Mencius
Mencius
Mencius /ˈmɛnʃiəs/ or Mengzi Chinese: 孟子;was a Chinese philosopher who is the most famous Confucian after Confucius himself...
NationalityChinese
ProfessionPhilosopher
CountryChina
exercise practice government
Virtue alone is not sufficient for the exercise of government; laws alone cannot carry themselves into practice.
water flow west
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.
compassion two want
The ways are two: love and want of love. That is all.
attitude spirit great-person
The great person never loses a childlike spirit.
cutting ruffian villain
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.
love-is government opponents
If the prince of a State love benevolence, he will have no opponent in all the empire.
self-esteem lying self-confidence
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.
noble authority difficult
It is not difficult to govern. All one has to do is not to offend the noble families.
kindness compassion maturity
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.
responsibility roots duty
Every duty is a charge, but the charge of oneself is the root of all others.
perfection all-things
All things are complete within ourselves.
death abuse dies
Where it is permissible both to die and not to die, it is an abuse of valour to die.