature of water? It is external force that causes it to do so. Likewise, if a man is made to do what is not good, his nature is being similarly forced.

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

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.

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

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

When Heaven is about to confer a great office on a man, it first exercises his mind with suffering, and his sinews and bones with toil ; it exposes his body to hunger, and subjects him to extreme poverty ; it confounds his undertakings. By all these methods it stimulates his mind, hardens his nature, and supplies his incompetencies.