Mencius

1.1 Mencius visited King Hui of Liang. The king said, “Venerable sir! You have come a thousand li without counting the distance. Surely you have something that will profit my state?”Mencius replied, “Your Majesty, why speak of profit? There is only humaneness and rightness. If the king says, ‘How may I profit my state?’ his ministers say, ‘How may I profit my house?’ and men of service and commoners say, ‘How may I profit myself?’ When high and low contend with one another for profit, the state is imperiled. In a state of ten thousand chariots, the one who murders its ruler will come from a house of a thousand chariots; in a state of a thousand chariots, from a house of a hundred. To possess a thousand out of ten thousand, or a hundred out of a thousand, is hardly a small share. But if one puts rightness last and profit first, nothing short of seizing everything will satisfy him. No humane person has ever abandoned his parents; no righteous person has ever slighted his ruler. Your Majesty should speak of humaneness and rightness alone. Why speak of profit?”

1.2 Mencius visited King Hui of Liang. Standing beside a pond, the king looked around at the wild geese and deer and said, “Do the worthy also take pleasure in such things?”Mencius replied, “Only the worthy can enjoy them; the unworthy, though they possess them, cannot. The Odes say:‘They laid out the Spirit Tower,Measured and planned its ground.The people joined in building it;Before a day had passed, it stood.They were told not to hurry the work;The people came as children to a father.The king was in the Spirit Park,Where does lay at rest;The does were glossy-coated,The white birds gleamed.The king was by the Spirit Pond;How full it was of leaping fish!’King Wen built his tower and pond with the labor of his people, and the people delighted in them: they called his tower the Spirit Tower and his pond the Spirit Pond, and rejoiced that he had deer, fish, and turtles. The ancients shared their pleasures with the people, and so could truly enjoy them. The Oath of Tang says, ‘When will this sun perish? I will perish with you!’ The people wished to perish together with that ruler. Though he had terraces and ponds, birds and beasts, how could he enjoy them alone?”

1.3 King Hui of Liang said, “I devote all my heart to my state. When famine strikes west of the river, I move its people east of the river and send grain west; when famine strikes east of the river, I do likewise. Looking at the government of neighboring states, none takes such pains as I do. Yet their populations do not diminish, while mine does not increase. Why?”Mencius replied, “Your Majesty delights in warfare; let me use warfare as an illustration. The drums thunder, the blades meet, and soldiers abandon their armor and flee, dragging their weapons. Some stop after a hundred paces, some after fifty. What if those who ran fifty paces laughed at those who ran a hundred?”The king said, “They cannot. They simply did not run a hundred paces; they too ran away.”Mencius said, “If Your Majesty understands this, do not expect your population to outnumber your neighbors’. Do not interfere with the farming seasons, and there will be more grain than can be eaten. Keep fine-meshed nets out of the ponds, and there will be more fish and turtles than can be eaten. Let axes enter the hills and forests only in season, and there will be more timber than can be used. With grain, fish, and turtles beyond their needs, and timber beyond their use, the people will nourish the living and bury the dead without regret. This is the beginning of the Kingly Way. Plant mulberry trees around a five-mu homestead, and those of fifty can wear silk. Raise chickens, piglets, dogs, and hogs without neglecting their breeding seasons, and those of seventy can eat meat. Do not take away the farming time from a hundred-mu field, and a family of several mouths need not go hungry. Attend carefully to the teaching in the schools; impress on the people their duty to parents and elder brothers, and gray-haired people will no longer carry loads along the roads. That the old should wear silk and eat meat, while ordinary people suffer neither hunger nor cold, and yet the ruler should fail to be king of the world—such a thing has never been. But dogs and hogs eat human food and no one restrains them; starving bodies lie by the roads and no one opens the granaries. When people die, one says, ‘It was not I; it was the harvest.’ How is this different from stabbing a man to death and saying, ‘It was not I; it was the blade’? Your Majesty, do not blame the harvest, and the people of the world will come to you.”

1.4 King Hui of Liang said, “I would gladly receive your teaching.”Mencius replied, “Is there any difference between killing a man with a club and killing him with a blade?”“No difference.”“Is there any difference between killing him with a blade and killing him through government?”“No difference.”Mencius said, “There is rich meat in your kitchens and fat horses in your stables; the people look hungry, and starving bodies lie in the fields. This is leading beasts to devour human beings. People loathe it even when beasts eat one another. If a ruler who governs as the people's father and mother cannot avoid leading beasts to devour people, in what sense is he their father and mother? Confucius said, ‘May the first man who made burial effigies have no descendants!’ He said this because the figures resembled human beings and were put to such use. How, then, can anyone cause his people to starve to death?”

1.5 King Hui of Liang said, “No state under Heaven was stronger than Jin, as you know, sir. But in my time we were defeated by Qi in the east, where my eldest son died; in the west we lost seven hundred li of land to Qin; and in the south Chu humiliated us. I am ashamed of this, and for the sake of the dead I wish to wipe away the disgrace. What must I do?”Mencius replied, “Even with a territory of a hundred li square, one can become king of the world. If Your Majesty extends humane government to the people, reduces punishments, lightens taxes, and lets them plow deep and weed thoroughly, the strong can use their spare days to cultivate devotion to parents and elder brothers, loyalty, and trustworthiness—serving their fathers and elder brothers at home and their elders and superiors abroad. They could then fashion clubs and beat the strong armor and sharp weapons of Qin and Chu. Those rulers steal the time their people need to cultivate their fields and support their parents. Parents freeze and starve; brothers, wives, and children are scattered. Those rulers plunge their people into misery. If Your Majesty goes to punish them, who will stand against you? Thus it is said, ‘The humane have no enemies.’ Do not doubt it, Your Majesty.”

1.6 Mencius visited King Xiang of Liang. On leaving, he told someone, “From a distance he did not look like a ruler; when I came close, I saw nothing that inspired respect. Abruptly he asked, ‘How can the world be settled?’ I answered, ‘By uniting it.’ ‘Who can unite it?’ he asked. I replied, ‘One who does not delight in killing people can unite it.’ ‘Who will support him?’ I replied, ‘Everyone under Heaven will support him. Does Your Majesty know the young shoots of grain? If there is drought in the seventh and eighth months, they wither. When clouds gather thickly and rain pours down, they spring up vigorously. Once that happens, who can hold them back? Now among the shepherds of the people throughout the world, there is not one who does not delight in killing. If there were one who did not delight in killing, the people of the whole world would crane their necks in expectation of him. If this truly happened, the people would turn to him like water rushing downhill. Who could hold back that flood?’”

1.7 King Xuan of Qi asked, “May I hear about the affairs of Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin?”Mencius replied, “Among Confucius's followers no one spoke of the affairs of Huan and Wen, so nothing about them has come down to later generations; I have heard nothing of them. If I must speak, let it be about becoming a true king.”“What kind of virtue enables one to become a king?”“Protect the people and become king: no one can withstand you.”“Can a man like me protect the people?”“Yes.”“How do you know I can?”“I heard from Hu He that once, as Your Majesty sat in the hall, a man led an ox past below. Seeing it, you said, ‘Where is the ox going?’ He answered, ‘To consecrate a bell with its blood.’ Your Majesty said, ‘Release it! I cannot bear to see it trembling, like an innocent creature being led to its death.’ The man asked, ‘Then shall we dispense with the consecration of the bell?’ You answered, ‘How can we dispense with it? Substitute a sheep.’ Did this happen?”“It did.”“That heart is enough to make you king. The people all supposed Your Majesty was being stingy, but I knew you could not bear its suffering.”The king said, “Yes, there really are people who think that. Though Qi is small, would I begrudge one ox? I could not bear to see it trembling, as an innocent creature going to its death. That is why I substituted a sheep.”“Your Majesty need not be surprised that the people thought you stingy. Replacing the large with the small—how could they know your reason? If you pitied its innocent passage to death, what distinction could there be between ox and sheep?”The king laughed. “What was truly in my heart? I did not replace it with a sheep to save its cost. No wonder the people called me stingy.”“There is no harm in that. It is the way of humaneness: you had seen the ox but had not seen the sheep. When a noble person sees animals alive, he cannot bear to see them die; when he hears their cries, he cannot bear to eat their flesh. That is why a noble person stays far from the kitchen.”The king was pleased. “The Odes say, ‘What lies in another's heart, I can discern.’ That describes you, Master. I acted, but on looking back and searching my heart, I could not understand it. Your words have stirred something in my heart. How does this heart of mine accord with kingship?”“Suppose someone reported to Your Majesty, ‘I have strength enough to lift a hundred jun but cannot lift a single feather; sight keen enough to see the tip of an autumn hair, but cannot see a cartload of firewood.’ Would you believe him?”“No.”“Your compassion now reaches beasts, but its benefits do not reach the people. Why? A feather goes unlifted because strength is not used; a cartload of firewood goes unseen because sight is not used; the people go unprotected because compassion is not used. Your Majesty does not become king because you do not act, not because you cannot.”“How can one distinguish the appearance of refusing to act from that of being unable?”“To carry Mount Tai under one's arm and leap over the North Sea, and tell someone, ‘I cannot do it,’ is truly to be unable. To bend a branch for an elder and say, ‘I cannot do it,’ is to refuse, not to be unable. Your Majesty's failure to become king is not like carrying Mount Tai across the North Sea; it is like bending a branch. Treat your own elders as elders, and extend that care to the elders of others; treat your own young as young, and extend that care to the young of others. Then you can govern the world as easily as turning your palm. The Odes say, ‘He set the pattern for his wife, extended it to his brothers, and so governed household and state.’ This speaks only of taking this heart and applying it to others. Extend your compassion, and it is enough to protect all within the four seas; fail to extend it, and you cannot even protect your wife and children. The ancients excelled others in no other respect than this: they knew how to extend what they did. Why, then, does your compassion reach beasts, but its benefits fail to reach the people? Weigh something, and only then can you know its weight; measure it, and only then can you know its length. So it is with all things, and most of all the heart. I ask Your Majesty to measure yours. Or will you be satisfied only after raising armored troops, endangering your officers and ministers, and provoking enmity among the lords?”The king said, “No. How could that satisfy me? I seek to achieve my greatest desire.”“May I hear what Your Majesty most desires?”The king smiled without speaking.“Is it because rich food does not satisfy your mouth? Because light, warm clothing does not satisfy your body? Because bright colors do not suffice for your eyes, or music for your ears? Because your attendants are not enough to carry out your commands? Your ministers can provide all these. Surely these are not what you seek?”“No. These are not my reason.”“Then your great desire is plain: to enlarge your territory, receive Qin and Chu at your court, rule the central states, and pacify the peoples on the four borders. To seek such ends by the means you now employ is like climbing a tree in search of fish.”“Is it really as bad as that?”“Worse. Climb a tree for fish, and though you catch none, no calamity follows. Pursue your desire by your present means, and however fully you spend your strength and heart on it, calamity will surely follow.”“May I hear why?”“If the people of Zou fought the people of Chu, who would win, in Your Majesty's judgment?”“The people of Chu.”“So the small cannot withstand the large, the few cannot withstand the many, and the weak cannot withstand the strong. Within the seas there are nine tracts each a thousand li square; Qi gathers in its possession one of them. To subdue eight with one—how is this different from Zou opposing Chu? You must return to the root instead. If Your Majesty institutes humane government, all the men of service in the world will wish to stand in your court, its farmers to till your fields, its merchants to store goods in your markets, its travelers to pass along your roads, and all who resent their rulers to bring their complaints before you. If this comes to pass, who could withstand you?”The king said, “I am muddled and cannot advance so far. I ask you, Master, to help me set my purpose and teach me clearly. Though I am slow of understanding, let me try.”Mencius said, “Only men of service can maintain a steadfast heart without a secure livelihood. As for ordinary people, without a secure livelihood they have no steadfast heart. Once they lose their steadfast heart, there is nothing reckless, perverse, depraved, or extravagant that they will not do. When they have fallen into crime and only then one punishes them, one has trapped the people. How could a humane man in power trap the people? Thus an enlightened ruler provides the people with a livelihood that lets them support their parents above and nourish wives and children below, eat their fill throughout prosperous years and escape death in years of famine. Only then does he guide them toward goodness, and the people follow easily. Today the livelihood provided for the people does not allow them to support their parents or nourish wives and children. Even in prosperous years they toil in misery; in famine years they cannot escape death. They fear they lack even the means to survive: how can they find the leisure to cultivate ritual propriety and rightness? If Your Majesty wishes to put this into practice, why not return to the root? Plant mulberry trees on a five-mu homestead, and those of fifty can wear silk. Raise chickens, piglets, dogs, and hogs without neglecting their breeding seasons, and those of seventy can eat meat. Do not steal the farming season from a hundred-mu field, and a family of eight need not go hungry. Attend carefully to education in the schools and impress upon people their duty to parents and elder brothers, and gray-haired people will no longer bear loads along the roads. That the old should wear silk and eat meat, the people suffer neither hunger nor cold, and yet the ruler fail to become king of the world—such a thing has never been.”

2.1 Zhuang Bao visited Mencius and said, “I had an audience with the king, who told me that he loves music. I did not know what to say.” He asked, “What do you think of loving music?”Mencius said, “If the king loves music deeply, Qi may yet prosper!”On another day Mencius had an audience with the king and said, “Your Majesty once told Zhuang Bao that you love music. Is that so?”The king's face changed. “I cannot claim to love the music of the ancient kings; I only love the music of our age.”“If Your Majesty loves music deeply, Qi may yet prosper. The music of today is like that of antiquity in this respect.”“May I hear how?”“Which brings greater joy: enjoying music alone or enjoying it with others?”“With others.”“And which brings greater joy: enjoying it with a few or with many?”“With many.”“Then let me speak to Your Majesty of music. If you play music here today and the people hear your bells and drums, pipes and flutes, they will clutch their aching heads, knit their brows, and tell one another, ‘Our king loves music, but why has he brought us to such misery? Fathers and sons cannot see each other; brothers, wives, and children are scattered.’ If Your Majesty hunts here and the people hear your horses and carriages and see your splendid feathered banners, they will clutch their heads, knit their brows, and say the same: ‘Our king loves hunting, but why has he brought us to such misery? Fathers and sons cannot see each other; brothers, wives, and children are scattered.’ There is no other reason: you do not share your joy with the people. But if Your Majesty plays music here and the people hear the bells, drums, pipes, and flutes, they will rejoice and say to one another with happy faces, ‘Our king must be free of illness, or how could he play music?’ If you hunt and they hear the horses and carriages and see the lovely feathered banners, they will rejoice and say, ‘Our king must be free of illness, or how could he hunt?’ There is no other reason: you share your joy with the people. If Your Majesty shares the people's joy now, you will become king of the world.”

2.2 King Xuan of Qi asked, “Was King Wen's game park seventy li square?”Mencius replied, “So it is recorded.”“Was it really so large?”“The people thought it too small.”“My park is forty li square, and the people think it too large. Why?”“King Wen's park was seventy li square, but those gathering fodder or firewood went there, and so did those hunting pheasants and rabbits. He shared it with the people. Is it any wonder they thought it too small? When I first reached your border, I asked about the state's great prohibitions before I dared enter. I heard that within the suburban gates is a park forty li square, and killing one of its deer carries the same penalty as killing a person. That is to set a forty-li-square trap in the midst of the state. Is it any wonder the people think it too large?”

2.3 King Xuan of Qi asked, “Is there a way to deal with neighboring states?”Mencius replied, “Yes. Only the humane can use their greatness to serve the small; thus Tang served Ge, and King Wen served the Kunyi. Only the wise can use their smallness to serve the great; thus the Great King served the Xunyu, and Goujian served Wu. To serve the small from a position of strength is to rejoice in Heaven; to serve the great from a position of weakness is to stand in awe of Heaven. Those who rejoice in Heaven safeguard the world; those who stand in awe of Heaven safeguard their state. The Odes say, ‘He stood in awe of Heaven's majesty and thereby preserved it.’”The king said, “These are great words! But I have a failing: I love courage.”Mencius replied, “Your Majesty, do not love petty courage. To grip one's sword, glare fiercely, and say, ‘Who dares face me?’—that is the courage of an ordinary man, enough to fight one person. Enlarge your courage! The Odes say, ‘The king flared up in anger, and ordered his hosts, to check the march on Ju, strengthen Zhou's blessing, and answer the world.’ Such was King Wen's courage: with one outburst of anger he brought peace to the people of the world. The Documents say, ‘Heaven brought forth the people below and appointed for them rulers and teachers, saying only: Let them aid the Lord on High and favor the four quarters. Guilty or innocent, all rest with me; who under Heaven would dare defy his will?’ That a single man should range violently over the world shamed King Wu. Such was his courage; one outburst of anger brought peace to the people of the world. If Your Majesty, too, grows angry once and brings peace to the people of the world, the people will fear only that you do not love courage enough.”

2.4 King Xuan of Qi met Mencius in the Snow Palace. “Do the worthy have pleasures like this?” he asked.“Yes,” Mencius replied. “When people cannot enjoy them, they blame those above. To blame those above simply because they cannot enjoy them is wrong; yet for a ruler not to share joy with the people is also wrong. One who delights in the people's joys will find that they delight in his joys; one who grieves over their troubles will find that they grieve over his. To share the world's joy and share its sorrow, and yet fail to become king of the world—such a thing has never been. Once Duke Jing of Qi asked Yanzi, ‘I wish to sightsee at Zhuanfu and Chaowu, follow the coast southward, and reach Langye. What must I do to make my journey comparable to the tours of the former kings?’ Yanzi replied, ‘An excellent question! When the Son of Heaven went to the lords, it was called an inspection tour: he inspected what they guarded. When a lord appeared at the Son of Heaven's court, it was called a report of duty: he reported the work entrusted to him. Neither journey was without purpose. In spring the ruler inspected the plowing and supplied what was lacking; in autumn he inspected the harvest and helped those in need. A Xia proverb says, “If our king did not travel, how would we rest? If our king did not tour, how would we receive help? One journey, one tour, became a model for the lords.” Today things are different. The army marches and consumes the food, while the hungry have none to eat and the weary cannot rest. People glare and slander each other, and turn to wrongdoing. Rulers defy their charge and afflict the people, while food and drink flow like water. Their drifting and lingering, their reckless hunts and drunken excesses, are a burden to the lords. To follow the current downstream and forget to return is called drifting; to go upstream and forget to return is lingering; to hunt beasts without satisfaction is reckless hunting; to drink wine without satisfaction is drunken excess. The former kings knew no pleasure in drifting or lingering, no conduct of reckless hunting or drunken excess. The choice is yours, my lord.’ Duke Jing was pleased. He made great preparations throughout the state and lodged outside the city. Then he began opening the stores to make up the people's shortages. He summoned the master of music and said, ‘Compose music for me on the mutual delight of ruler and ministers.’ The pieces called Summons in the Zhi and Summons in the Jiao modes arose from this. Their verse asks, ‘What fault is there in restraining one's lord?’ To restrain one's lord is to care for him.”

2.5 King Xuan of Qi asked, “Everyone tells me to demolish the Bright Hall. Should I demolish it, or leave it?”Mencius replied, “The Bright Hall is the hall of a true king. If Your Majesty wishes to practice kingly government, do not demolish it.”“May I hear about kingly government?”“When King Wen governed Qi, cultivators paid one part in nine, officials held hereditary stipends, gates and markets were inspected but not taxed, fishing in ponds and rivers was unrestricted, and the families of criminals were not punished. An old man without a wife is a widower; an old woman without a husband is a widow; an old person without children is solitary; a young child without a father is an orphan. These four are the most destitute people in the world and have no one to turn to. King Wen, in enacting humane government, put them first. The Odes say, ‘The wealthy fare well; pity the lonely and bereft.’”“Excellent words!” said the king.“If Your Majesty approves, why not put them into practice?”“I have a failing: I love wealth.”“In ancient times Duke Liu loved wealth. The Odes say, ‘He filled bins and granaries, wrapped up his provisions, filled sacks and bags. He thought to unite his people and bring them glory. Bows and arrows were strung; shields, spears, axes, and halberds were ready. Then at last they set forth.’ Those who stayed had stores in the granaries and those who traveled had provisions wrapped for the road; only then could they set forth. If Your Majesty loves wealth and shares it with the people, what stands in the way of kingship?”“I have a failing: I love women.”“In ancient times the Great King loved women; he cherished his consort. The Odes say, ‘Old Duke Danfu rode his horse at morning, followed the western riverbank, and reached the foot of Mount Qi; there with Lady Jiang he came to seek a home.’ At that time no woman inside the household was left resentful, no man outside left without a wife. If Your Majesty loves women and shares that good fortune with the people, what stands in the way of kingship?”

2.6 Mencius said to King Xuan of Qi, “Suppose one of your ministers entrusted his wife and children to a friend and traveled to Chu. When he returned, he found them cold and hungry. What should be done?”“Abandon the friend,” said the king.“If the chief judge cannot govern his judges, what should be done?”“Dismiss him.”“If everything within the four borders is misgoverned, what should be done?”The king looked to either side and spoke of something else.

2.7 Mencius visited King Xuan of Qi and said, “What is called an old-established state is not one with ancient trees, but one with ministers whose families have served for generations. Your Majesty has no trusted ministers. Men you promoted in the past are gone today, and you do not even know it.”The king said, “How can I tell who is unfit and dismiss him?”“When a ruler promotes the worthy, he should do so as if he had no alternative, for this will place those of low standing above the honored and distant relations above kin. Can he fail to be careful? If all your attendants call a man worthy, that is not enough; if all your ministers do, that is not enough. When all the people of the state call him worthy, examine him; if he proves worthy, employ him. If all your attendants say a man is unfit, do not listen; if all your ministers do, do not listen. When all the people say he is unfit, examine him; if he proves unfit, remove him. If all your attendants say a man should be executed, do not listen; if all your ministers do, do not listen. When all the people say he should be executed, examine him; if he deserves execution, execute him. Thus it can be said, ‘The people of the state put him to death.’ Only in this way can you be father and mother to the people.”

2.8 King Xuan of Qi asked, “Did Tang banish Jie, and King Wu attack Zhou?”“So the records say,” Mencius replied.“Is it right for a minister to kill his ruler?”“One who destroys humaneness is called a robber; one who destroys rightness is called a mutilator. A man who mutilates and robs is called a mere fellow. I have heard of the execution of the mere fellow Zhou, but have not heard of the murder of a ruler.”

2.9 Mencius visited King Xuan of Qi and said, “If you were building a great hall, you would have the master carpenter seek great timbers. When he found them, you would rejoice, knowing they could bear the load. If another carpenter cut them down to small pieces, you would be angry, knowing they could not bear it. Now a man studies a teaching in youth and wishes to put it into practice in maturity, but Your Majesty says, ‘Set aside what you learned and follow me.’ What is that like? If you had a block of uncut jade here, even if it were worth ten thousand yi, you would certainly have a jade craftsman carve it. Yet when it comes to governing the state, you say, ‘Set aside what you learned and follow me.’ How is that different from trying to teach the jade craftsman how to carve jade?”

2.10 Qi attacked Yan and conquered it. King Xuan asked, “Some tell me not to take it; others tell me to take it. A state with ten thousand chariots attacked another of ten thousand and captured it in fifty days: human strength alone could not do this. If I do not take it, Heaven will surely send disaster. What if I take it?”Mencius replied, “If the people of Yan rejoice when you take it, take it; King Wu was an ancient who did so. If the people of Yan do not rejoice, do not take it; King Wen was an ancient who refrained. When one state of ten thousand chariots attacks another and its people greet the king's army carrying baskets of food and jars of drink, why do they do so? To escape flood and fire. If the flood becomes deeper and the fire burns hotter, they will only turn elsewhere.”

2.11 Qi attacked Yan and took it. The lords plotted to rescue Yan. King Xuan said, “Many lords plan to attack me. How should I face them?”Mencius replied, “I have heard of Tang, who ruled the world from a territory of seventy li. I have never heard of a ruler with a thousand li of land who feared others. The Documents say, ‘Tang's first punitive campaign began with Ge.’ The world trusted him. When he marched east, the tribes in the west complained; when he marched south, the tribes in the north complained, saying, ‘Why does he leave us until last?’ The people looked for him as in great drought they look for clouds and rainbows. Those returning from market did not stop, and farmers did not abandon their work. He punished their ruler and comforted their people, like timely rain falling. The people rejoiced greatly. The Documents say, ‘We await our lord; when he comes, we shall live again.’ Now the ruler of Yan abused his people; when Your Majesty went to punish him, they thought you would rescue them from flood and fire and greeted your army with baskets of food and jars of drink. But if you kill their fathers and elder brothers, bind their sons and younger brothers, destroy their ancestral temples, and carry off their precious ritual vessels, how can this be allowed? The world already feared Qi's strength. Now that you have doubled your territory without instituting humane government, you are setting the world's armies in motion. Issue an order quickly: return their old and young, leave their precious vessels, consult the people of Yan, install a ruler, and then withdraw. It may still be possible to halt the attack.”

2.12 Zou and Lu fought. Duke Mu asked, “Thirty-three of my officers died, but none of the people died for them. If I execute the people, there are too many to execute; if I do not, they have stood watching their superiors die without rescuing them. What should I do?”Mencius replied, “In years of bad harvest and famine, the old and weak among your people fell into ditches and ravines, while almost a thousand strong people scattered to the four quarters. Yet your granaries were full and your treasuries well supplied, and none of your officers told you. Those above neglected and injured those below. Zengzi said, ‘Take warning, take warning! What goes out from you comes back to you.’ Now the people have had their chance to return what they received. Do not blame them, my lord. Practice humane government, and the people will hold their superiors dear and die for their leaders.”

2.13 Duke Wen of Teng asked, “Teng is a small state caught between Qi and Chu. Should we serve Qi, or Chu?”Mencius replied, “Such a strategy is beyond my powers. If I must answer, there is one course: dig your moat, build your walls, and defend them alongside the people. If they will fight to the death and not desert you, something can be done.”

2.14 Duke Wen of Teng asked, “The people of Qi are about to fortify Xue. I am very afraid. What should I do?”Mencius replied, “Long ago the Great King lived in Bin. When the Di invaded, he left and settled beneath Mount Qi. He did not choose that place because it pleased him; he had no alternative. If you do good, one of your descendants will surely become king. A noble person establishes a foundation and leaves a tradition his successors can carry forward. Success lies with Heaven. What can you do about those people? Strive only to do good.”

2.15 Duke Wen of Teng asked, “Teng is a small state. Even when I do all I can to serve the great states, I cannot escape their threats. What should I do?”Mencius replied, “Long ago the Great King lived in Bin. When the Di invaded, he served them with skins and silks, but could not escape them. He served them with dogs and horses, but could not escape them. He served them with pearls and jade, but could not escape them. Then he gathered his elders and told them, ‘What the Di want is our land. I have heard that a noble person does not use what should nourish people to harm them. Why worry that you will have no ruler? I shall leave.’ He departed from Bin, crossed Mount Liang, and founded a settlement below Mount Qi. The people of Bin said, ‘He is a humane man; we must not lose him.’ They followed him as crowds stream toward a market. Others say, ‘The land is an inheritance guarded from generation to generation; it is not yours to dispose of. Defend it to the death and do not leave.’ My lord, you must choose between these two courses.”

2.16 Duke Ping of Lu was about to go out when his favorite Zang Cang asked, “On other days, when my lord goes out, he tells his officers where he is going. Today the carriage is harnessed, but they do not know the destination. May I ask?”“I am going to see Mencius.”“Why should my lord demean himself and be the first to visit a common man? Do you consider him worthy? Ritual propriety and rightness come from the worthy, but Mencius gave his later parent a more elaborate funeral than his earlier one. Do not go to see him!”“Very well,” the duke said.Yue Zheng entered and asked, “Why does my lord not see Meng Ke?”“Someone told me Mencius's later funeral surpassed the earlier one. That is why I did not go to see him.”“What does my lord mean by ‘surpassed’? At the first he was a man of service, at the second a minister; the first used three offering vessels, the second five?”“No, I mean the splendor of the inner and outer coffins, the burial clothes and covering.”“That is not what ‘surpassed’ means. He was poor at one time and rich at the other.”Yue Zheng visited Mencius and said, “I spoke to the ruler, and he was going to come and see you. His favorite Zang Cang stopped him, so he never came.”Mencius said, “When a man goes forward, something may prompt him; when he stops, something may restrain him. But advance and retreat are not in human hands. That I have not met the lord of Lu is Heaven's doing. How could the son of Zang keep me from meeting him?”

3.1 Gongsun Chou asked, “If you held power in Qi, could the achievements of Guan Zhong and Yanzi be repeated?”Mencius said, “You truly are a man of Qi: you know only Guan Zhong and Yanzi. Someone once asked Zeng Xi, ‘Who is worthier, you or Zilu?’ Zeng Xi looked uneasy and said, ‘He is a man my father held in awe.’ Then the man asked, ‘Who is worthier, you or Guan Zhong?’ Zeng Xi grew angry. ‘How dare you compare me with Guan Zhong? He enjoyed his ruler's exclusive trust for so long, held power over the state for so long, and accomplished so little! How dare you compare me to him?’ Guan Zhong is a man Zeng Xi refused to resemble. Why would you wish such a model for me?”“But Guan Zhong made his ruler hegemon, and Yanzi brought glory to his. Are they still not worthy of imitation?”“To make Qi the seat of true kingship would be as easy as turning one's hand over.”“That leaves me more perplexed than ever. Even King Wen, with all his virtue, lived a hundred years before he died and still had not transformed the whole world. Only after King Wu and the Duke of Zhou succeeded him did his way prevail. If kingship is now as easy as you say, is King Wen not worth following?”“How could anyone equal King Wen? From Tang to Wu Ding six or seven sage and worthy rulers arose. The world had long adhered to Yin, and what has endured long is hard to change. Wu Ding called the lords to his court and held the world as easily as one turns one's palm. Zhou lived not long after Wu Ding; the old families and customs, the continuing influence of good government, still survived. Moreover Weizi, Weizhong, Prince Bigan, Jizi, and Jiao Ge were all worthy men and helped him govern. That is why it took so long for him to lose his realm. Not a foot of land was outside his possession, not one person outside his service; King Wen, by contrast, arose from a territory of only a hundred li square. That was why it was hard. The people of Qi say, ‘Wisdom cannot compare with seizing the opportunity; a good hoe cannot compare with waiting for the season.’ Today the opportunity makes it easy. Even at their height, the Xia, Yin, and Zhou rulers never possessed more than a thousand li square, and Qi has that land. From one border to the other, roosters crow and dogs bark within earshot of each other: Qi has that population. No further land needs to be opened or people gathered. Practice humane government and become king: no one can resist you. Never has there been a longer interval without a true king; never have the people suffered worse under oppressive government. The hungry are easily satisfied with food; the thirsty, with drink. Confucius said, ‘Virtue spreads faster than a courier carries orders through the post stations.’ If a state of ten thousand chariots practiced humane government today, the people would welcome it as release from being hung upside down. Only now can one do half the work of the ancients and surely accomplish twice as much.”

3.2 Gongsun Chou asked, “If you became chief minister of Qi and could put your way into practice, it would be no wonder if Qi became hegemon or true king. Would this stir your heart?”Mencius replied, “No. Since I turned forty my heart has not been shaken.”“Then you far surpass Meng Ben.”“That is not difficult. Gaozi attained an unshaken heart before I did.”“Is there a method for keeping the heart unshaken?”“Yes. Beigong You cultivated courage by refusing to shrink from a blow to his skin or turn his eyes away. The least humiliation seemed to him like being whipped in the marketplace. He would accept it no more from a man in coarse clothes than from the ruler of ten thousand chariots. To stab such a ruler was, in his eyes, no different from stabbing a commoner. He felt no awe of lords; any insult he received he returned. Meng Shishe cultivated courage differently. He said, ‘I look on defeat as I look on victory. To size up an enemy before advancing, to calculate victory before joining battle, is to fear the opposing army. How could I ensure that I win? I can ensure only that I feel no fear.’ Meng Shishe resembled Zengzi; Beigong You resembled Zixia. I do not know which man's courage was greater, but Meng Shishe held to the simpler principle. Zengzi once said to Zixiang, ‘Do you love courage? I once heard the Master speak of great courage: if I look within and find myself in the wrong, I tremble even before a man in coarse clothes; if I look within and find myself in the right, I will go forward against tens of millions.’ Even Meng Shishe's hold on his qi did not equal Zengzi's hold on what was essential.”“May I ask how your unshaken heart differs from Gaozi's?”“Gaozi said, ‘When words fail you, do not seek the answer in your heart; when your heart fails you, do not seek it in your qi.’ Not seeking it in your qi when your heart fails is acceptable; not seeking it in your heart when words fail is not. The will is commander of the qi; qi fills the body. The will comes first, qi follows. Thus I say, ‘Hold fast to your will, and do not abuse your qi.’”“If the will comes first and the qi follows, why also say, ‘Hold fast to your will, and do not abuse your qi’?”“When the will fixes on a single thing, it moves the qi; when qi fixes on a single thing, it moves the will. A person who stumbles or runs has a bodily movement of qi that in turn moves the heart.”“What are you especially skilled at, Master?”“I understand words, and I know how to nourish my flood-like qi.”“What is this flood-like qi?”“It is difficult to say. This qi is supremely vast and firm. Nourish it with uprightness and do it no harm, and it fills the space between Heaven and earth. It is a qi joined to rightness and the Way; without these it starves. It arises from the accumulation of righteous acts, not from snatching at rightness in a single act. If your conduct leaves your heart dissatisfied, it starves. That is why I say Gaozi never understood rightness: he treated it as something external. You must work at it without demanding immediate results. Let your heart not forget it, but do not force its growth. Do not be like the man of Song who worried that his seedlings were not growing and pulled them upward. He returned home exhausted and said to his family, ‘I am worn out today! I helped the seedlings grow!’ His son rushed out to look and found them all withered. Few in the world refrain from meddling with their seedlings. Those who give them up as useless are the ones who fail to weed them. Those who force their growth are the ones who pull them up: they not only fail to help, but harm them.”“What do you mean by understanding words?”“I know what obscures a one-sided argument, where excessive speech becomes entangled, what deviant speech departs from, and where evasive speech runs out of ground. Such words arise in the heart and corrupt government; when they appear in government they harm its affairs. Were a sage to rise again, he would affirm what I say.”“Zai Wo and Zigong were skilled speakers; Ran Niu, Minzi, and Yan Yuan spoke well of virtuous conduct. Confucius combined these gifts, but said, ‘In framing words for diplomatic occasions, I have no ability.’ Does that mean you, Master, are already a sage?”“What! How can you say that? Zigong once asked Confucius, ‘Master, are you a sage?’ Confucius said, ‘I cannot claim to be a sage. I learn without tiring and teach without weariness.’ Zigong replied, ‘To learn without tiring is wisdom; to teach without weariness is humaneness. Being both humane and wise, Master, you are indeed a sage.’ Confucius himself would not claim sagehood. How can you say such a thing of me?”“I have heard that Zixia, Ziyou, and Zizhang each possessed one aspect of the sage, whereas Ran Niu, Minzi, and Yan Yuan possessed the whole, though on a smaller scale. Which of these would you claim?”“Let us leave that aside.”“What of Bo Yi and Yi Yin?”“They followed different ways. Bo Yi would serve no ruler but one he deemed worthy, employ no people but those he deemed worthy; he advanced in ordered times and withdrew in disorder. Yi Yin asked, ‘What ruler is not fit to serve? What people are not fit to employ?’ He advanced in ordered times and also in disorder. Confucius took office when office was fitting, stopped when stopping was fitting, stayed when staying was fitting, and left swiftly when that was fitting. All three are sages of antiquity. I cannot act as they did, but the one I wish to study is Confucius.”“Were Bo Yi and Yi Yin in the same rank as Confucius?”“No. Since human beings first arose there has been no one like Confucius.”“Did they share anything?”“Yes. Given a territory of a hundred li square to rule, all three could have brought the lords to their court and possessed the world. None would have performed a single unjust act or killed one innocent person to gain it. In this they were alike.”“May I ask how they differed?”“Zai Wo, Zigong, and You Ruo had insight enough to recognize a sage, and were not so base as to flatter someone they favored. Zai Wo said, ‘As I see the Master, he surpasses Yao and Shun by far.’ Zigong said, ‘Observe his rites and you know his government; hear his music and you know his virtue. Judge a hundred ancient kings from a hundred generations later, and none can escape his measure. Since human beings first arose, there has been no one like the Master.’ You Ruo said, ‘And not only among human beings! The qilin among beasts on foot, the phoenix among birds in flight, Mount Tai among hills and mounds, the rivers and seas beside roadside puddles—all belong to their respective kinds. The sage, too, belongs to humankind, yet he rises above his kind and stands out from the multitude. Since human beings first arose, no one has been greater than Confucius.’”

3.3 Mencius said, “A man who borrows the appearance of humaneness and relies on force becomes a hegemon, but a hegemon must possess a great state. A man who acts humanely through virtue becomes a true king; he need not rule a great state. Tang began with seventy li, King Wen with a hundred. Those subdued by force do not submit in their hearts: they merely lack the strength to resist. Those subdued by virtue rejoice inwardly and submit in earnest, as the seventy disciples submitted to Confucius. The Odes say, ‘From west and east, from south and north, none thought of refusing to submit.’ This is what the verse means.”

3.4 Mencius said, “Humaneness brings honor; inhumanity brings disgrace. To hate disgrace yet live without humaneness is like hating dampness while dwelling on low ground. If you hate disgrace, honor virtue and respect men of service. Let the worthy hold positions of power and the capable fulfill their offices. When the state is at peace, take that time to clarify its laws and punishments: then even great states will fear it. The Odes say, ‘Before the clouds brought rain, I stripped mulberry roots and bound my doors and windows. Now which of you people below would dare insult me?’ Confucius said, ‘The maker of this poem understood the Way! If one governs one's state well, who would dare insult it?’ Yet if, when the state is at peace, its ruler spends his time in idle pleasures, he is inviting disaster. Blessings and disasters alike are sought by oneself. The Odes say, ‘Always seek to accord with the Mandate and find abundant blessings for yourself.’ The Great Jia says, ‘Disasters wrought by Heaven may still be escaped; disasters wrought by oneself leave no hope of survival.’ This is what it means.”

3.5 Mencius said, “Honor the worthy and employ the capable; if outstanding people hold office, the men of service throughout the world will delight in standing in your court. If merchants in your markets pay rent for their stalls but no tax on goods, or if you inspect their goods by law and charge no stall rent, the world's merchants will gladly store their wares in your markets. If border stations inspect travelers but do not tax them, travelers from everywhere will gladly use your roads. If farmers give their labor to the common field but are not taxed on their own, the world's farmers will gladly till your land. If households are free from the poll and residential levies, people everywhere will gladly become your subjects. If you can truly do these five things, the people of neighboring states will look up to you as to their parents. Never since humankind first arose has anyone succeeded in leading children to attack their parents. Then you will have no enemy in the world. One who has no enemy in the world is an agent of Heaven. No such man has ever failed to become king.”

3.6 Mencius said, “All people have a heart that cannot bear the suffering of others. The former kings had such a heart and so devised a government that could not bear to let others suffer. Govern with that heart through such a government, and ordering the world becomes as easy as turning it in your palm. Here is why I say all people have a heart that cannot bear others' suffering: if someone suddenly sees a small child about to fall into a well, everyone feels alarm and compassion. It is not because they wish to win the parents' favor, seek praise from neighbors and friends, or avoid the sound of blame. From this we see that without compassion one is not human; without shame and aversion one is not human; without deference and yielding one is not human; without a sense of right and wrong one is not human. Compassion is the sprout of humaneness; shame and aversion, the sprout of rightness; deference and yielding, the sprout of ritual propriety; the sense of right and wrong, the sprout of wisdom. A person has these four sprouts just as surely as four limbs. One who has them and says he cannot act on them is harming himself; one who says his ruler cannot act on them is harming his ruler. Everyone who possesses these four sprouts must know how to expand and fulfill them, as a flame first catches fire or a spring first begins to flow. Fulfill them, and they suffice to protect all within the four seas; fail to fulfill them, and they will not suffice even to serve your parents.”

3.7 Mencius said, “Is an arrow-maker less humane than an armor-maker? The arrow-maker fears that his arrows will not wound people; the armor-maker fears that people will be wounded. So it is with a healer and a coffin-maker. One must choose one's occupation carefully. Confucius said, ‘To dwell among the humane is best. If one chooses a dwelling without humaneness, how can one be wise?’ Humaneness is Heaven's highest rank and the safe dwelling of human beings. If nothing bars your way to it and still you are not humane, you lack wisdom. Without humaneness or wisdom, without ritual propriety or rightness, you become another's servant. To be a servant and feel ashamed of service is like a bow-maker ashamed to make bows or an arrow-maker ashamed to make arrows. If you feel shame, nothing is better than practicing humaneness. A humane person is like an archer: the archer sets himself straight before releasing the arrow; if he shoots and misses, he does not resent the one who beats him, but turns back and seeks the cause in himself.”

3.8 Mencius said, “Zilu rejoiced whenever someone told him of a fault. Yu bowed when he heard good words. Great Shun surpassed them both: he shared goodness with others, set aside his own views to follow theirs, and gladly took from others what he could put to good use. From the time he plowed and farmed, shaped pots, and fished until he became emperor, he continually took good from others. To take goodness from others is to help them do good. For a noble person there is nothing greater than helping others do good.”

3.9 Mencius said, “Bo Yi would serve only a worthy ruler and befriend only a worthy friend. He would not stand in the court of a wicked man or speak with one: to do so was like sitting in mud and ashes dressed in court cap and court robes. Such was his aversion to evil that if he thought of standing beside a villager whose cap was crooked, he would look away and leave, as though fearing defilement. So even when lords approached him with gracious words, he would not accept their invitations: he disdained to join them. Liuxia Hui felt no shame at serving an impure ruler or holding a low office. When he advanced, he never concealed his worth and always followed his Way. If he was passed over, he felt no resentment; if reduced to hardship, he did not grieve. He said, ‘You are you, and I am I. Even if you bare your chest and strip naked beside me, how can you defile me?’ He stayed easily among such men without losing himself. When they drew him back, he remained: he disdained to leave.” Mencius said, “Bo Yi was too narrow; Liuxia Hui, too undignified. A noble person follows neither course.”

4.1 Mencius said, “Favorable weather is less valuable than advantageous terrain; advantageous terrain is less valuable than human solidarity. An inner city three li around, with outer walls seven li around, may be surrounded and attacked without being taken. Those who surround it must have chosen favorable weather, yet they do not prevail: weather is less valuable than terrain. A city's walls may be high, its moat deep, its weapons and armor strong and sharp, its rice and grain plentiful; yet its defenders abandon it and flee. Terrain is less valuable than human solidarity. Thus one cannot confine the people by borders, secure a state by mountains and ravines, or awe the world with sharp weapons and sturdy armor. The one who has the Way receives abundant help; the one who loses it receives little. When help dwindles to the utmost, even relatives rebel; when help abounds to the utmost, the whole world follows. If one supported by the world attacks one abandoned by his own relatives, he may choose not to fight; if he fights, he is certain to win.”

4.2 Mencius was about to attend the king's court. The king sent a messenger saying, “I would have come to see you, but a chill makes it impossible for me to face the wind. I shall hold court tomorrow morning; may I hope to see you then?”Mencius replied, “Unfortunately I am ill and cannot attend court.”The next day he went out to offer condolences to the Dongguo family. Gongsun Chou said, “Yesterday you declined on grounds of illness. Is it right to go to a house of mourning today?”“I was ill yesterday and have recovered today. Why should I not pay my respects?”The king sent someone to ask after his health, and a doctor came. Meng Zhongzi answered, “Yesterday, when the king's command came, he was indisposed and could not attend court. Today he is somewhat better and has hurried to the court, though I do not know whether he can reach it.” He sent men to intercept Mencius on the road and say, “Please do not return home; go to court at all costs.”Unable to return, Mencius spent the night with Jing Chou.Jing Chou said, “Within the family, father and son; outside it, ruler and minister: these are the great human relationships. Between father and son love is paramount; between ruler and minister, respect. I have seen the king's respect for you, but have not seen how you respect the king.”“What are you saying? The people of Qi do not speak to the king of humaneness and rightness. Is it because they think these things are not good? In their hearts they say, ‘He is hardly worth discussing humaneness and rightness with.’ Nothing is more disrespectful than that. I would not dare set before the king anything but the Way of Yao and Shun. No one in Qi respects the king more than I do.”“No, that is not what I mean. The Rites say, ‘When your father calls, do not just answer; when your ruler summons you, do not wait for the carriage to be harnessed.’ You intended to attend court, but, on hearing the king's command, did not go after all. That hardly seems to accord with ritual propriety.”“Is that what you mean? Zengzi said, ‘I cannot match the wealth of Jin and Chu. They may present their wealth, but I present my humaneness; they may present their rank, but I present my rightness. What reason have I to feel inadequate?’ Could Zengzi have said this without reason? There is a principle here. Three things command universal respect in the world: rank, age, and virtue. At court rank counts most; among neighbors, age; for aiding the world and leading its people, virtue. How can a man use the one he possesses to slight the other two? A ruler who means to accomplish great things must have ministers he cannot summon: when he wants their advice, he goes to them. Unless he honors virtue and delights in the Way to this degree, he cannot accomplish anything. Tang learned from Yi Yin before making him his minister, and so became king without labor; Duke Huan learned from Guan Zhong before making him his minister, and so became hegemon without labor. Today the states are alike in extent and their rulers alike in virtue; none can surpass the rest. The reason is simply that they like to appoint as ministers those whom they teach, not those from whom they might learn. Tang did not dare summon Yi Yin, nor Duke Huan Guan Zhong. If even Guan Zhong could not be summoned, how much less a man who refuses to be Guan Zhong!”

4.3 Chen Zhen asked, “Earlier, in Qi, you refused the king's gift of a hundred pieces of fine gold. In Song you accepted seventy yi, and in Xue fifty. If refusing before was right, accepting now is wrong; if accepting now is right, refusing before was wrong. You must admit one of these.”Mencius said, “All were right. In Song I was about to make a long journey; one gives travelers a parting gift, and it was offered as ‘provisions for the road.’ Why should I not accept it? In Xue I had reason to fear for my safety, and it was offered with the words ‘I heard you were in danger, so I give this to buy weapons.’ Why should I not accept? In Qi, however, there was no such occasion. To give a man a gift for no reason is to try to buy him. How could a noble person be bought with gifts?”

4.4 Mencius went to Pinglu and told its governor, “If one of your spear-bearing soldiers fell out of formation three times in a day, would you dismiss him?”“I would not wait for the third time.”“You yourself have fallen out of formation many times. In years of famine, old and feeble people under your charge have fallen into ditches and ravines, while nearly a thousand strong people have scattered to the four quarters.”“This is not something I, Kong Juxin, can prevent.”“If a man accepted another's sheep and cattle to tend, he would surely find pasture and fodder for them. If he could find neither, should he return the animals to their owner, or stand and watch them die?”“This is my fault,” Kong Juxin said.Another day Mencius had an audience with the king and said, “I know five governors of Your Majesty's cities. Only Kong Juxin acknowledges his fault.” He related the conversation to the king.The king said, “The fault is mine.”

4.5 Mencius said to Chi Wa, “You were right to resign from Lingqiu and seek the office of chief judge, since that office would allow you to speak out. Several months have passed: have you still had no occasion to speak?”Chi Wa remonstrated with the king, was ignored, resigned his office, and left.The people of Qi said, “His advice to Chi Wa was sound, but as for his own conduct, we do not understand it.”Gongduzi reported this to Mencius.Mencius said, “I have heard that one charged with an office should leave when he cannot fulfill its duties, and one charged with offering counsel should leave when he cannot make himself heard. I hold no such office and bear no such duty. Am I not then free to advance or withdraw as I please?”

4.6 When Mencius was a minister in Qi, he went to Teng to offer condolences. The king sent Wang Huan, governor of Gai, as his assistant on the journey. Morning and evening Wang Huan came to see him, yet throughout the journey between Qi and Teng, going and returning, Mencius never spoke to him about the mission.Gongsun Chou asked, “The office of a Qi minister is no small thing, and the road between Qi and Teng is not short. Why did you never discuss the mission with him, there or back?”“Someone else had already seen to it. What need had I to say anything?”

4.7 Mencius went from Qi to Lu to bury his mother. On his return to Qi he stopped at Ying. Chong Yu asked, “Previously, though you knew I lacked skill, you placed me in charge of the craftsmen. In the press of the funeral I did not dare ask, but now I would like to: the wood of the coffins seemed exceptionally fine.”Mencius said, “In the earliest days there was no rule for the thickness of inner and outer coffins. In later antiquity the inner coffin was seven inches thick and the outer made in proportion; this was so from the Son of Heaven down to ordinary people. It was not merely for display, but to satisfy one's heart. One cannot take pleasure in this if one is forbidden to do it; nor if one lacks the means. If one is allowed and has the means, all the ancients did it. Why should I alone refrain? Besides, to keep earth from touching the body of one who has returned to it—is this not some comfort to the heart? I have heard a noble person say that one does not stint on one's parents for the sake of anything in the world.”

4.8 Shen Tong asked Mencius privately, “Is it right to attack Yan?”“Yes. Zikuai had no right to give Yan to Zizhi, and Zizhi had no right to receive Yan from Zikuai. Suppose an official here pleases you, and without telling the king you privately grant him your rank and stipend; and suppose that official privately accepts them without the king's command. Would that be right? How does this differ?”Qi attacked Yan. Someone asked Mencius, “Did you urge Qi to attack Yan?”“No. Shen Tong asked, ‘Is it right to attack Yan?’ I replied, ‘Yes,’ and they went and attacked it. Had he asked, ‘Who has the right to attack it?’ I would have answered, ‘One acting as Heaven's officer has that right.’ If someone has committed murder and a man asks, ‘May a murderer be executed?’ I would say, ‘Yes.’ But if he asks, ‘Who may execute him?’ I would say, ‘The chief judge.’ Now one state like Yan attacks Yan. Why would I urge them to do it?”

4.9 When the people of Yan rebelled, the king said, “I feel deeply ashamed before Mencius.”Chen Jia said, “Your Majesty need not worry. Do you believe yourself as humane and wise as the Duke of Zhou?”“What are you saying?”“The Duke of Zhou appointed his brother Guan Shu to oversee Yin, and Guan Shu led Yin in rebellion. If the duke knew he would rebel yet appointed him, he was not humane; if he did not know, he was not wise. Even the Duke of Zhou did not possess perfect humaneness and wisdom. How much less Your Majesty! Let me visit Mencius and explain it.”He met Mencius and asked, “What kind of man was the Duke of Zhou?”“An ancient sage.”“He appointed Guan Shu to oversee Yin, and Guan Shu rebelled with Yin. Is that so?”“Yes.”“Did the Duke of Zhou know beforehand that he would rebel?”“No.”“Then even a sage may err?”“The Duke of Zhou was the younger brother, and Guan Shu the elder. Was it not natural that the duke should make that mistake? Moreover the noble people of antiquity corrected their errors; the noble people of today accommodate theirs. The ancients' errors were like eclipses of sun and moon: everyone saw them, and when they corrected them, everyone looked up to them. Those of today do more than accommodate their errors: they also invent excuses for them.”

4.10 Mencius resigned his ministry and prepared to return home. The king came to see him and said, “Formerly I wanted to see you but could not. To have you beside me at court gave me great pleasure. Now you are leaving me again. Might I continue to see you?”Mencius replied, “I would not dare ask, but it is certainly what I wish.”Another day the king said to Shizi, “I want to give Mencius a house in the center of the state and ten thousand measures of grain to support his disciples, so that my ministers and people may all have someone to revere and emulate. Why not tell him for me?”Shizi told Chenzi, who conveyed the message to Mencius.Mencius said, “Yes. How could Shizi know why this is impossible? If I wished for wealth, would I have refused a hundred thousand measures only to accept ten thousand? Would that show a desire for wealth? Jisun said, ‘How strange Zishu Yi is! If he held power but his counsel was not used, he should have stopped there. Instead, he made his sons and younger brothers ministers. Everyone desires wealth and honor, but he alone has tried to corner a private share in their very midst.’ In antiquity, markets were places where people exchanged what they had for what they lacked, and officers merely kept order. But a base fellow sought out a high rise, climbed it, and watched in every direction to capture all the market's profit. Everyone considered him contemptible and began to tax him. Taxing merchants began with this base fellow.”

4.11 As Mencius left Qi, he lodged at Zhou. A visitor who wished to keep him there for the king sat and spoke to him. Mencius gave no reply, but leaned against his armrest and lay down.The visitor was displeased. “I prepared myself by fasting and abstinence before I dared speak to you. You lie down and will not listen. I shall not presume to see you again.”“Sit down. Let me explain clearly. In former times Duke Mu of Lu could not keep Zisi content without someone attending him at Zisi's side; Xie Liu and Shen Xiang could not keep their positions secure without someone attending Duke Mu at his side. You thought of the elder, but did not think as far as Zisi. Is it you who are breaking with the elder, or the elder with you?”

4.12 As Mencius left Qi, Yin Shi told someone, “If he did not know the king could never become a Tang or King Wu, he lacked insight; if he knew and came anyway, he was seeking favors. He traveled a thousand li to see the king, then left when he found no place there. Why linger three nights at Zhou before departing? I find this displeasing.”Gaozi reported this to Mencius.Mencius said, “What does Yin Shi know of me? I wanted to travel a thousand li to see the king; I did not want to leave when I found no place there. I had no choice. Even after staying three nights at Zhou, I felt I had left too quickly. Perhaps the king would change! If he changed, he would certainly call me back. Only when I left Zhou and the king did not send after me did I firmly resolve to return home. Even then, have I abandoned the king? He is still capable of doing good. If he employed me, not only Qi's people but all the people of the world would find peace. Perhaps the king will change! I await it every day. Am I like the petty man who, after offering advice his ruler rejects, grows angry and shows his resentment on his face, then leaves and walks the whole day to get as far away as he can before lodging?”When Yin Shi heard this, he said, “I truly am a petty man.”

4.13 As Mencius left Qi, Chong Yu asked along the road, “Master, you look unhappy. Once I heard you say, ‘The noble person does not resent Heaven or blame other people.’”“That was one time; this is another. Every five hundred years a true king must arise, with men of renown in the intervening years. More than seven hundred years have passed since Zhou: by the count the time is overdue, and judging by the age, the time is ripe. Perhaps Heaven does not yet wish to bring peace and order to the world. If it did, who but I, in this age, would do so? Why should I be unhappy?”

4.14 After leaving Qi, Mencius stayed in Xiu. Gongsun Chou asked, “Is taking office without receiving a stipend a practice of antiquity?”“No. At Chong I had an audience with the king; when I left I meant to depart and did not wish to change my purpose, so I refused the stipend. Then a military order prevented me from requesting leave. It was never my wish to remain in Qi so long.”

5.1 While still heir to Teng, Duke Wen was on his way to Chu when he passed through Song and visited Mencius. Mencius spoke of the goodness of human nature, always invoking Yao and Shun.Returning from Chu, the heir saw Mencius again. Mencius said, “Do you doubt my words, my lord? There is only one Way. Cheng Jian told Duke Jing of Qi, ‘He is a man; I too am a man. Why should I fear him?’ Yan Yuan said, ‘What sort of man was Shun? What sort am I? Whoever acts can become like him.’ Gongming Yi said, ‘King Wen is my teacher. Surely the Duke of Zhou would not deceive me?’ If you measure Teng's land, adding its shorter reaches to its longer, it approaches fifty li square. Even so, it can become a good state. The Documents say, ‘If the medicine does not make you dizzy, your sickness will not be cured.’”

5.2 When Duke Ding of Teng died, the heir said to Ran You, “Once Mencius spoke to me in Song, and I have never forgotten his words. Now that this terrible loss has come, I want you to consult him before I arrange the funeral.”Ran You went to Zou and asked Mencius.“How good that is!” said Mencius. “In mourning for one's parent, one must give all of oneself. Zengzi said, ‘Serve them with ritual propriety while they live; bury them with ritual propriety when they die, and make offerings with ritual propriety: this may be called devotion to parents.’ I have not studied the funeral rites of the lords. Yet I have heard that mourning for three years, wearing coarse, plain garments and eating gruel, was common to the Xia, Yin, and Zhou, from the Son of Heaven down to ordinary people.”Ran You returned with this answer, and the heir decreed three years of mourning. His elder kinsmen and officials all opposed him. “None of the former rulers of Lu, our ancestral state, observed this,” they said, “and neither did our own predecessors. You must not change their custom in your reign. Besides, the Records say, ‘In funerals and sacrifices follow your ancestors.’ We have inherited this instruction.”The heir told Ran You, “In earlier days I never devoted myself to learning; I preferred racing horses and practicing swordplay. Now my elders and officials are dissatisfied with me, and I fear I may fail to do all that this great event demands. Ask Mencius for me once more.”Ran You went back to Zou and asked Mencius.“That is so,” said Mencius. “This is not something to seek from others. Confucius said, ‘When a ruler dies, the chief minister receives the orders. The heir eats gruel, his face dark with grief; he takes his place and weeps. None of the officials dare fail to mourn, for he has led them. What those above love, those below love still more. The virtue of a noble person is the wind; the virtue of ordinary people is grass. When wind blows over grass, it bends.’ It depends on the heir.”Ran You returned and delivered this answer.“Yes,” said the heir, “it truly depends on me.”For five months he dwelt in his mourning hut and issued no commands. His officials and kin said he understood the rites. At the burial, people came from all four quarters to watch. Seeing the grief on his face and hearing the sorrow of his weeping, those who came to console him were deeply pleased.

5.3 Duke Wen of Teng asked how to govern a state.Mencius said, “The people's livelihood cannot wait. The Odes say, ‘By day gather thatch; by night twist rope. Hurry to mend the roof, then begin to sow the hundred grains.’ The way of the people is this: those with a secure livelihood have a steadfast heart; those without one do not. Without a steadfast heart, there is nothing reckless, perverse, depraved, or extravagant they will not do. To wait until they have fallen into crime and then punish them is to trap the people. How can a humane person in power possibly trap them? A worthy ruler therefore governs reverently and frugally, treats his inferiors with ritual propriety, and sets limits to what he takes from the people. Yang Hu said, ‘Those who pursue wealth cannot be humane; those who pursue humaneness cannot be wealthy.’“Under the Xia rulers, fields of fifty mu paid a tribute; under Yin, fields of seventy mu required labor on a common field; under Zhou, fields of a hundred mu paid a tenth. In reality each took one part in ten. The Zhou levy was a collective contribution; the Yin system relied on shared labor. Longzi said, ‘For governing farmland no system is better than shared labor, none worse than tribute. Tribute fixes a customary amount by averaging the yield of several years. In abundant years, when grain lies scattered everywhere, even taking more would not oppress the people; instead the ruler takes little. In lean years, when there is not enough even to manure the fields, he still demands the full amount. If a ruler who calls himself the people's father and mother makes them look desperately toward the end of the year, labor without respite, fail to support their parents, and borrow to pay his levy, until their old and young fall into ditches and ravines, how can he call himself their father and mother?’ Teng already practices hereditary stipends. The Odes say, ‘Send rain upon our lord's field, and then upon our own.’ Only the shared-labor system has a lord's field. From this we see that even Zhou used shared labor.“Establish village schools and academies to teach the people. The village school fosters, the academy instructs, and the training school teaches archery. The Xia called theirs the academy, the Yin the training school, the Zhou the village school; all three dynasties had higher schools. Their purpose was to make human relationships clear. When these relationships are clear among those above, ordinary people below grow close to one another. If a true king arises, he will come here for his model; you will be the teacher of kings. The Odes say, ‘Though Zhou was an ancient state, its Mandate was new.’ That speaks of King Wen. Put this into practice with all your strength, and you too can renew your state!”The duke sent Bi Zhan to ask about the well-field system.Mencius said, “Your ruler intends to practice humane government and has chosen you for this work. You must strive. Humane government begins with marking out the boundaries. If boundaries are incorrectly drawn, the well-fields are uneven and grain stipends unequal. That is why violent rulers and corrupt officials always neglect the boundaries. Once the boundaries are correctly drawn, the allocation of land and stipends can be settled without difficulty.“Teng has little arable land, but it will always need both noble people and field workers. Without noble people, no one governs the workers; without workers, no one supports the noble people. I suggest that in the countryside you use the system of one part in nine, cultivated through shared labor; in the towns levy one part in ten, paid by each household. Ministers and everyone below them should have hereditary ceremonial land. Let a minister's ceremonial holding be fifty mu, and a younger son receive twenty-five mu. Those who die or move should not leave their village. Villagers should share a well-field, be friends when they come and go, help one another in watch and defense, and support one another in sickness; then the people will be close and harmonious. Mark out a square li as one well-field of nine hundred mu, with the central plot as the public field. Eight families each hold a private hundred mu and cultivate the public field together. Only after completing their public work may they attend to their own: this is how field workers are distinguished. That is the general outline. Refining it lies with your ruler and you.”

5.4 Xu Xing, who followed the teachings of Shennong, came from Chu to Teng, visited Duke Wen's gate, and said, “I have come from afar, having heard that you practice humane government. I wish for a plot of land where I may become your subject.” The duke gave him a place to live. His several dozen followers wore coarse clothes and supported themselves by making sandals and weaving mats.Chen Xiang, a disciple of Chen Liang, and his brother Xin carried their farming tools from Song to Teng. “We hear you practice the government of sages,” they said to the duke. “Then you are a sage yourself, and we wish to be your subjects.”Chen Xiang met Xu Xing, was delighted, abandoned everything he had learned, and studied with him.He visited Mencius and repeated Xu Xing's teaching: “The ruler of Teng is indeed worthy, but he has not yet heard the Way. A worthy ruler plows alongside the people to eat, cooking his own meals as he governs. Teng, however, has granaries and treasuries: the duke exploits the people to support himself. How can he be worthy?”Mencius asked, “Does Master Xu grow grain before he eats it?”“Yes.”“Does he weave cloth before he wears it?”“No. He wears coarse cloth.”“Does he wear a cap?”“Yes.”“What kind?”“An undyed cap.”“Does he weave it himself?”“No. He trades grain for it.”“Why does he not weave it himself?”“That would interfere with farming.”“Does Master Xu cook with pots and steamers and plow with iron tools?”“Yes.”“Does he make them himself?”“No. He trades grain for them.”“Trading grain for tools does not mean exploiting potters and smiths; do potters and smiths exploit farmers when they trade their tools for grain? Why does Master Xu not become a potter and smith and produce everything he needs at home? Why take the trouble of trading with all the artisans?”“One cannot both farm and practice every craft.”“Then can one farm and govern the world at the same time? There is work for great people and work for ordinary people. The body of a single person needs the products of a hundred crafts. If each person had to make everything before using it, everyone would be driven to exhaustion. Thus some labor with their hearts, others with their strength. Those who labor with their hearts govern others; those who labor with their strength are governed. The governed feed the governors; the governors are fed by the governed. This is the universal principle of the world.“In Yao's time the world was not yet settled. Floodwaters ran wild and covered the earth; plants flourished unchecked and birds and beasts multiplied. The five grains would not ripen, and beasts pressed upon humankind. Trails of hoofprints and birds' tracks crossed the central lands. Yao alone was troubled by this and raised Shun to bring order. Shun appointed Yi to take charge of fire; Yi burned the mountain forests and marshes, and the beasts fled into hiding. Yu opened channels for nine rivers, cleared the Ji and Ta and sent them into the sea; he opened the Ru and Han and drained the Huai and Si into the Yangtze. Only then could the people of the central lands grow food. Yu spent eight years away and passed his own door three times without entering. Even if he had wanted to farm, could he have done so?“Hou Ji taught the people to sow and harvest, to cultivate the five grains. When the grains ripened, the people were nourished. But the way of human beings is such that if they eat their fill, wear warm clothes, and dwell in comfort without being taught, they become close to beasts. The sage was troubled by this and made Xie minister of instruction to teach human relationships: affection between father and son, rightness between ruler and minister, distinction between husband and wife, order between elder and younger, and trust between friends. Fangxun said, ‘Bring them together, work for them, guide and straighten them, assist and support them, help them find their own way, and raise them up through virtue.’ Such was the sage's concern for the people. Did he have time to plow?“Yao worried that he might not find Shun; Shun worried that he might not find Yu and Gao Yao. The man who worries that his hundred-mu field will not be well cultivated is a farmer. To distribute wealth is generosity; to teach goodness is loyalty; to find the right people for the world is humaneness. It is easy to give the world away, but hard to find the right people to serve it. Confucius said, ‘How great was Yao as a ruler! Heaven alone is great, and Yao modeled himself on it. His greatness was so vast the people could not name it! How lordly was Shun! Sublime in possessing the world without concern for possession!’ Did Yao and Shun govern without applying their hearts? They simply did not apply them to farming.“I have heard of people using the Xia ways to transform foreigners; I have not heard of people being transformed by foreigners. Chen Liang was born in Chu; he loved the Way of the Duke of Zhou and Confucius and went north to study in the central lands. None of the scholars there surpassed him; he was what we call an outstanding man. You and your brother served him for decades, but as soon as your teacher died you turned your backs on him. When Confucius died, after three years his disciples packed to go home. They came to take leave of Zigong, faced each other, and wept aloud before they parted. Zigong returned to the burial ground, built a hut, and stayed alone another three years before going home. Later Zixia, Zizhang, and Ziyou thought You Ruo resembled the sage and wanted to serve him as they had served Confucius. They pressed Zengzi, but he said, ‘No. Even if you washed him in the Yangtze and Han and dried him under the autumn sun, the Master's brightness would still stand beyond all comparison.’ Now a man of the southern tribes, whose speech sounds like a shrike's, rejects the Way of the former kings; you abandon your teacher to study with him. You differ indeed from Zengzi. I have heard of one rising from a dark valley to a tall tree, but never of one descending from a tall tree into a dark valley. The Hymns of Lu say, ‘He struck back at the Rong and Di, and chastised Jing and Shu.’ The Duke of Zhou opposed them, yet you study one of them: you have chosen a transformation for the worse.”Chen Xiang said, “If we follow Master Xu's Way, there will be no two prices in the market and no deceit in the state. Even a child five feet tall can visit the market without being cheated. If lengths of cloth and silk are equal, their prices will be alike; if hemp, thread, silk, and floss have equal weight, their prices alike; if quantities of the five grains are equal, their prices alike; if sandals are the same size, their prices alike.”Mencius said, “Things are unequal by nature: one may be worth twice or five times another, ten or a hundred times, a thousand or ten thousand times. To lump them together and make them equal is to throw the world into disorder. If coarse and fine sandals have the same price, who will make fine ones? Following Master Xu's Way would lead everyone into deceit. How could it govern a state?”

5.5 The Mohist Yi Zhi asked through Xu Bi to meet Mencius. Mencius said, “I have long wanted to meet him, but I am still ill. When I recover, I will go and see him.” Yi Zhi did not come.On another day he again asked to meet Mencius. Mencius said, “Now I can see him. Unless we speak frankly, the Way will not become clear; let me be frank. I hear Yi Zhi is a Mohist, and the Mohists make simplicity their principle in arranging funerals. Yi Zhi would reform the world by this principle; surely he does not think it wrong or unworthy of esteem. Yet he buried his own parents lavishly. He has served them according to a practice he professes to despise.”Xu Bi told Yi Zhi.Yi Zhi said, “The teaching of the classicists says the ancients cared for the people ‘as though protecting a newborn child.’ What does that mean? I believe love has no degrees, though we begin its practice with our parents.”Xu Bi reported this to Mencius.Mencius said, “Does Yi Zhi truly believe that a man loves his brother's child no more than a neighbor's newborn? The saying has a particular meaning: a crawling baby about to fall into a well is not to blame. Moreover Heaven gives each creature one root, whereas Yi Zhi gives people two. Long ago there was a man who did not bury his parents. When one died, he carried the body and left it in a ravine. Another day, passing by, he saw foxes eating the body and flies and gnats sucking it. Sweat broke out on his brow, and he glanced away. The sweat was not for others to see; his inward feeling broke through to his face. He returned for tools and covered the body. If it was right to cover it, then a devoted child or humane person surely has a reason to bury a parent.”Xu Bi told Yi Zhi. Yi Zhi sat silent for a while, then said, “You have instructed me.”

6.1 Chen Dai said, “Your refusal to see the lords seems a small point. Meet them just once and you could, at best, make a king; at least, a hegemon. The Records say, ‘Bend one foot to straighten eight.’ Surely that would be worth doing.”Mencius said, “Once, when Duke Jing of Qi was hunting, he summoned the gamekeeper with a banner. The keeper did not come, and the duke meant to execute him. Confucius said, ‘A man of principle never forgets that he may end in a ditch; a brave man never forgets that he may lose his head.’ What did Confucius admire in the gamekeeper? He did not come when summoned by the wrong signal. What would you make of someone who went without waiting to be summoned at all? Moreover, ‘bending one foot to straighten eight’ is an argument from profit. If profit is our guide, should we not bend eight feet to straighten one, if it pays? Zhao Jianzi once ordered Wang Liang to drive his favorite, Xi, on a hunt. They caught nothing all day. Xi reported, ‘He is the worst charioteer in the world.’ Someone told Wang Liang, who asked for another chance. Xi reluctantly agreed, and in one morning caught ten animals. ‘He is the best charioteer in the world,’ Xi reported. Jianzi said, ‘I shall make him your regular driver.’ But Wang Liang refused. ‘When I drove him according to the rules, we caught nothing all day. When I drove against the rules to bring him face-to-face with game, we caught ten in a morning. The Odes say, “He kept his horses to their course, and when he loosed his arrow, he struck his mark.” I am not accustomed to driving for petty men; let me decline.’ Even a charioteer is ashamed to collude with an archer. Even if such collusion brought game piled high as hills, he would refuse. Why, then, should I bend the Way to suit the lords? You are mistaken: no one who bends himself can make others upright.”

6.2 Jing Chun said, “Are Gongsun Yan and Zhang Yi not truly great men? When they grow angry, the lords tremble; when they live quietly, the world rests.”Mencius said, “How can they be great men? Have you not learned the rites? When a young man receives his cap, his father instructs him; when a woman marries, her mother instructs her and accompanies her to the door, admonishing her, ‘When you enter your new household, be respectful and careful; never disobey your husband.’ To take submission as one's rule is the way of a wife or concubine. Dwell in the world's broadest dwelling; stand in its rightful place; walk its great Way. When you gain your purpose, share the Way with the people; when you fail, follow it alone. Wealth and honor cannot corrupt you, poverty and low rank cannot change you, force and power cannot bend you. That is a truly great man.”

6.3 Zhou Xiao asked, “Did the noble people of antiquity take office?”“Yes,” said Mencius. “The records say, ‘If Confucius was without a ruler for three months, he grew anxious. When he crossed a border, he always carried an introductory gift.’ Gongming Yi said, ‘In antiquity, if a man went three months without a ruler, people offered him condolences.’”“Is it not excessive to offer condolences after only three months?”“For a man of service to lose his position is like a lord losing his state. The Rites say, ‘The lord tills the shared field to provide grain for offerings; his wife raises silkworms and reels silk to make the ritual garments. If the sacrificial animals are inadequate, the grain impure, or the garments incomplete, he dares not offer sacrifice. And a man of service without a field does not sacrifice either.’ If he lacks the animals, vessels, and garments and cannot offer sacrifice, he cannot host a feast. Is that not cause enough for condolences?”“Why carry an introductory gift when crossing a border?”“Office is to a man of service what farming is to a farmer. Would a farmer leave his plow and hoe behind when crossing a border?”“In Jin, too, men take office, yet I have never heard such urgency. If office matters so much, why is it so difficult for a noble person to accept one?”“When a son is born, his parents wish him to have a wife; when a daughter is born, they wish her to have a husband. All parents feel this. But if the children peer through holes in the wall and climb over it to meet, without their parents' permission or a matchmaker's words, parents and neighbors alike despise them. The ancients certainly wanted office, but they detested taking it by the wrong path. To enter office the wrong way is like creeping through a hole in the wall.”

6.4 Peng Geng asked, “With dozens of carriages following you and hundreds of attendants, you go from lord to lord and receive your food. Is that not excessive?”Mencius replied, “If the Way does not allow it, one must not take even a basket of food from another person. If the Way allows it, Shun could accept the whole world from Yao without excess. Would you call that excessive?”“No. But it is wrong for a man of service to eat without doing any work.”“If you did not exchange the products of different labors, using surpluses to make up shortages, farmers would have grain left over and women cloth left over. When you allow exchange, woodworkers, carpenters, wheelwrights, and carriage-makers can all receive food from you. Here is a man who serves his parents devotedly at home and respects his elders abroad, upholds the Way of the former kings, and awaits students yet to come. Why can he not receive food from you? Why honor carpenters and carriage-makers but slight those who practice humaneness and rightness?”“The craftsmen work because they seek food. Is seeking food also the aim of a noble person who practices the Way?”“Why ask about his aim? His work benefits you; if he deserves food, feed him. Do you feed intentions or achievements?”“Intentions.”“Suppose a man smashes tiles and scribbles on walls, intending thereby to seek food. Would you feed him?”“No.”“Then you feed achievements, not intentions.”

6.5 Wan Zhang asked, “Song is a small state. If it now practices kingly government and Qi and Chu hate this and attack, what should it do?”Mencius said, “Tang lived at Bo, beside Ge. The lord of Ge was dissolute and neglected his sacrifices. Tang sent someone to ask why. ‘I have no animals to offer,’ he said. Tang sent cattle and sheep, but the lord ate them and still offered no sacrifices. Tang asked again why. ‘I have no grain for the offerings,’ he said. Tang sent people from Bo to cultivate his fields, while their old and young brought them food. The lord of Ge led his men to waylay those carrying food, drink, millet, and rice, seized their provisions, and killed anyone who refused. They killed one boy who was bringing millet and meat and took his food. The Documents say, ‘The lord of Ge made enemies of those bringing food.’ This is what it means. Tang marched against him because he had killed the boy. People within the four seas said, ‘He seeks not to enrich himself with the world, but to avenge an ordinary boy and girl.’ Tang began his campaigns at Ge. After eleven campaigns he had no enemy in the world. When he marched east, the western tribes complained; when south, the northern tribes complained, ‘Why leave us until last?’ The people looked for him as those in drought look for rain. Merchants went on coming to market and farmers continued weeding. He punished rulers and consoled their people, like rain falling at the right season. The people rejoiced. The Documents say, ‘We await our lord; when he comes, we shall suffer no more punishment.’ And: ‘Those who had not been his subjects saw him march east and bring peace to their men and women. They carried black and yellow silks in baskets to greet our Zhou king, saw his blessing, and became subjects of the great city of Zhou.’ The leading people filled baskets with dark and yellow silk to greet his leaders; ordinary people brought baskets of food and jars of drink to welcome his troops. They rescued the people from flood and fire by removing their cruel rulers. The Great Oath says, ‘Our might is displayed as we cross their border, seize their cruel ones, and wield force against them, surpassing even Tang in splendor.’ The question is merely whether Song will practice kingly government. If it does, people within the four seas will look up expectantly, desiring its ruler as their own. However large Qi and Chu may be, what is there to fear?”

6.6 Mencius said to Dai Busheng, “Do you want your king to become good? I shall tell you plainly. If a minister of Chu wanted his son to speak the language of Qi, would he choose a tutor from Qi or Chu?”“From Qi.”“If one person from Qi teaches him while a crowd from Chu shouts at him, you could whip him every day and still never make him speak Qi. Take him instead to live for years amid the streets of Zhuang and Yue in Qi, and though you whipped him daily, you could not make him speak Chu. You call Xue Juzhou a good man and have placed him beside the king. If all those near the king, old and young, humble and honored, were like Xue Juzhou, with whom could the king do wrong? If none of them were like him, with whom could the king do right? What can one Xue Juzhou do for the king of Song?”

6.7 Gongsun Chou asked, “What is the principle behind refusing to visit the lords?”Mencius said, “In antiquity one who was not a ruler's minister did not visit him. Duan Ganmu climbed over a wall to avoid one; Xie Liu shut his gate and refused one entrance. They went too far; under pressure, one may meet a ruler. Yang Huo wanted to meet Confucius but dreaded appearing discourteous. When a minister gives a man of service a gift that cannot be accepted in the recipient's home, the recipient visits the donor's house to thank him. Yang Huo waited until Confucius was away and sent him a roasted pig. Confucius, in turn, waited until Yang Huo was away and went to thank him. If Yang Huo had visited first, how could Confucius have avoided meeting him? Zengzi said, ‘Hunching your shoulders and smiling to flatter someone is more exhausting than working a field in summer.’ Zilu said, ‘To speak with someone you do not agree with, blushing as you watch his face, is something I cannot understand.’ From this you may see what a noble person seeks to cultivate.”

6.8 Dai Yingzhi said, “We cannot yet institute the one-tenth levy and abolish the taxes at border gates and markets. May we reduce them now and wait until next year to abolish them entirely?”Mencius said, “Suppose a man steals one chicken from his neighbor every day and someone tells him, ‘That is not the conduct of a noble person.’ He replies, ‘Let me reduce it to one chicken a month, and next year I will stop altogether.’ If you know it is wrong, stop at once. Why wait until next year?”

6.9 Gongduzi said, “Outsiders all say you love to argue. May I ask why?”Mencius said, “How could I love to argue? I have no choice. The world has existed a long time, with periods of order and disorder. In Yao's day the waters flowed backward and flooded the central lands. Serpents and dragons lived there; the people had no settled homes. Those on low ground made nests in trees; those on high ground dug caves. The Documents say, ‘The flooding waters alarmed me.’ These were the great floods. Yao sent Yu to control them. Yu cut channels through the earth to drain the waters into the sea and drove the serpents and dragons into marshes. The waters then flowed in their channels: the Yangtze, Huai, Yellow, and Han rivers. Once dangerous barriers receded and the birds and beasts that preyed on people disappeared, people could live on level ground.“After Yao and Shun died, the Way of the sages declined. Violent rulers arose, demolished houses to make ornamental ponds, leaving the people without shelter; they abandoned farmland to make gardens and game parks, leaving the people without clothes or food. Perverse teachings and violent deeds appeared. As parks, ponds, and marshes multiplied, beasts returned. In Zhou's time the world was again in great disorder. The Duke of Zhou assisted King Wu, executed Zhou, attacked Yan, and after three years captured its ruler. He drove Feilian to a corner of the sea and killed him. He destroyed fifty states and drove tigers, leopards, rhinoceroses, and elephants far away. The world rejoiced. The Documents say, ‘How brilliant were King Wen's plans! How splendidly King Wu carried on his work! They aided and enlightened us, their descendants, so that all would follow what is right without defect.’“As the age declined, the Way grew faint, and perverse teachings and violent deeds arose again. Ministers killed their rulers; sons killed their fathers. Confucius was afraid and composed the Spring and Autumn Annals. Composing these Annals was the work of the Son of Heaven. Thus Confucius said, ‘Those who understand me will do so through the Annals; those who condemn me will do so through the Annals.’“No sage king has arisen. The lords act without restraint and scholars in private life dispute recklessly. The words of Yang Zhu and Mozi fill the world: people belong either to Yang's camp or Mo's. Yang's doctrine of ‘each for himself’ leaves no place for a ruler; Mo's doctrine of universal love leaves no place for a father. To have neither father nor ruler is to be a beast. Gongming Yi said, ‘There is fat meat in the kitchens and fat horses in the stables, while the people look hungry and starving bodies lie in the fields: this is leading beasts to devour human beings.’ Unless Yang and Mo are stopped, Confucius's Way cannot be made clear; their perverse teachings will deceive the people and obstruct humaneness and rightness. When these are obstructed, rulers lead beasts to eat people, and people will eat one another. Fearing this, I defend the Way of the former sages, oppose Yang and Mo, and banish their wild claims, so perverse teachings cannot arise. When they arise in the heart, they harm one's actions; when they arise in actions, they harm government. Were a sage to rise again, he would not change a word of what I say.“Yu once subdued the floods and brought peace to the world; the Duke of Zhou annexed the lands of the foreign tribes and drove off savage beasts, bringing security to the people; Confucius completed the Annals, frightening rebellious ministers and murderous sons. The Odes say, ‘He struck the Rong and Di and chastised Jing and Shu; none dared withstand us.’ Those without fathers or rulers are the very people the Duke of Zhou opposed. I too wish to set human hearts right, silence perverse teachings, resist deviant conduct, and drive out unbridled claims, continuing the work of the three sages. How could I love to argue? I have no choice. Anyone who speaks against Yang and Mo is a follower of the sages.”

6.10 Kuang Zhang said, “Is Chen Zhongzi not a truly incorruptible man? Living in Wuling, he went three days without food, until his ears could hear nothing and his eyes could see nothing. There was a plum beside a well, more than half eaten by grubs. He crawled to it and ate; after three swallows he could hear and see again.”Mencius said, “Among the men of Qi, I would certainly call Zhongzi a giant. But how can he be incorruptible? If he carried his principles through to the end, only an earthworm could do so. The worm feeds above on dry earth and drinks below from yellow springs. Was the house Zhongzi inhabited built by Bo Yi, or by the robber Zhi? Was the grain he ate planted by Bo Yi, or by the robber Zhi? We cannot know.”“What does that matter? He made his own sandals, and his wife spun hemp to exchange for what they needed.”“Zhongzi comes from a distinguished Qi family. His elder brother Dai received ten thousand measures of grain from Gai. Zhongzi considered his brother's stipend unjust and refused to eat from it; he considered his brother's house unjust and refused to live there. Leaving brother and mother, he settled in Wuling. One day, on visiting home, he found that someone had given his brother a live goose. He frowned and said, ‘What use is that honking thing?’ Later his mother cooked the goose and served it to him. His brother came in and said, ‘That is the honking thing's meat.’ Zhongzi went out and vomited it up. He will not eat food served by his mother, yet eats what his wife gives him; he will not live in his brother's house, yet lives in Wuling. Is he really able to carry his principles through? Only as an earthworm could he do so.”

7.1 Mencius said, “Even with Li Lou's keen vision and Master Gongshu's skill, one cannot make squares and circles without compass and square. Even with Shi Kuang's sharp hearing, one cannot tune the five notes without the six pitch-pipes. Even with Yao and Shun's Way, one cannot bring peace and order to the world without humane government. Today there are rulers with humane hearts and humane reputations, yet the people receive no benefit from them and later generations cannot take them as models, because they do not follow the Way of the former kings. Thus it is said: goodness alone is not enough for government; laws alone cannot put themselves into effect. The Odes say, ‘Neither straying nor forgetting, he followed the old statutes.’ No one has ever gone wrong by following the laws of the former kings. The sages exhausted the power of their eyes, then added compass, square, level, and line to make squares, circles, flat surfaces, and straight lines, tools whose uses cannot be exhausted. They exhausted the power of their ears, then added the six pitch-pipes to tune the five notes, whose uses cannot be exhausted. They exhausted the power of their hearts, then established a government that could not bear the suffering of others, and humaneness spread throughout the world. Thus, to build high, one must start from hills; to make a deep place, one must start from rivers and marshes. Can government that ignores the former kings' Way be called wise? Only the humane should hold high office. When an inhumane man does so, he spreads his evil among the people. Those above have no guiding principles, those below no laws to observe; the court distrusts the Way, artisans disregard standards; noble people violate rightness and ordinary people violate the law. If such a state survives, it is by luck. Incomplete walls and few weapons and suits of armor are not its greatest calamity. Uncultivated fields and scant stores of wealth are not its greatest harm. When those above lack ritual propriety and those below lack education, a destructive populace arises, and ruin is close. The Odes say, ‘When Heaven is about to overturn you, do not drift in indifference.’ Indifference means idle chatter. To serve a ruler without rightness, to advance or withdraw without ritual propriety, and to speak disparagingly of the former kings' Way—these are idle chatter. Thus to challenge a ruler with difficult demands is respect; to present the good and bar the wrong is reverence; to say ‘My ruler is incapable’ is to betray him.”

7.2 Mencius said, “Compass and square are the perfection of the circle and square; sages are the perfection of human relationships. If you wish to be a ruler, fulfill the ruler's Way; if a minister, fulfill the minister's Way. Both require only that you take Yao and Shun as your models. If you do not serve your ruler as Shun served Yao, you fail to respect him. If you do not govern your people as Yao governed his, you injure them. Confucius said, ‘There are only two ways: humaneness and its absence.’ If a ruler does grievous violence to his people, he will be killed and his state destroyed. If his violence is less grievous, his life will be endangered and his state diminished. His posthumous name will be ‘the Dark’ or ‘the Cruel,’ and not even devoted descendants in a hundred generations can change it. The Odes say, ‘The mirror for Yin is not distant: it lies in the age of the Xia rulers.’ This is what they mean.”

7.3 Mencius said, “The three dynasties gained the world through humaneness and lost it through inhumanity. The rise and fall, survival and extinction, of states happen in the same way. Without humaneness the Son of Heaven cannot preserve the four seas, a lord cannot preserve his altars of soil and grain, a minister cannot preserve his ancestral temple, and a man of service or commoner cannot preserve his own limbs. To hate death and destruction yet delight in inhumanity is like hating drunkenness while forcing yourself to drink wine.”

7.4 Mencius said, “If you love someone and they do not grow close to you, examine your humaneness. If you govern people and they remain disorderly, examine your wisdom. If you treat someone with ritual propriety and receive no answer, examine your respect. Whenever you do not obtain what you seek, seek the cause in yourself. When your own person is upright, the world turns to you. The Odes say, ‘Always seek to accord with the Mandate and find abundant blessings for yourself.’”

7.5 Mencius said, “People constantly speak of ‘the world, the state, and the family.’ The world's foundation is the state, the state's foundation is the family, and the family's foundation is the individual.”

7.6 Mencius said, “Governing is not difficult: do not offend the great families. What they admire, the whole state will admire; what the whole state admires, the world will admire. Then your teaching in virtue will flow abundantly across the four seas.”

7.7 Mencius said, “When the world has the Way, those with lesser virtue serve those with greater virtue, and the less worthy serve the worthier. When the world lacks the Way, the small serve the great and the weak serve the strong. Both conditions come from Heaven; those who follow Heaven survive, those who oppose it perish. Duke Jing of Qi said, ‘If I cannot command others and will not accept commands, I will cut myself off from all.’ Weeping, he gave his daughter in marriage to Wu. Now a small state imitates a great one yet feels ashamed to accept its orders, like a pupil ashamed to receive instructions from his first teacher. If this shames you, nothing is better than taking King Wen as your teacher. Follow King Wen, and within five years if your state is large, or seven if it is small, you will govern the world. The Odes say, ‘The descendants of Shang numbered beyond counting. When the Lord on High sent his command, they became subjects of Zhou. Subjects of Zhou they became: Heaven's Mandate does not remain fixed. The graceful, able officers of Yin brought libations at the capital.’ Confucius said, ‘Numbers cannot overpower humaneness! Let the ruler of a state love humaneness, and he will have no enemies in the world.’ To seek to be without enemies but reject humaneness is like grasping something burning hot yet refusing to wash your hands. The Odes say, ‘Who can hold something burning without washing his hands?’”

7.8 Mencius said, “Can one reason with the inhumane? They feel safe in danger, find advantage in disaster, and delight in the very things that will destroy them. If one could reason with them, how would states and families ever be ruined? A child sings, ‘When the waters of Canglang are clear, I may wash the strings of my cap; when the waters of Canglang are muddy, I may wash my feet.’ Confucius said, ‘Listen, children! Clear water washes the cap strings, muddy water the feet; the water brings it upon itself.’ A person must first insult himself before others will insult him; a family must first destroy itself before others can destroy it; a state must first attack itself before others attack it. The Great Jia says, ‘Disasters wrought by Heaven may still be escaped; disasters wrought by oneself leave no hope of survival.’ This is what it means.”

7.9 Mencius said, “Jie and Zhou lost the world because they lost their people; they lost their people because they lost their hearts. There is a way to win the world: win the people, and you win the world. There is a way to win the people: win their hearts, and you win the people. There is a way to win their hearts: gather what they desire and give it to them; do not inflict on them what they hate. People turn to humaneness as water runs downhill and beasts run to the wild. Thus the otter drives fish into the deep pool; the hawk drives sparrows into the thicket; Jie and Zhou drove the people toward Tang and King Wu. If a ruler anywhere in the world loved humaneness today, all the other lords would drive their people to him. Even if he wished not to become king, he could not avoid it. One who seeks kingship today resembles a man ill for seven years who searches for mugwort aged three years. If he has not stored it, he will never find it. If a ruler does not set his heart on humaneness, he will live in sorrow and disgrace until he meets destruction. The Odes say, ‘How can they come to good? Together they sink beneath the water.’ This is what they mean.”

7.10 Mencius said, “You cannot speak with those who do violence to themselves; you cannot work with those who abandon themselves. To denounce ritual propriety and rightness in speech is to do violence to yourself; to say ‘I cannot dwell in humaneness and walk in rightness’ is to abandon yourself. Humaneness is humanity's safe dwelling; rightness is its straight road. To leave the safe dwelling empty and refuse to live there, to abandon the straight road and refuse to walk it—how sad!”

7.11 Mencius said, “The Way lies close, yet people seek it far away; the task is easy, yet people seek it in difficulty. Let each person cherish their own parents and respect their own elders, and the world will be at peace.”

7.12 Mencius said, “If you hold a subordinate position and cannot win the trust of those above you, you cannot govern the people. There is a way to win that trust: if your friends do not trust you, neither will your superiors. There is a way to earn your friends' trust: if you do not please your parents in serving them, your friends will not trust you. There is a way to please your parents: if you examine yourself and find no sincerity, you cannot please them. There is a way to make yourself sincere: if you do not understand goodness, you cannot be sincere. Thus sincerity is Heaven's Way; striving for sincerity is humanity's Way. No one has ever been wholly sincere without moving others; no one without sincerity has ever moved others.”

7.13 Mencius said, “Bo Yi fled from Zhou and lived on the northern seacoast. Hearing that King Wen had risen, he said, ‘Why not go to him? I hear the lord of the west cares well for the old.’ Taigong fled from Zhou and lived on the eastern seacoast. Hearing that King Wen had risen, he said the same: ‘Why not go to him? I hear the lord of the west cares well for the old.’ These two elders were the great elders of the world. When they turned to King Wen, the fathers of the world turned to him. If the fathers turn to him, where can their children go? If any lord practices King Wen's government, within seven years he will govern the world.”

7.14 Mencius said, “Ran Qiu served as steward to the Ji family, but could not reform their conduct; instead he doubled their former grain levy. Confucius said, ‘Qiu is no follower of mine. My young disciples may sound the drum and denounce him.’ From this we see that Confucius rejected anyone who enriched a ruler who did not practice humane government. How much more would he reject one who made war more fierce for such a ruler? When states fight for land, the dead fill the fields; when they fight for cities, the dead fill the cities. This is called feeding human flesh to the land. Death alone is not punishment enough for such a crime. The ablest at war deserve the severest punishment, those who forge alliances among the lords the next, and those who clear wasteland to enlarge territories the next.”

7.15 Mencius said, “Nothing in a person is more revealing than the pupils of the eyes: they cannot conceal evil. If the heart is upright, the eyes are clear; if the heart is crooked, the eyes are clouded. Listen to a person's words and look into their eyes: where can they hide?”

7.16 Mencius said, “The respectful do not insult others; the frugal do not rob them. A ruler who insults and robs people fears only that they will fail to obey him. How could he be respectful or frugal? Can respect and frugality be put on with a smiling face and a gentle voice?”

7.17 Chunyu Kun asked, “Is it part of ritual propriety that men and women do not touch hands when giving or receiving things?”“Yes,” said Mencius.“If your sister-in-law were drowning, would you pull her out by the hand?”“Not to pull her out would make one a wolf. That men and women should not touch hands in passing things is ritual propriety; that one should pull a drowning sister-in-law out by the hand is a matter of weighing circumstances.”“The world is drowning today. Why do you not pull it out?”“A drowning world must be rescued with the Way; a drowning sister-in-law with one's hand. Would you rescue the world with your hand?”

7.18 Gongsun Chou asked, “Why does a noble person not teach his own son?”Mencius said, “The circumstances will not allow it. A teacher must teach what is right; if his teaching fails, anger follows. Anger in turn causes injury. The son says, ‘My father teaches me to be upright, yet he himself has not been upright.’ Thus father and son injure each other, and that is a terrible thing. In antiquity people exchanged sons to teach. Father and son should not demand perfection of each other; to do so estranges them, and no misfortune is greater than that estrangement.”

7.19 Mencius said, “Which service is greatest? Serving one's parents. Which guardianship is greatest? Guarding oneself. I have heard of people who kept themselves whole and could serve their parents; I have never heard of anyone who lost himself and could serve them. All things involve service, but serving one's parents is its root; all things require guarding, but guarding oneself is its root. When Zengzi cared for his father Zeng Xi, he always provided wine and meat. Before clearing the table he always asked whom he should give what remained; if asked whether there was anything left, he always said, ‘Yes.’ After Zeng Xi died, Zeng Yuan cared for Zengzi and always provided wine and meat; but before clearing the table he did not ask whom he should give the remainder, and if asked whether anything remained, he said, ‘Nothing,’ because he meant to serve it again. That is nourishing the mouth and body. Zengzi nourished his father's wishes. Serve your parents as Zengzi did, and you do well.”

7.20 Mencius said, “It is not enough to reprimand the ruler's followers or criticize particular policies. Only a great person can correct what is wrong in the ruler's heart. If the ruler is humane, all are humane; if he is righteous, all are righteous; if he is upright, all are upright. Set the ruler right once, and the state is settled.”

7.21 Mencius said, “Some praise comes unexpectedly; some reproach comes despite one's pursuit of perfection.”

7.22 Mencius said, “People speak carelessly because no one holds them to account.”

7.23 Mencius said, “People's failing is their love of playing teacher to others.”

7.24 Yue Zheng accompanied Ziao to Qi. When he visited Mencius, Mencius said, “So you have come to see me?”“Why do you speak like that, Master?”“How many days have you been here?”“Since yesterday.”“If you arrived yesterday, is my question not fitting?”“I had not yet settled into my lodging.”“Have you heard the saying, ‘First settle into your lodging, and only then seek out your elders’?”“I am at fault,” said Yue Zheng.

7.25 Mencius told Yue Zheng, “You came with Ziao merely to eat and drink. I had not thought you would study the Way of the ancients only to seek food and drink.”

7.26 Mencius said, “There are three ways to be unfilial; the greatest is leaving no descendants. Shun married without telling his parents because he feared leaving no descendants. Noble people regard it as though he had told them.”

7.27 Mencius said, “The substance of humaneness is serving one's parents; the substance of rightness is following one's elder brother. The substance of wisdom is knowing these two and not abandoning them. The substance of ritual propriety is ordering and adorning them. The substance of music is delighting in them; delight springs to life, and once it lives, how could it stop? If it cannot stop, one dances with one's feet and waves one's hands without knowing it.”

7.28 Mencius said, “Only Shun looked on the delight of the whole world and its desire to turn to him as though it were grass or chaff. He knew that without his parents' approval he could not be fully human; without harmony with them he could not be a son. Shun fulfilled every duty toward his father until Gu Sou became joyful. Once Gu Sou was joyful, the world was transformed; once Gu Sou was joyful, the relationship between fathers and sons everywhere was settled. This is called great devotion to parents.”

8.1 Mencius said, “Shun was born in Zhufeng, moved to Fuxia, and died at Mingtiao: he was a man of the eastern tribes. King Wen was born at Qizhou and died at Biying: he was a man of the western tribes. Their homes lay more than a thousand li apart, and more than a thousand years separated their ages. Yet when they attained their aims and put them into practice in the central lands, their ways matched like the two halves of a tally. Sages before and after follow the same principle.”

8.2 When Zichan governed Zheng, he used his own carriage to ferry people across the Zhen and Wei rivers. Mencius said, “He was kind, but did not understand government. Had footbridges been finished in the eleventh month and carriage bridges in the twelfth, the people would not have been troubled by crossing. When a noble person governs fairly, he may even clear the road for his own passage. But how could he ferry every person across? If a governor tries to please everyone individually, there are not enough days in the year.”

8.3 Mencius told King Xuan of Qi, “If a ruler treats ministers as his hands and feet, they treat him as heart and belly. If he treats them as dogs and horses, they treat him like a stranger. If he treats them as dirt and weeds, they treat him as an enemy.”The king said, “The rites require mourning for a former ruler. What sort of ruler deserves that mourning?”“When he heeds advice and acts on counsel so that his benefits reach the people, and if a minister must leave, sends someone to guide him to the border and sends word ahead to his destination; when, only if the minister has not returned after three years, he reclaims the minister's land and dwelling—these are the three courtesies. Such a ruler should be mourned. But now a minister's advice is ignored, his words unheard, and no benefits reach the people. If he must leave, the ruler seizes and detains him and pursues him to the place he goes; on the day he leaves, the ruler takes his land and dwelling. That is an enemy. Why would anyone mourn an enemy?”

8.4 Mencius said, “If a ruler kills a man of service who is innocent, his ministers may leave him; if he executes innocent commoners, the men of service may depart.”

8.5 Mencius said, “When a ruler is humane, all are humane; when a ruler is righteous, all are righteous.”

8.6 Mencius said, “A great person will not perform a rite that is not truly ritual propriety, or an act called righteous that is not truly right.”

8.7 Mencius said, “Those who follow the middle Way should nurture those who do not, and the capable should nurture the incapable. That is why people delight in worthy fathers and elder brothers. If the balanced abandoned the unbalanced and the capable the incapable, there would be less than an inch between the worthy and the unworthy.”

8.8 Mencius said, “Only when there are things a person refuses to do can that person accomplish anything.”

8.9 Mencius said, “If you speak of another's faults, how will you deal with what follows?”

8.10 Mencius said, “Confucius never went to extremes.”

8.11 Mencius said, “A great person does not insist on keeping every promise in words or carrying every action through: rightness alone is the guide.”

8.12 Mencius said, “A great person is one who does not lose the heart of a newborn child.”

8.13 Mencius said, “Nourishing parents while they live is not the measure of the great task; sending them to their burial is.”

8.14 Mencius said, “A noble person goes deeply into the Way because he wants to grasp it for himself. Grasp it for yourself and you will dwell in it securely; dwell in it securely and you will draw deeply on it; draw deeply on it and, wherever you turn, you will encounter its source. This is why a noble person seeks to grasp it for himself.”

8.15 Mencius said, “One studies widely and explains in detail in order to return at last to speaking simply.”

8.16 Mencius said, “No one has ever won people over by using his goodness to subdue them. Nourish them through goodness, and only then can you win over the world. No one has ever become king while the world failed to submit in its heart.”

8.17 Mencius said, “Words without substance are inauspicious. The true calamity is that they obscure the worthy.”

8.18 Master Xu asked, “Confucius often exclaimed about water, ‘Water! Water!’ What did he admire in it?”Mencius replied, “The water of a living spring flows on day and night without stopping. It fills each hollow before moving on, until it reaches the four seas. That is the way of a thing with a source, and that is what he admired. Rain gathered in the seventh and eighth months may fill ditches and channels, but without a living source it dries up almost as you watch. That is why a noble person is ashamed when his reputation exceeds the reality.”

8.19 Mencius said, “What distinguishes human beings from beasts is very slight. Ordinary people cast it away; noble people preserve it. Shun understood the multitude of things and discerned human relationships. He acted out of humaneness and rightness; he did not merely perform humane and righteous acts.”

8.20 Mencius said, “Yu disliked strong wine and loved good counsel. Tang held to the middle and appointed worthy men regardless of where they came from. King Wen saw the people as though they were wounded, and looked toward the Way as though he had not yet seen it. King Wu did not neglect those near him or forget those far away. The Duke of Zhou sought to unite the virtues of the three kings and practice these four things. When something would not fit, he raised his head and pondered it night after day; if he found the answer, he sat waiting for dawn.”

8.21 Mencius said, “When the traces of true kingship disappeared, the Odes fell silent; when the Odes fell silent, the Spring and Autumn Annals arose. The Records of Jin, the Taowu of Chu, and the Annals of Lu were alike. Their subject was the age of Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin; their words came from the historians. Confucius said, ‘The moral judgment, however, I have privately taken as my own.’”

8.22 Mencius said, “The influence of a noble person ends after five generations; the influence of an ordinary person also ends after five. I was never among Confucius's disciples, but I have privately learned his teaching from others.”

8.23 Mencius said, “If you could accept a thing or decline it, accepting harms your integrity. If you could give or withhold it, giving harms your generosity. If you could die or live, dying harms your courage.”

8.24 Feng Meng learned archery from Yi and mastered everything Yi taught. Thinking Yi the only man in the world better than himself, he killed him. Mencius said, “Yi, too, bore some blame.”Gongming Yi said, “Surely he bore none?”“Little, perhaps; but how could he bear none? The people of Zheng sent Zizhuo Ruzi to attack Wei, and Wei sent Yugong Zhisi in pursuit. Zizhuo Ruzi said, ‘My illness has seized me today; I cannot hold my bow. I am a dead man!’ He asked his driver, ‘Who is pursuing me?’ ‘Yugong Zhisi.’ ‘Then I will live,’ he said. His driver asked, ‘Yugong Zhisi is a skilled archer of Wei. Why do you say you will live?’ ‘He learned archery from Yingong Zhita, who learned from me. Yingong Zhita is an upright man, and he must have chosen an upright pupil.’ When Yugong Zhisi arrived, he asked, ‘Why are you not holding your bow, Master?’ ‘My illness has seized me today; I cannot hold it.’ ‘I learned archery from Yingong Zhita, who learned it from you. I cannot bear to turn your teaching against you and harm you. But I am on my ruler's business, and cannot neglect it.’ He took arrows, struck them against his carriage wheel to break off their metal heads, shot four of them, and returned.”

8.25 Mencius said, “If the beautiful Xizi were covered in filth, everyone would hold their noses as they passed her. Even an ugly person, after fasting and bathing, may offer sacrifice to the Lord on High.”

8.26 Mencius said, “When people discuss human nature, they speak of its ordinary tendencies. The foundation of those tendencies is what comes naturally. What I dislike in cleverness is its forcing of things. If the clever acted as Yu did in channeling the waters, there would be nothing to dislike. Yu channeled water by following the course where no forcing was needed. If the clever likewise followed what required no forcing, their cleverness would be great indeed. Heaven is high and the stars far away; yet if you seek out their regular courses, you can sit and calculate the winter solstice a thousand years ahead.”

8.27 Gongxingzi lost a son, and the right-hand minister came to offer condolences. On entering the gate, some approached and spoke with the minister, while others went to his seat and spoke there. Mencius did not speak with him. The minister was displeased. “All the noble people speak to me,” he said, “but Mencius alone will not. He slighted me.” Hearing this, Mencius said, “The rites forbid people at court to cross ranks to speak with one another or exchange greetings across the steps. I was following ritual propriety. Is it not strange that Ziao took this for contempt?”

8.28 Mencius said, “What sets a noble person apart is what he keeps in his heart: humaneness and ritual propriety. The humane love others; those with ritual propriety respect others. People generally love those who love them and respect those who respect them. If someone treats a noble person with hostility, he examines himself: ‘Perhaps I have lacked humaneness or ritual propriety. Why else would this happen?’ He finds he has been humane and respectful, but the hostility continues. He examines himself again: ‘Perhaps I have lacked loyalty.’ He finds he has been loyal, but the hostility continues. Then he says, ‘This man is simply deluded. What distinguishes him from a beast? Why be troubled by a beast?’ Thus the noble person has a lifelong concern but no passing worry. Here is his concern: Shun was a man and I am a man; Shun became a model for the world and for ages to come, but I am still no more than a common villager. That is cause for concern. What shall he do about it? Become like Shun. As for passing worries, the noble person has none. He does nothing that lacks humaneness, travels nowhere without ritual propriety. If some sudden trouble arises, he does not fret over it.”

8.29 Yu and Hou Ji lived in an orderly age and passed their homes three times without entering; Confucius praised them. Yan Yuan lived in a disorderly age in a poor lane, with one basket of rice and one gourd of water. Others could not have borne his privation, but Yan Yuan never lost his joy; Confucius praised him too. Mencius said, “Yu, Hou Ji, and Yan Yuan followed the same Way. Yu thought that if anyone in the world drowned, it was as though he himself had drowned that person; Hou Ji thought that if anyone went hungry, it was as though he himself had starved that person. Hence their urgency. If Yu, Hou Ji, and Yan Yuan exchanged places, each would act as the others did. If someone in your own household fights, you may rush to part them even with your hair loose and cap tied on hastily. If neighbors fight, to rush out with loose hair and hastily tied cap would be foolish; you might rightly shut your door.”

8.30 Gongduzi asked, “Everyone in the state calls Kuang Zhang unfilial. Yet you associate with him and treat him with courtesy. Why?”Mencius said, “The world recognizes five ways of being unfilial: letting one's limbs grow idle and neglecting one's parents' support; gambling and drinking while neglecting their support; loving wealth and putting one's wife and children first while neglecting them; indulging one's senses and bringing disgrace on them; and loving bravado and violent quarrels that endanger them. Has Kuang Zhang done any of these? Zhang and his father reproached each other for failing to do good and became estranged. Urging another to goodness belongs between friends; when father and son make such demands, it gravely wounds their love. Do you think Zhang did not wish to have wife, children, and mother beside him? But because he had offended his father, he dared not remain close to them. He sent away his wife and children and will not accept their care for the rest of his life. He believes that to do otherwise would make his offense still greater. That is all there is to Zhang.”

8.31 Zengzi lived in Wucheng when raiders from Yue came. Someone said, “The raiders are coming. Why not leave?” Zengzi said, “Let no one stay in my house and damage its trees and timber.” When the raiders withdrew, he said, “Repair my walls and roof; I shall return.” When they had gone, he returned. His attendants said, “The people treated you with such loyalty and respect. Yet when the raiders came, you were the first to leave, setting an example for the people, and when they withdrew, you returned. Surely that was wrong.” Shenyou Xing said, “You do not understand. Once when calamity struck my family at Fuchu, seventy followers accompanied the Master, and not one took part in it.”Zisi lived in Wei when raiders came from Qi. Someone said, “The raiders are coming. Why not leave?” Zisi said, “If I, Ji, leave, who will defend the ruler with him?”Mencius said, “Zengzi and Zisi followed the same Way. Zengzi was a teacher, like a father or elder brother; Zisi was a minister, of lower rank. Had they exchanged places, each would have acted as the other did.”

8.32 Master Chu said, “The king sent someone to watch you, Master. Are you truly different from other people?”Mencius replied, “How should I differ from others? Yao and Shun were the same as everyone else.”

8.33 A man of Qi lived with a wife and a concubine. Whenever he went out he returned full of wine and meat. When his wife asked with whom he had dined, he said it was always rich and honored men. She told the concubine, “Whenever our husband goes out he returns full of wine and meat and says he dines with the rich and honored, but no distinguished visitor has ever come here. I shall follow him and see where he goes.” She rose early and trailed him at a distance. All through the city no one stopped to speak to him. At last, outside the eastern walls, he went among the graves and begged leftovers from those offering sacrifices. Still unsatisfied, he looked around for others. That was how he ate his fill. His wife returned and told the concubine, “A husband is the man on whom we depend and look for support all our lives—and this is what ours does!” She and the concubine reviled him and wept together in the courtyard. Knowing nothing of this, the husband came swaggering home from outside and behaved proudly before them. As a noble person sees it, there are few who pursue wealth, honor, and advancement whose wives and concubines would not be ashamed of them and weep together.

9.1 Wan Zhang asked, “When Shun went out to the fields, he cried aloud to the vast heavens. Why did he weep?”Mencius said, “From sorrow and longing.”Wan Zhang said, “If parents love you, you rejoice and never forget them. If they hate you, you work hard without resentment. Was Shun, then, resentful?”Mencius said, “Chang Xi once asked Gongming Gao, ‘I understand why Shun went to the fields, but why did he cry aloud to Heaven and to his parents?’ Gongming Gao replied, ‘This is beyond your understanding.’ He meant that the heart of a devoted son could not be so indifferent as to say, ‘I plow with all my strength and fulfill a son's duty; what does it matter if my parents do not love me?’ The emperor sent nine sons and two daughters, officials, cattle and sheep, and full granaries to serve Shun as he worked in the fields. Men of service from everywhere came to him, and the emperor meant to transfer the world into his care. Yet because his parents were not pleased with him, he was like a destitute man who had nowhere to turn. To be loved by the men of service is something people desire, but it could not dispel his sorrow. Beauty is something people desire; he married the emperor's two daughters, but it could not dispel his sorrow. Wealth is something people desire; he possessed the wealth of the world, but it could not dispel his sorrow. Rank is something people desire; he held the rank of Son of Heaven, but it could not dispel his sorrow. The love of others, beauty, wealth, and rank were powerless; only his parents' approval could dispel it. When young, people long for their parents. When they discover desire, they long for a young beauty; when they have wives and children, for their families; when they take office, for their rulers, and if the rulers do not favor them, they burn with longing. But one of great devotion longs for his parents his whole life. In great Shun I have seen a man who longed for them even at fifty.”

9.2 Wan Zhang asked, “The Odes say, ‘How does one take a wife? One must tell one's parents.’ If anyone should have followed this, it was Shun. Why did he marry without telling them?”Mencius said, “Had he told them, he could not have married. The union of man and woman is one of humanity's great relationships. Had he told them, he would have abandoned this relationship and blamed his parents. That is why he did not tell them.”“I understand why Shun married without telling them. But why did the emperor give his daughters to Shun without telling Shun's parents?”“He too knew that if he told them, the marriage could not take place.”Wan Zhang said, “Shun's parents ordered him to repair a granary, withdrew the ladder, and his father Gu Sou set it on fire. They sent him to clean a well; after he escaped, they covered it. His brother Xiang said, ‘The plot to bury our noble brother succeeded because of me! Let father and mother have his cattle, sheep, and granaries. His spears, zither, and bow shall be mine, and his two wives shall tend my bed.’ Xiang went into Shun's house and found Shun playing the zither on his couch. ‘How deeply I have been longing for you!’ he said in embarrassment. Shun said, ‘Come, help me govern my officers and people.’ Could Shun have been unaware that Xiang intended to kill him?”“How could he be unaware? When Xiang was troubled, Shun was troubled; when Xiang was happy, Shun was happy.”“Was Shun merely pretending to be happy?”“No. Once someone gave Zichan of Zheng a live fish. Zichan ordered his pond keeper to rear it in the pond. The keeper cooked and ate it, then reported, ‘When I first released it, it seemed weak; soon it swam freely, then sped away.’ Zichan said, ‘It found its place! It found its place!’ The keeper went out and said, ‘Who calls Zichan wise? I cooked and ate the fish, and he said, “It found its place!”’ A noble person may be deceived by someone appealing to the right feeling, but not duped by something wholly against reason. Xiang approached Shun in the manner of a loving brother; Shun believed him sincerely and rejoiced. How was that a pretense?”

9.3 Wan Zhang asked, “Xiang spent every day plotting to kill Shun. When Shun became Son of Heaven, why did he merely banish him?”“He granted him a fief,” Mencius replied. “Some call that banishment.”“Shun exiled Gonggong to Youzhou, sent Huandou to Mount Chong, killed the leader of the Three Miao at Sanwei, and executed Gun at Mount Yu. When these four were punished, the whole world submitted: he had punished the inhumane. Xiang was supremely inhumane, yet Shun gave him Youbi. What wrong had the people of Youbi done? Is this how a humane man acts—punishing strangers but granting a fief to his brother?”“A humane man does not harbor anger toward his brother or nurse old resentment; he simply cherishes and loves him. Because he cherishes him he wishes him honor; because he loves him he wishes him wealth. Granting him Youbi gave him wealth and honor. If Shun himself had been Son of Heaven while his brother remained an ordinary man, could that be called cherishing and loving him?”“What, then, does the claim that he banished him mean?”“Xiang was not allowed to govern his fief. The Son of Heaven sent officials to govern it and collect its tribute, which is why some called it banishment. How could Shun let him brutalize its people? Yet Shun wished to see him often, so Xiang came to him repeatedly. The saying ‘They met through affairs of government even before tribute fell due’ refers to this.”

9.4 Xianqiu Meng asked, “There is a saying, ‘A man of supreme virtue cannot be treated as a subject by his ruler or as a son by his father.’ Shun faced south on the throne, while Yao led the lords facing north to pay court to him; Gu Sou also faced north to pay court. When Shun saw his father, his face showed distress, and Confucius said, ‘At that moment the world was in grave peril!’ Is the story true?”“No,” said Mencius. “This is not a noble person's account, but the tale of a rustic from eastern Qi. When Yao grew old, Shun acted as regent. The Canon of Yao says, ‘After twenty-eight years, Fangxun passed away. The people mourned him as a father or mother; for three years the four seas stilled the eight kinds of music.’ Confucius said, ‘There are not two suns in Heaven or two kings among the people.’ If Shun were already Son of Heaven and then led all the lords in three years of mourning for Yao, there would have been two Sons of Heaven.”“I understand that Shun did not make Yao his subject,” said Xianqiu Meng. “But the Odes say, ‘Under the broad sky no land is not the king's; across the reaches of the earth no one is not the king's subject.’ If Shun was Son of Heaven, how could Gu Sou not be his subject?”“That poem speaks of something else: the speaker was worn out in royal service and unable to support his parents. He said, ‘All these are the king's tasks; why must I alone labor so hard?’ Whoever explains a poem must not let a word damage a sentence, or a sentence obscure its meaning; meet the poet's intent with your own understanding, and you will grasp it. If we insist on literal words, the ode Cloudy Han says, ‘Not one person of Zhou's remaining multitude survived.’ Were that literally true, Zhou would have no people left. The highest devotion to parents is to honor them; the highest honor is to support them with the whole world. To be father of the Son of Heaven is the highest honor; to be supported by the whole world is the highest support. The Odes say, ‘Forever he cherished devotion to parents; his devotion became the rule.’ This is what they mean. The Documents say, ‘Shun went reverently to see Gu Sou, with awe and care; and Gu Sou came to be genuinely kind.’ Does that sound like a father unable to treat his son as a son?”

9.5 Wan Zhang said, “Did Yao give the world to Shun?”“No,” said Mencius. “The Son of Heaven cannot give the world to another.”“Then who gave it to Shun?”“Heaven.”“Did Heaven command him in plain words?”“No. Heaven does not speak, but shows its will through conduct and events.”“How does it do that?”“The Son of Heaven can recommend someone to Heaven, but cannot make Heaven give him the world. A lord can recommend someone to the Son of Heaven, but cannot make the Son of Heaven grant him a lordship. A minister can recommend someone to his lord, but cannot make the lord grant him a ministry. Yao recommended Shun to Heaven, and Heaven accepted him; he presented him to the people, and they accepted him. So I say Heaven does not speak, but shows its will through conduct and events.”“How did Heaven and the people accept him?”“Yao put Shun in charge of sacrifices, and the many spirits enjoyed them: Heaven accepted him. He put Shun in charge of affairs, and they were well governed, while the people lived at peace: the people accepted him. Heaven gave it to him; the people gave it to him. Thus I say the Son of Heaven cannot give the world to another. Shun served Yao as minister for twenty-eight years; no human arrangement could have achieved this—it was Heaven. When Yao died and three years of mourning had ended, Shun withdrew from Yao's son to the south of the southern river. But the lords who came to court went to Shun, not Yao's son; those with lawsuits went to Shun; those who sang songs sang of Shun. That is why I call it Heaven's doing. Only then did Shun go to the central lands and take the place of Son of Heaven. Had he occupied Yao's palace and pressed his son aside, it would have been usurpation, not a gift from Heaven. The Great Oath says, ‘Heaven sees through the eyes of our people; Heaven hears through the ears of our people.’ This is what it means.”

9.6 Wan Zhang asked, “Some say, ‘By Yu's time virtue had declined, for he passed the throne to his son instead of to a worthy man.’ Is that true?”“No. When Heaven gives it to a worthy man, he receives it; when Heaven gives it to a son, he receives it. Shun recommended Yu to Heaven for seventeen years. When Shun died and three years of mourning had ended, Yu withdrew from Shun's son to Yangcheng. The people of the world followed Yu, just as after Yao's death they followed Shun rather than Yao's son. Yu recommended Yi to Heaven for seven years. When Yu died and three years of mourning had ended, Yi withdrew from Yu's son to the north side of Mount Ji. Those who came to court or brought lawsuits went to Qi, not Yi, saying, ‘He is our ruler's son.’ Those who sang songs sang of Qi, not Yi, saying the same. Danzhu and Shun's son were unworthy; Shun had served Yao and Yu had served Shun for many years, spreading blessings among the people for a long time. Qi was worthy and able to honor and carry on Yu's Way, whereas Yi had served Yu only briefly and had not long benefited the people. The time Shun, Yu, and Yi served, and the worth or unworthiness of their sons, were matters for Heaven, not things human beings could arrange. What happens without human contrivance is Heaven's doing; what comes about without being brought about is the Mandate. An ordinary man can possess the world only if he has virtue like Shun's or Yu's and is recommended by a Son of Heaven; hence Confucius did not possess the world. A hereditary ruler loses the world only if Heaven has rejected him as it rejected Jie and Zhou; hence Yi, Yi Yin, and the Duke of Zhou did not possess it. Yi Yin served Tang as minister and helped him become king of the world. When Tang died, Taiding died before taking the throne; Waibing reigned two years and Zhongren four. Taijia overturned Tang's laws and institutions, so Yi Yin sent him away to Tong for three years. Taijia repented his errors, reproached and reformed himself, lived humanely and turned toward rightness at Tong, listening for three years to Yi Yin's instructions. He then returned to Bo. The Duke of Zhou's not possessing the world was like Yi's in Xia and Yi Yin's in Yin. Confucius said, ‘Tang and Yu passed the throne to worthies; Xia, Yin, and Zhou passed it to descendants. The principle was one and the same.’”

9.7 Wan Zhang asked, “Some say Yi Yin sought an audience with Tang by becoming his cook and preparing his food. Is that true?”“No,” said Mencius. “Yi Yin cultivated fields in Youxin and delighted in the Way of Yao and Shun. If something was against rightness and the Way, even the world as a stipend would not make him look up, nor would a thousand teams of horses catch his eye. If something was against rightness and the Way, he would neither give nor take even a trifle. Tang sent someone bearing gifts to invite him. Yi Yin said calmly, ‘What need have I of Tang's gifts? Is it not better to remain in my fields, delighting in the Way of Yao and Shun?’ Tang sent invitations three times. Then Yi Yin changed his mind: ‘Rather than remain in the fields and delight in their Way, why not make this ruler a ruler like Yao and Shun, and these people a people like Yao and Shun? Why not witness it with my own eyes? When Heaven brought forth the people, it made those who understood first awaken those who understood later. I am among Heaven's people who awakened first; I shall use this Way to awaken them. If I do not awaken them, who will?’ When he thought of even one man or woman in the world who had not received Yao and Shun's blessing, it felt as though he himself had pushed them into a ditch. Such was the burden of the world he placed upon himself. So he went to Tang and urged him to attack Xia and rescue the people. I have never heard of a man who could bend himself and straighten others, much less disgrace himself to straighten the world. Sages act in different ways: some stay apart, some draw near; some leave, others remain. All come back to keeping themselves pure. I have heard that Yi Yin won Tang over with the Way of Yao and Shun, not with his cooking. The Instructions of Yi say, ‘Heaven's punishment began at the palace of Mu; my work began at Bo.’”

9.8 Wan Zhang asked, “Some say that in Wei Confucius lodged with the surgeon Yongju, and in Qi with the eunuch Jihuan. Is that true?”“No. Mischief-makers invented it. In Wei he stayed with Yan Chouyou. Mizi's wife and Zilu's wife were sisters. Mizi told Zilu, ‘If Confucius stays with me, he can obtain a ministership in Wei.’ Zilu told Confucius, who said, ‘That rests with the Mandate.’ Confucius advanced through ritual propriety and withdrew through rightness; whether he attained office, he said, ‘That rests with the Mandate.’ To stay with Yongju or the eunuch Jihuan would be to have neither rightness nor trust in the Mandate. When Confucius found no favor in Lu or Wei, he encountered Marshal Huan of Song, who planned to intercept and kill him, and passed through Song in disguise. In that danger he lodged with Sicheng Zhenzi, who became a minister of the lord of Chen, Zhou. I have heard that to judge a ruler's close ministers you look at whom they entertain as guests, and to judge distant ministers you look at whose homes they enter as guests. If Confucius lodged with Yongju and Jihuan, how would he be Confucius?”

9.9 Wan Zhang asked, “Some say Baili Xi sold himself for five sheepskins to a cattle-keeper in Qin and fed the cattle in order to reach Duke Mu of Qin. Is that true?”“No. Mischief-makers invented it. Baili Xi came from Yu. The men of Jin offered the jade of Chuiji and the horses of Quchan to borrow a road through Yu so that they might attack Guo. Gong Zhiqi remonstrated, but Baili Xi did not: he knew the duke of Yu could not be advised, and left. By the time he reached Qin he was seventy. If he failed to know that feeding cattle to gain Duke Mu's favor was degrading, could he be called wise? He refused to advise a ruler who could not be advised; does that make him unwise? He foresaw the duke of Yu's fall and left first: that was surely wisdom. When called to serve in Qin, he knew Duke Mu was a man with whom he could achieve something and became his minister: was that unwise? He made Qin's ruler renowned throughout the world, with a fame that endured for generations. Could an unworthy man do that? Even a self-respecting villager would not sell himself to advance a ruler's cause. Would a worthy man do so?”

10.1 Mencius said, “Bo Yi would not look on an evil sight or listen to an evil sound. He would serve only a worthy ruler and employ only worthy people. When there was order he advanced; when disorder prevailed he withdrew. He could not bear to live where tyrannical government arose or a violent populace gathered. Living among coarse villagers felt to him like sitting in mud and ashes in court cap and court robes. In Zhou's time he lived by the North Sea and waited for the world to become pure. Those who hear of Bo Yi's conduct become upright even if stubborn, and resolve to do good even if weak.“Yi Yin said, ‘What ruler is unfit to serve? What people are unfit to employ?’ He advanced in times of order and disorder alike. He said, ‘When Heaven brought forth the people, it made those who knew first awaken those who came to know later. I am one of Heaven's people who awakened first; I shall awaken the people with this Way.’ If he thought of a single man or woman who had not received the blessings of Yao and Shun, he felt as though he himself had pushed that person into a ditch. Thus he took the weight of the world upon himself.“Liuxia Hui was not ashamed to serve an impure ruler or too proud to hold a small office. When he entered office he did not conceal his abilities, but followed his Way. Passed over, he did not resent it; in hardship, he did not grieve. Living among coarse villagers, he felt at ease and could not bear to leave them. ‘You are you, and I am I. Even if you bare your chest and strip naked beside me, how can you defile me?’ Those who hear of his conduct become generous though mean-spirited, steadfast though shallow.“When Confucius left Qi, he took his rice still draining and set out. When he left Lu, he said, ‘Slowly, slowly I go.’ That was the way to leave the state of one's parents. He left swiftly when swiftness was fitting, stayed when staying was fitting, remained in private life when that was fitting, and held office when that was fitting.”Mencius said, “Bo Yi was the sage of purity; Yi Yin, the sage of responsibility; Liuxia Hui, the sage of harmony; Confucius, the sage of the proper time. Confucius brought all to completion, like a musical performance begun by sounding a bronze bell and ended with the resonance of a jade chime. The bronze bell establishes the opening order; the jade chime completes it. Establishing the order is the work of wisdom; completing it is the work of sagehood. Wisdom resembles skill; sagehood, strength. An archer shooting from a hundred paces reaches the target through strength; hitting its center requires more than strength.”

10.2 Beigong Qi asked, “How did the Zhou court grade rank and stipends?”Mencius said, “Its details cannot be recovered. The lords disliked the rules because they limited their power, so they destroyed the records. But I have heard the outline. There were five grades: Son of Heaven, duke, marquis, earl, and viscount or baron at the same grade. Within a state were six grades: ruler, chief minister, minister, senior man of service, middle-ranking man of service, and junior man of service. The Son of Heaven's domain was a thousand li square; those of dukes and marquises a hundred li square, earls seventy, viscounts and barons fifty: four sizes of domain. A domain under fifty li could not approach the Son of Heaven directly but was attached to a lord, and called a dependent domain. A chief minister of the Son of Heaven received land equivalent to a marquis's; a minister, to an earl's; a senior man of service, to a viscount's or baron's. In a great state, a hundred li square, the ruler's stipend was ten times a chief minister's; a chief minister's four times a minister's; a minister's twice a senior man's; a senior man's twice a middle-ranking man's; a middle-ranking man's twice a junior man's; a junior man's equaled the stipend of a commoner in official service, enough to replace what he could earn by farming. In a middle-sized state, seventy li square, the ruler received ten times the chief minister's stipend, the chief minister three times a minister's, and each successive grade twice the one below, down to the junior man, whose stipend equaled that of an official commoner and replaced his farming income. In a small state, fifty li square, the ruler received ten times a chief minister's stipend, the chief minister twice a minister's, and each successive grade twice the one below, again down to a junior stipend equal to the official commoner's farming income. A farming man held a hundred mu. Properly tended, a superior farmer's field could feed nine people; the next, eight; an average farmer's, seven; the next, six; the lowest, five. Stipends for commoners serving in office were graduated by this scale.”

10.3 Wan Zhang asked, “May I ask about friendship?”Mencius said, “You must not rely on your age, rank, or powerful brothers in making friends. Friendship is friendship with another's virtue; you cannot bring such advantages into it. Meng Xianzi had a house of a hundred chariots and five friends, including Yue Zhengqiu and Mu Zhong; I have forgotten the other three. When Xianzi befriended them, he left his great house out of consideration. Had those five attached importance to his house, he would not have befriended them. This is true not only of a house of a hundred chariots but even of a small state's ruler. Duke Hui of Fei said, ‘I regard Zisi as my teacher and Yan Ban as my friend; Wang Shun and Chang Xi serve me.’ Nor is it true only of small rulers. Duke Ping of Jin, visiting Hai Tang, entered when told to enter, sat when told to sit, and ate when told to eat. Even if served coarse grain and vegetable soup, he always ate his fill, for he dared not do otherwise. Yet that was the limit of his respect: he did not share Heaven's offices with him, let him govern Heaven's duties, or grant him Heaven's stipend. This was how a man of service honors a worthy man, not how a ruler honors him. Before Shun met the emperor, the emperor housed his son-in-law in a side residence and feasted him; they took turns as host and guest. Thus a Son of Heaven befriended an ordinary man. When a lower-ranking person respects a higher, that is honoring rank; when one above respects one below, that is honoring virtue. Both rest on the same principle.”

10.4 Wan Zhang asked, “What is the spirit of an exchange of gifts?”“Respect,” said Mencius.“Why is it called disrespectful to refuse a gift repeatedly?”“If a person of high standing gives you something and you ask before accepting, ‘Did he acquire it rightly or wrongly?’ that would be disrespectful. So you do not refuse.”“Could you refuse in your heart, without saying so, because you know he unjustly took it from the people, and decline under another pretext?”“If he approaches you in accordance with the Way and offers the gift with ritual propriety, even Confucius would accept it.”Wan Zhang said, “Suppose a man robs people outside the city gate, then approaches you properly and offers you a gift with ritual propriety. Could you accept stolen goods?”“No. The Announcement to Kang says, ‘Those who kill people and seize their goods recklessly and without fear of death are detested by all the people.’ Such people can be executed without instruction. Yin inherited this law from Xia, and Zhou from Yin without rejecting it; it applies still more strongly today. How could you accept their goods?”“The lords today take from the people much as robbers do. Yet you say a noble person can accept their gifts if the forms are proper. What do you mean?”“Do you think that if a true king arose he would put all today's lords to death as robbers, or would he teach them and punish only those who refused to change? To call everyone who takes what is not his a robber is to push a category to its limit as a matter of principle. When Confucius served in Lu, the people competed over the spoils of the hunt, and Confucius competed as well. If even that was permissible, how much more accepting their gifts?”“Then Confucius did not take office to pursue the Way?”“He did.”“Why compete over game if he pursued the Way?”“Confucius first put the records and ritual vessels for sacrifice in proper order; he would not use game caught in the four quarters as official sacrificial food.”“Why did he not leave?”“He was making a beginning. If that beginning offered a chance to practice the Way, he remained; only when he could not put it into practice did he depart. Thus he never remained inactive in one place for a full three years. Confucius took office when he could see a possibility of practicing the Way, when he found a proper reception, or when the ruler publicly supported him. Under Ji Huanzi he saw such a possibility; under Duke Ling of Wei he found a proper reception; under Duke Xiao of Wei he had public support.”

10.5 Mencius said, “One does not take office for relief from poverty, though one may sometimes do so; one does not marry in order to be supported, though marriage may sometimes bring support. If you take office because you are poor, refuse a high position and occupy a low one; refuse wealth and accept little. What office is fitting for someone who refuses status and wealth? Guarding a gate or beating the night watch. Confucius once supervised a grain store and said, ‘All I need do is keep the accounts accurate.’ He once supervised livestock and said, ‘All I need do is see that the cattle and sheep grow healthy.’ To speak as though you held high rank while occupying low rank is a fault. To stand in a ruler's court while your Way goes unpracticed is a disgrace.”

10.6 Wan Zhang asked, “Why may a man of service not depend on the support of a lord?”Mencius said, “He dares not. It is proper for a lord who has lost his state to find refuge with another lord; it is not proper for a man of service to depend on a lord.”“If the ruler gives him grain, should he accept?”“Yes.”“On what principle?”“A ruler should provide relief for his common people.”“Why can he accept relief but not a gift?”“He dares not accept a gift.”“Why not?”“Gatekeepers and night watchmen all receive food from their superiors because they hold regular duties. A person with no regular duty would show disrespect by taking a ruler's gift.”“If he accepts grain once, may the ruler continue providing it?”“Duke Mu often asked after Zisi and sent him meat in cooking vessels. Zisi was displeased. Finally he waved the messenger beyond his gate, faced north, bowed low twice, and refused it. ‘Now I know that the ruler feeds me like one of his dogs or horses!’ he said. After that the ruler sent no further gifts. If a ruler delights in a worthy man yet can neither raise him to office nor support him properly, can he truly delight in the worthy?”“How, then, may a ruler support a noble person?”“He sends the first gift under his command, and the recipient bows twice and accepts. Thereafter the keeper of the granary regularly sends grain and the cook regularly sends meat without repeating the ruler's command. Zisi felt that repeatedly sending meat in cooking vessels merely made him hurry out to bow again and again, which is not how to support a noble person. Yao sent nine sons to serve Shun, gave him two daughters as wives, and supplied officials, cattle and sheep, and full granaries to support him in the fields, before raising him to a high station. That is how a king honors the worthy.”

10.7 Wan Zhang asked, “Why do you refuse to visit the lords?”Mencius said, “Those living in a state without office are called commoners of the market and wells; those outside the city, commoners of the grass and wilds. Neither has presented an introductory gift and become a minister. Ritual propriety forbids such commoners to seek an audience with a lord.”“If a lord calls a commoner to labor, he goes. Why not go if the lord summons him for a meeting?”“To go to work is right; to go for the audience is not. Why does the ruler wish to see him?”“For his wide learning or his virtue.”“If for his learning, not even the Son of Heaven summons his own teacher, much less a lord. If for his virtue, I have never heard of a ruler summoning a worthy man he wanted to see. Duke Mu often visited Zisi and asked, ‘In antiquity, a ruler of a thousand chariots befriended a man of service. What do you think?’ Zisi was displeased. ‘The ancients said that a ruler should serve such a man. Did they say he should befriend him?’ What did Zisi mean? ‘By rank, you are ruler and I am subject: how would I dare claim your friendship? By virtue, you should serve me: how could we call ourselves friends?’ A ruler of a thousand chariots could not obtain him even as a friend. How, then, could he summon him? When Duke Jing of Qi was hunting, he summoned a gamekeeper with a banner; when the man did not come, he planned to execute him. Confucius praised a man of principle who did not forget he might end in a ditch, and a courageous man who did not forget he might lose his head. What did Confucius admire? The keeper would not come when summoned by the wrong sign.”“What sign should summon a gamekeeper?”“A leather cap. A commoner is summoned with a pennant, a man of service with a flag, a minister with a banner. If summoned by a minister's banner, the gamekeeper dared not come even on pain of death; if summoned by a man's flag, how would a commoner dare come? Still less should a worthy person obey a summons meant for an unworthy person. To wish to see a worthy man without approaching him properly is like wishing him to enter while closing the door. Rightness is the road; ritual propriety is the gate. Only the noble person can walk that road and pass through that gate. The Odes say, ‘Zhou's road is level as a whetstone, straight as an arrow; the noble person walks it, the common people behold it.’”“Confucius went without waiting for his carriage to be harnessed when his ruler summoned him. Was he wrong?”“Confucius then held office, and the ruler summoned him in his official capacity.”

10.8 Mencius told Wan Zhang, “A good man of a village befriends the good men of his village; a good man of a state, the good men of his state; a good man of the world, the good men of the world. If friendship with the world's good men is not enough, he considers the people of antiquity. Can you recite their poems and read their books without knowing what kind of people they were? Thus you study their age. That is making friends with the ancients.”

10.9 King Xuan of Qi asked about ministers. Mencius said, “What sort of ministers does Your Majesty mean?”“Are there different sorts?”“Yes: ministers of the ruler's own family and ministers of other families.”“Tell me about ministers of my own family.”“If the ruler makes a great mistake, they remonstrate. If, after repeated admonitions, he will not listen, they replace him.”The king's face changed with anger.“Do not be startled, Your Majesty. You asked, and I dared not give anything but a truthful answer.”When the king's face had settled, he asked about ministers of other families.“When the ruler makes a mistake, they remonstrate. If, after repeated admonitions, he will not listen, they leave.”

11.1 Gaozi said, “Human nature is like willow wood; rightness is like a cup or bowl. To make humaneness and rightness out of human nature is like making cups and bowls out of willow.”Mencius said, “Can you make cups and bowls by following the willow's natural growth? Or must you cut and injure the willow to make them? If you must injure the willow to make cups and bowls, will you also injure people to make them humane and righteous? Your words will surely lead the world to bring harm upon humaneness and rightness.”

11.2 Gaozi said, “Human nature is like rushing water. Open a channel east, and it flows east; open one west, and it flows west. Human nature is no more divided between good and bad than water is divided between east and west.”Mencius said, “Water may indeed be indifferent to east and west, but is it indifferent to up and down? The goodness of human nature is like water's flow downward. No person lacks goodness, just as no water fails to flow down. Strike water and send it splashing, and it may leap above your forehead; force it through a channel and it may reach a mountaintop. Is that its nature? It happens because of the force applied. When people can be made to do wrong, their nature is likewise forced.”

11.3 Gaozi said, “What is inborn is called nature.”Mencius asked, “Do you mean that ‘inborn’ means ‘nature’ in the same way that ‘white’ means ‘white’?”“Yes.”“Is the whiteness of a white feather the same as that of white snow, and that of white snow the same as that of white jade?”“Yes.”“Then is a dog's nature the same as an ox's, and an ox's the same as a human being's?”

11.4 Gaozi said, “Food and sexual desire belong to nature. Humaneness is within us, not outside; rightness is outside, not within.”Mencius asked, “Why do you say humaneness is within and rightness outside?”“An elder is old, and I treat him as an elder. His age does not reside in me. So if someone is white, I treat him as white, following his whiteness outside me. Thus I call it external.”“That is different. The whiteness of a white horse does not differ from the whiteness of a white person. But is honoring an old horse the same as honoring an old person? Moreover, is rightness found in the elder, or in the one who honors him?”“I love my younger brother but not the younger brother of a man from Qin: love is guided by what pleases me, so I call it internal. I honor an elder of Chu just as I honor one of my own family: honor follows their age, so I call it external.”“Enjoying roast meat from Qin is no different from enjoying our own roast meat. Some things do work that way. Is our enjoyment of roasted meat external too?”

11.5 Meng Jizi asked Gongduzi, “Why do you call rightness internal?”“Because the respect I practice is mine.”“If a villager is a year older than your eldest brother, whom do you respect?”“My brother.”“Whom would you serve wine first?”“The villager.”“Your respect is here, but you treat the elder as there. Surely rightness comes from outside, not within.”Gongduzi could not answer and told Mencius.Mencius said, “Ask him, ‘Whom do you respect more, your uncle or your younger brother?’ He will say, ‘My uncle.’ Ask, ‘If your brother acts as the ritual representative of an ancestor, whom do you respect?’ He will say, ‘My brother.’ Ask, ‘Where has your respect for your uncle gone?’ He will answer, ‘My brother holds the appointed place.’ You can say the same: your ordinary respect is for your brother; your momentary respect is for the villager because he occupies the fitting place.”Hearing this, Meng Jizi said, “At one moment you respect the uncle, at another the younger brother. Surely it is external, not internal.”Gongduzi replied, “In winter you drink warm water, in summer cold water. Does that make drinking external too?”

11.6 Gongduzi said, “Gaozi says, ‘Nature is neither good nor bad.’ Others say it can become either good or bad: thus when King Wen and King Wu arose, people loved goodness, but when the Dark and Cruel Kings arose, people loved violence. Others say some natures are good, others bad: Yao ruled yet Xiang existed, Gu Sou was father to Shun, and Zhou was cousin and ruler to Weizi Qi and Prince Bigan. You say nature is good. Are all these others wrong?”Mencius said, “As for its natural tendencies, human nature can be good: this is what I mean by calling it good. When people do wrong, the fault is not in their natural capacities. Everyone has a heart of compassion, a heart of shame and aversion, a heart of respect and reverence, and a heart that knows right from wrong. Compassion is humaneness; shame and aversion are rightness; respect and reverence are ritual propriety; knowing right from wrong is wisdom. Humaneness, rightness, ritual propriety, and wisdom are not cast into us from outside: we already possess them, but do not reflect on them. Thus it is said, ‘Seek and you will find them; abandon them and you will lose them.’ Some surpass others twofold, fivefold, or beyond all reckoning because the others do not fulfill their capacities. The Odes say, ‘Heaven brought forth the teeming people; every thing has its rule. The people hold to their enduring nature and love this splendid virtue.’ Confucius said, ‘The author of this ode understood the Way! Every thing has its rule, and people hold to what is enduring in them; that is why they love splendid virtue.’”

11.7 Mencius said, “In years of plenty young people are usually dependable; in famine years they are often violent. It is not that Heaven endowed them with different capacities, but that circumstances have submerged their hearts. Sow and tend barley in the same soil at the same time, and it grows vigorously, ripening around the summer solstice. If crops differ, it is because the soil varies in richness, rain and dew nourish them differently, or people tend them unequally. Things of the same kind resemble one another. Why doubt this only of human beings? Sages are of the same kind as we are. Longzi said, ‘Even if I do not know a person's feet when I make shoes, I know I am not making baskets.’ Shoes resemble one another because feet throughout the world resemble one another. Human mouths share their tastes: Yi Ya discovered before I did what pleases my mouth. If people's tastes differed by nature, as a dog's or horse's nature differs from mine, why would everyone regard Yi Ya as the standard of taste? Their agreement with Yi Ya shows their mouths are alike. So too with hearing: everyone regards Shi Kuang as the standard of music, showing their ears are alike. So too with sight: all recognize Zidu's beauty; those who cannot see it have no eyes. Thus mouths share a liking for flavors, ears for sounds, and eyes for beauty. Does the heart alone have nothing on which all agree? What do hearts agree upon? Principle and rightness. The sage discovered first what my own heart approves. Principle and rightness delight my heart as meat from grain-fed animals delights my mouth.”

11.8 Mencius said, “The trees on Ox Mountain were once lovely. But the mountain stood near a great city, and axes cut its trees. How could they remain lovely? New shoots grew each night and day, nourished by rain and dew, but cattle and sheep grazed them, leaving the mountain bare. People see it bare and suppose it never had timber. Is that truly the mountain's nature? And is there not a heart of humaneness and rightness within human beings? The way people let go of their good heart is like axes cutting down the trees. If it is cut down each morning, how can it remain lovely? In the renewal of the night and the freshness of dawn, people's loves and aversions come close to others'—but by day their actions fetter and destroy that growth. When this happens again and again, the qi of the night can no longer sustain the heart. Without that qi, a person is not far from a beast. Observers see a beastlike person and think that person never possessed good capacities. Is that truly human nature? Nourish a thing and it will grow; deprive it of nourishment and it will wither. Confucius said, ‘Grasp it and it stays; let it go and it vanishes. It comes and goes without fixed time; no one knows its home.’ Was he not speaking of the heart?”

11.9 Mencius said, “It is no wonder the king is unwise. Take even the easiest plant in the world to grow: expose it to the sun for a day and to frost for ten, and it cannot grow. I see the king rarely; as soon as I withdraw, those who chill him arrive. What can I do with whatever shoots may have grown? Consider the game of go. It is a minor art, but no one masters it without unwavering attention. Yi Qiu is the finest go player in the state. Suppose he teaches two people: one attends to him with a single mind; the other listens, but imagines a swan approaching and thinks of taking up a bow with a corded arrow to shoot it. Though they learn together, the second does not match the first. Is he less intelligent? No.”

11.10 Mencius said, “I desire fish, and I also desire bear's paw. If I cannot have both, I give up the fish and take the bear's paw. I desire life, and I also desire rightness. If I cannot have both, I give up life and choose rightness. Life is something I desire, but there is something I desire more; that is why I will not preserve it by any means whatsoever. Death is something I hate, but there is something I hate more; that is why I will not escape every danger. If people desired nothing more than life, why would they not use every means that could preserve it? If they hated nothing more than death, why would they not do everything to escape danger? Yet there are ways to live that they refuse, and ways to escape peril that they reject. Thus there is something they desire more than life and something they hate more than death. It is not only the worthy who have this heart: all people have it, but the worthy do not lose it.“A basket of rice and a bowl of soup may mean life to one who receives them and death to one who does not. Offer them with a shout of contempt, and even a traveler on the road refuses; kick them toward a beggar, and even he disdains them. Yet people accept a stipend of ten thousand measures without asking whether it accords with ritual propriety or rightness. What does such a stipend add to me? The beauty of a mansion, provision for wives and concubines, or gratitude from the destitute people I know? Once I would have died rather than accept it; now I accept it for a beautiful mansion. Once I would have died rather than accept it; now I accept it to provide for wives and concubines. Once I would have died rather than accept it; now I accept it to win the gratitude of the destitute I know. Can I not stop? This is called losing one's original heart.”

11.11 Mencius said, “Humaneness is the human heart; rightness is the human road. To abandon the road and not walk it, to let your heart go and not know how to seek it—how sad! If a person's chicken or dog gets loose, he knows to search for it, but if his heart goes astray, he does not. There is no other way to pursue learning than to seek the heart that has gone astray.”

11.12 Mencius said, “Suppose someone's fourth finger is crooked and cannot straighten, though it causes no pain or inconvenience. If someone could straighten it, its owner would think nothing of traveling as far as Qin or Chu, because that finger differs from other people's. He knows to hate a difference in his finger but not a deficiency in his heart. This is failing to distinguish what matters.”

11.13 Mencius said, “If people wish to grow a paulownia or catalpa as thick as their arms, they know how to tend it. Yet when it comes to themselves, they do not know how to tend themselves. Can they love themselves less than those trees? They simply do not reflect.”

11.14 Mencius said, “People cherish every part of their body and, cherishing every part, nourish every part. Not an inch of skin is unloved, so not an inch is left unnourished. To judge whether a person nourishes well or badly, look within that person: there is no other measure. Among the body's parts some are noble, others base; some great, others small. Do not let the small harm the great, or the base harm the noble. One who nourishes the small becomes a petty person; one who nourishes the great becomes a great person. A gardener who abandons his paulownias and catalpas to tend wild jujubes and thorns is a poor gardener. One who tends a single finger but loses shoulder and back without realizing it is a confused man. People despise one wholly devoted to eating and drinking because he nourishes what is small at the expense of the great. But if he lost nothing through it, could the appetites of mouth and belly be regarded as mere inches of skin?”

11.15 Gongduzi asked, “All are equally human, yet some become great people and others petty people. Why?”Mencius said, “Those who follow their greater part become great; those who follow their lesser part become petty.”“Why, if all are equally human, do some follow the greater part and others the lesser?”“The faculties of ears and eyes do not think; things obscure them. When things come into contact with these faculties, they simply draw them along. The heart's faculty is to think; by thinking it gains understanding, and without thinking it does not. Heaven gave this to us. Establish first what is great in yourself, and the lesser part cannot take it away. That alone is how one becomes great.”

11.16 Mencius said, “There are honors bestowed by Heaven and honors bestowed by people. Humaneness, rightness, loyalty, trustworthiness, and delighting in goodness without weariness are Heaven's honors. Dukedoms, ministries, and other high offices are human honors. The ancients cultivated Heaven's honors, and human honors followed. People today cultivate Heaven's honors to seek human honors; once they obtain those, they abandon Heaven's. That is utter confusion. In the end they will surely lose everything.”

11.17 Mencius said, “The desire for honor is common to us all. Everyone possesses something honorable within, but does not reflect on it. What other people honor is not true honor: what Zhao Meng can make honorable he can make contemptible. The Odes say, ‘Drunk with wine and filled with virtue.’ To be filled with humaneness and rightness is to cease desiring another man's rich food; to bear a good name and far-reaching reputation is to cease desiring another man's embroidered robes.”

11.18 Mencius said, “Humaneness overcomes inhumanity as water overcomes fire. Yet people who practice humaneness today are like someone trying to extinguish a cartload of burning wood with a cup of water. When the fire is not put out, they say water cannot overcome fire. They thus give greater support to inhumanity, and in the end they will surely perish.”

11.19 Mencius said, “The five grains are the finest of seeds. But if they fail to ripen, they are not as good as barnyard grass. So too with humaneness: what matters is bringing it to maturity.”

11.20 Mencius said, “When Yi taught archery, he always required students to aim with the bow fully drawn; the students too had to aim for that. When a master craftsman taught others, he always used compass and square; his students too had to use them.”

12.1 A man of Ren asked Wuluzi, “Which matters more, ritual propriety or food?”“Ritual propriety,” he said.“Which matters more, desire for a spouse or ritual propriety?”“Ritual propriety.”“If observing the rites in eating means starving to death, while ignoring them means eating, would you still insist on the rites? If fetching a bride in person means you cannot marry, while neglecting that rite lets you marry, would you still fetch her?”Wuluzi could not answer. The next day he went to Zou and told Mencius.“What is difficult about that?” said Mencius. “Measure only the tips without considering their bases, and a block of wood one inch high can appear taller than a tower. When we say metal is heavier than feathers, we do not mean a single hook of metal is heavier than a wagonload of feathers. Compare a dire need for food with some minor ritual point, and of course food weighs more. Compare the urgent need for a spouse with a minor ritual point, and of course marriage weighs more. Go and ask him, ‘If you can get food only by twisting your elder brother's arm and snatching his meal, will you twist it? If you can get a wife only by climbing your eastern neighbor's wall and embracing his unmarried daughter, will you do that?’”

12.2 Cao Jiao asked, “Is it true anyone can become a Yao or Shun?”“Yes,” said Mencius.“I have heard King Wen was ten feet tall and Tang nine. I am more than nine feet four inches tall, yet I do nothing but eat grain. How can I become like them?”“What has height to do with it? Act, that is all. If a man cannot lift a fledgling bird, we call him weak; if he can lift a hundred jun, we call him strong. If he can lift what the strongman Wuhuo could lift, he is as strong as Wuhuo. Why worry that one is unable? One simply does not act. To walk slowly behind an elder is respect for an elder brother; to hurry ahead of him is disrespect. Is walking slowly beyond anyone's power? It is not inability but refusal. Yao and Shun's Way consists simply in devotion to parents and respect for elder brothers. Dress as Yao dressed, speak as Yao spoke, act as Yao acted, and you will be Yao. Dress, speak, and act as Jie did, and you will be Jie.”“If I can obtain an audience with the ruler of Zou and borrow lodging here, I should like to stay and study at your gate.”“The Way is like a great highway. Is it hard to recognize? People's trouble is that they do not seek it. Go home and seek it; you will have teachers enough.”

12.3 Gongsun Chou said, “Gaozi calls the ode Little Cap a poem by a petty man.”“Why?” asked Mencius.“Because it expresses resentment.”“How rigid old Gao is in reading poetry! Suppose a man from Yue drew his bow and shot at you: you could describe the deed lightly, smiling as you spoke, because he is a stranger. If your own brother drew his bow and shot at you, you would speak of it through tears, because he is close to you. The resentment of Little Cap comes from cherishing one's kin. To cherish kin is humaneness. How rigid old Gao is in reading poetry!”“Why does the ode Gentle Wind express no resentment?”“Gentle Wind concerns a parent's minor fault; Little Cap a parent's grave fault. To feel no resentment at a grave fault is to become more estranged; to resent a small fault is to be unable to bear even a slight touch. Greater estrangement is unfilial; such hypersensitivity is unfilial too. Confucius said, ‘Shun had devotion to parents at its highest: at fifty he still longed for them.’”

12.4 Song Keng was on his way to Chu when Mencius met him at Shiqiu. “Where are you going, Master?” Mencius asked.“I hear Qin and Chu are preparing for war. I will meet the king of Chu and persuade him to end it. If he will not listen, I will meet the king of Qin and persuade him. I expect success with one of them.”“I shall not ask for all the details, but would like to hear your principle. How will you persuade them?”“I shall tell them war brings no profit.”“Your purpose is noble, but your argument is wrong. If you persuade the kings of Qin and Chu by profit and they welcome profit as a reason to dismiss their armies, their soldiers will be glad to go home because they welcome profit. Ministers will then serve their rulers with profit in mind, sons their fathers with profit in mind, and younger brothers their elders with profit in mind. Rulers and ministers, fathers and sons, brothers older and younger, will abandon humaneness and rightness and deal with one another in pursuit of profit. No such state has ever escaped destruction. Persuade the kings instead through humaneness and rightness, and if they dismiss their armies from love of these, their soldiers will welcome peace from love of humaneness and rightness. Ministers will then serve their rulers, sons their fathers, and younger brothers their elders with humaneness and rightness in their hearts. All will set profit aside and meet one another in humaneness and rightness. No such ruler has ever failed to become king of the world. Why speak of profit?”

12.5 When Mencius lived in Zou, Ji Ren, acting ruler of Ren, sent him gifts, which he accepted without making a return visit. When he lived in Pinglu, Chu, a minister, also sent him gifts, which he accepted without visiting. Later Mencius traveled from Zou to Ren and visited Ji Ren, but on going from Pinglu to Qi he did not visit Master Chu. Wuluzi was pleased: “At last I have a question to catch him with.”He asked, “You visited Ji Ren when you traveled to Ren, but did not visit Master Chu when you traveled to Qi. Was it because Chu was a minister?”“No. The Documents say, ‘In making offerings there are many rites, but if the rites exceed the substance of the gift, it is not an offering, for the giver's purpose is not devoted to it.’ Chu's offering was not complete.” Wuluzi was satisfied. Asked to explain, he said, “Ji Ren could not come to Zou; Master Chu could come to Pinglu.”

12.6 Chunyu Kun said, “Those who put fame and achievement first do so for others; those who put them last act for themselves. You held a place among Qi's three chief ministers, but left before your reputation or achievements had benefited ruler or people. Does a humane man behave so?”Mencius said, “Bo Yi lived in a low position but would not serve an unworthy ruler. Yi Yin went five times to Tang and five times to Jie. Liuxia Hui felt no shame at serving an impure ruler or holding low office. The ways of these three differed, but they sought the same end: humaneness. The noble person seeks only humaneness. Why must all follow the same path?”“In Duke Mu of Lu's day Gongyi governed, while Ziliu and Zisi served as ministers, yet Lu lost ever more land. Of what use are worthy men to a state?”“Yu rejected Baili Xi and perished; Duke Mu of Qin employed him and became hegemon. A state that rejects the worthy will perish; how can it hope merely to lose land?”“Long ago, when Wang Bao lived beside the Qi River, those west of the Yellow River learned to sing well. When Mian Ju lived at Gaotang, the people of western Qi learned to sing well. The wives of Hua Zhou and Qi Liang mourned their husbands so movingly that they changed a state's customs. What lives within must show itself without. I have never seen a man do such work without results. Therefore there are no worthy men here; if there were, I would surely recognize them.”“When Confucius served as chief judge in Lu, his advice was ignored. He joined a sacrifice, but when the roasted meat was not sent to him, he departed without even removing his ceremonial cap. Those who did not understand thought he left over meat; those who understood thought he left over disrespect. In fact Confucius wanted a minor offense as the occasion to leave: he would not abandon his post without cause. What a noble person does is not easily understood by the crowd.”

12.7 Mencius said, “The five hegemons offended against the three kings; today's lords offend against the five hegemons; today's ministers offend against today's lords. When the Son of Heaven visited a lord, it was called an inspection tour; when a lord visited the Son of Heaven, it was called reporting on his duties. In spring the ruler inspected the plowing and supplied those in need; in autumn he inspected the harvest and helped those without enough. If on entering a state he found land cleared and fields tended, elders cared for and the worthy respected, and outstanding people in office, he rewarded its lord with land. If he found land lying waste, old people neglected and worthy men dismissed, and extortionists in office, he reprimanded its lord. A lord who missed one audience lost rank; if he missed two, he lost land; if he missed three, the six royal armies moved against him. Thus the Son of Heaven carried out punishment, whereas lords made war without the authority to punish. The five hegemons dragged lords into wars against other lords: that is why they offended against the three kings. Among them Duke Huan was greatest. At the covenant of Kuiqiu, the lords bound the sacrificial victim and set out the written agreement without smearing their lips with blood. Its first command was, ‘Punish the unfilial; do not change the designated heir or raise a concubine to the position of wife.’ Its second was, ‘Honor the worthy and nurture the talented, making virtue illustrious.’ Its third was, ‘Respect the old, cherish the young, and do not neglect guests or travelers.’ Its fourth was, ‘Let no one inherit an office by birth; let no officer occupy several posts; select men of service with care; do not execute ministers without joint judgment.’ Its fifth was, ‘Do not build crooked dikes, obstruct the purchase of grain, or grant fiefs without reporting it.’ The agreement ended, ‘All of us in this covenant, now that we have sworn it, shall return to friendship.’ Today's lords violate all five prohibitions: that is why they offend against the five hegemons. To foster a ruler's evil is a lesser fault; to anticipate and cater to his evil is greater. Today's ministers all cater to their rulers' evil: that is why they offend against today's lords.”

12.8 Lu wanted to make Master Shen its general. Mencius said, “To send untrained people into battle is to bring disaster on them. Anyone who does that would have had no place in the age of Yao and Shun. Even if you won one battle against Qi and gained Nanyang, you must not do it.”Shen was offended. “This is beyond what I, Huali, understand.”“Let me explain plainly. The Son of Heaven's domain is a thousand li square: anything less cannot provide for the lords. A lord's domain is a hundred li square: anything less cannot maintain his ancestral temples and their records. When the Duke of Zhou received Lu as a fief, it was a hundred li square. Land was not scarce, but his portion was limited to a hundred li. The Taigong's fief of Qi was also a hundred li square, not because land was scarce but because his portion was limited. Lu now measures five squares of a hundred li. If a true king arose, do you think Lu's land would be reduced or enlarged? Simply to take land from one state to give another is something a humane man would not do. How much less would he kill people to obtain it? A noble person's service to his ruler consists in leading him onto the proper Way and setting his heart on humaneness.”

12.9 Mencius said, “Those who serve rulers today all say, ‘I can enlarge your lands and fill your treasuries.’ Those called good ministers today were called thieves of the people in antiquity. To enrich a ruler who does not face toward the Way or set his heart on humaneness is to enrich Jie. Others say, ‘I can form alliances for you and win every battle.’ Those called good ministers today were thieves of the people in antiquity. To fight fiercely for a ruler who does not face toward the Way or seek humaneness is to aid Jie. Follow today's ways without changing today's customs, and even if the world were handed to such rulers, they could not hold it for a single morning.”

12.10 Bai Gui said, “I want to tax one part in twenty. What do you think?”Mencius said, “That is the way of the Mo people. In a state of ten thousand households, could one potter serve them all?”“No. There would not be enough pots.”“Among the Mo, none of the five grains grow except millet. They have no city walls, palaces, ancestral temples, or sacrificial rites, no gifts of silk and provision of food between lords, and no hundred offices. Thus one part in twenty suffices there. But can we live in the central lands without human relationships and without noble people? If even too few potters make a state impossible, how much more would it suffer with no noble people? One who would tax less than Yao and Shun taught is, to a greater or lesser extent, a Mo; one who would tax more is, to a greater or lesser extent, a Jie.”

12.11 Bai Gui said, “I manage floodwaters better than Yu did.”“You are mistaken,” Mencius replied. “Yu managed them by following their natural courses and made the four seas their outlet. You make neighboring states your outlet. Water driven backward becomes an inundation; an inundation is a flood, which the humane detest. You are mistaken.”

12.12 Mencius said, “If a noble person is not trustworthy, to what can he hold fast?”

12.13 Lu planned to put Yue Zheng in charge of government. Mencius said, “I heard the news and was so pleased I could not sleep.”Gongsun Chou asked, “Is Yue Zheng strong?”“No.”“Has he far-sighted judgment?”“No.”“Has he broad learning?”“No.”“Then why were you too pleased to sleep?”“He loves goodness.”“Is loving goodness enough?”“It is more than enough to govern the world, let alone Lu. If a man loves goodness, people from within the four seas will think nothing of traveling a thousand li to tell him what is good. If he does not, people will hear his impatient tone: ‘Enough! I know that already.’ His voice and expression keep others a thousand li away. When men of service are kept at that distance, slanderers, flatterers, and fawners arrive. How could a state be well governed while its ruler lives among such men?”

12.14 Master Chen asked, “Under what conditions did noble people of antiquity accept office?”Mencius said, “There were three grounds for taking office and three for leaving. If a ruler greeted a man with respect and proper ritual and intended to carry out his counsel, he took office; if, although the ruler still treated him respectfully, his counsel was not carried out, he left. At the next level, he took office when greeted respectfully even if his counsel had not yet been put into effect, and left when that respect declined. At the lowest level, if he had nothing to eat morning or evening and could not leave his house for hunger, and the ruler said, ‘I cannot put his Way into practice or heed his words, but I would be ashamed to let him starve on my land,’ he could accept relief—only enough to escape death.”

12.15 Mencius said, “Shun rose from working in the fields; Fu Yue was raised from building with earth and boards; Jiao Ge rose from among sellers of fish and salt; Guan Yiwu was raised from captivity; Sunshu Ao rose from beside the sea; Baili Xi from the marketplace. Thus when Heaven is about to place a great charge upon a person, it first troubles his heart and will, wearies his bones and muscles, starves his body, impoverishes him, and frustrates his every action. In this way it stirs his heart, toughens his nature, and increases his capacities. People generally make mistakes before they can correct them. Only after their hearts are distressed and their thoughts obstructed do they rise to action; only when distress shows in their faces and breaks out in their voices can others understand them. A state with no law-abiding families and forthright ministers within, and no rival state or outside danger beyond, will generally perish. Then we understand that life springs from hardship and danger, while death springs from comfort and ease.”

12.16 Mencius said, “Teaching takes many forms. When I refuse to consider someone worthy of instruction, that too is a form of teaching.”

13.1 Mencius said, “To fulfill your heart is to know your nature. To know your nature is to know Heaven. Preserve your heart and nourish your nature: that is how you serve Heaven. Whether you die young or live long, keep a single purpose; cultivate yourself and await what comes. That is how you establish your Mandate.”

13.2 Mencius said, “Nothing lies outside the Mandate, but receive rightly what comes from it. One who understands the Mandate does not stand beneath a crumbling wall. To die after fulfilling one's Way is a rightful death; to die in fetters is not.”

13.3 Mencius said, “‘Seek it and find it; let it go and lose it’: here seeking helps you obtain it, for what you seek lies within you. ‘Seek it rightly, but whether you obtain it rests with the Mandate’: here seeking does not ensure possession, for what you seek lies outside you.”

13.4 Mencius said, “All things are present within me. To examine myself and find sincerity—no joy is greater. To practice empathy with all my strength—no path to humaneness is nearer.”

13.5 Mencius said, “Many people act without understanding, grow accustomed without examining, and follow a path all their lives without knowing its Way.”

13.6 Mencius said, “One cannot be without shame. Be ashamed of your shamelessness, and you will cease to be shameless.”

13.7 Mencius said, “Shame matters greatly to human beings. Those skilled in schemes and tricks have no use for it. If you feel no shame at being inferior to others, how can you become their equal?”

13.8 Mencius said, “The worthy kings of antiquity loved goodness and forgot their power. Worthy men of service did likewise: they delighted in their Way and forgot the power of others. Unless kings and dukes treated them with utmost respect and ritual propriety, they could not see them often. If even frequent meetings were hard to obtain, how could they make such men their ministers?”

13.9 Mencius told Song Goujian, “Do you like to travel among the lords? I shall tell you how. Whether others recognize you or not, remain at ease.”“How can I remain at ease?”“Honor virtue and delight in rightness, and you will be at ease. Thus a man of service does not lose rightness when poor or depart from the Way when he prospers. When poor, he keeps rightness and so remains true to himself; when prosperous, he keeps the Way and so the people are not disappointed. In antiquity, those who attained their aims extended blessings to the people; those who did not cultivated themselves as a model for the age. In poverty, perfect yourself alone; in success, bring goodness to the whole world.”

13.10 Mencius said, “Ordinary people wait for a King Wen before they rise to goodness. Outstanding people rise even without one.”

13.11 Mencius said, “Even if someone were given the estates of the houses of Han and Wei, if he still judged himself inadequate, he would far surpass other people.”

13.12 Mencius said, “Employ the people through a Way intended for their ease, and though they labor, they will not resent it. Put people to death through a Way intended to save life, and though they die, they will not resent the one who executed them.”

13.13 Mencius said, “Under a hegemon the people are cheerful and excited; under a true king they live freely at ease. Even when he punishes them with death they do not resent him; even when he benefits them they do not treat it as a favor owed. Day by day they turn toward goodness without knowing who has brought it about. Wherever the noble person passes, people are transformed; wherever he remains, his presence works like a spirit. Above and below he flows together with Heaven and earth. Can this be called a small benefit?”

13.14 Mencius said, “Humane words do not enter people as deeply as the sound of humane conduct. Good government does not win the people as good teaching does. They fear good government; they love good teaching. Good government wins their wealth; good teaching wins their hearts.”

13.15 Mencius said, “What people can do without learning is their innate ability; what they know without reasoning is their innate understanding. Every young child knows to love its parents, and when it grows older, to respect its elder brothers. Loving one's parents is humaneness; respecting elders is rightness. All that remains is to extend these throughout the world.”

13.16 Mencius said, “When Shun lived in the deep mountains, among wood and stone, moving among deer and wild pigs, he differed only slightly from the mountain people. But when he heard a single good word or saw a single good action, he responded like the opening of a river's floodgates: nothing could hold him back.”

13.17 Mencius said, “Do not do what you would reject as wrong. Do not desire what you would reject as wrong. That is all.”

13.18 Mencius said, “Virtuous wisdom and practical insight often arise amid distress and illness. A solitary minister and a disfavored son keep anxious watch over their hearts and consider dangers deeply; thus they attain understanding.”

13.19 Mencius said, “Some men serve rulers and take pleasure merely in pleasing the ruler they serve. Some are ministers who safeguard the state, and take pleasure in its security. Some are citizens of Heaven, who act only when their way can prevail throughout the world. Some are great people, who set themselves right and by doing so set things right around them.”

13.20 Mencius said, “A noble person has three joys, and ruling the world is not among them. That both parents are alive and brothers have met no misfortune is the first joy. To look up without shame before Heaven and look down without shame before people is the second. To find the finest talents in the world and teach them is the third. These are the three joys of a noble person, and ruling the world is not among them.”

13.21 Mencius said, “A noble person desires broad lands and many people, but these are not the source of his joy. He delights in standing at the center of the world and bringing peace to the people of the four seas, but this does not belong to his nature. What does belong to his nature is not increased by success throughout the world or diminished by poverty and obscurity: its portion is fixed. What belongs to his nature is humaneness, rightness, ritual propriety, and wisdom, rooted in his heart. They shine in his face, fill his bearing, and move through all four limbs, so that the limbs make his meaning clear without a word.”

13.22 Mencius said, “Bo Yi fled from Zhou and lived by the North Sea. When he heard King Wen had risen, he said, ‘Why not go to him? I hear the lord of the west cares well for the old.’ Taigong fled from Zhou and lived by the East Sea. He heard the same news and said the same words. When someone anywhere cares well for the old, humane people recognize a home there. If mulberry trees are planted beside the walls of a five-mu homestead and the household wife tends silkworms, the old will have enough silk to wear. Raise five hens and two sows without neglecting their breeding seasons, and the old need never lack meat. If a man cultivates a hundred-mu field, a household of eight can have enough to eat. This is what is meant by the lord of the west's care for the old: he arranged fields and dwellings, taught the people to plant and breed livestock, and guided wives and children to support their elders. At fifty a person needs silk to be warm; at seventy, meat to be full. Without warmth and food, they freeze and starve. Among King Wen's people, none of the old froze or starved. That is what the saying means.”

13.23 Mencius said, “Cultivate the fields well and lighten the levies, and the people can become prosperous. Let them eat at the proper times and use their wealth according to ritual propriety, and their resources will be inexhaustible. People cannot live without water and fire. Yet if a person knocks on someone's door at dusk to ask for water or fire, there is no one who will refuse, because those things are plentiful. A sage governing the world would make beans and grain as plentiful as water and fire. If they were, how could the people lack humaneness?”

13.24 Mencius said, “When Confucius climbed East Mountain, Lu looked small; when he climbed Mount Tai, the world looked small. Once one has seen the sea, other waters are hard to admire; once one has studied at a sage's gate, other words are hard to admire. There is an art to looking at water: watch its waves. The sun and moon have light and illuminate every opening where light can reach. Flowing water never moves forward until it has filled every hollow. A noble person who sets his heart on the Way does not advance until he has brought his learning to its proper form.”

13.25 Mencius said, “One who rises at cockcrow and works tirelessly at goodness follows Shun. One who rises at cockcrow and works tirelessly at profit follows the robber Zhi. To know the difference between Shun and Zhi, look only at goodness and profit.”

13.26 Mencius said, “Yang Zhu chose ‘each for himself’: he would not pluck one hair from his body to benefit the world. Mozi chose ‘universal love’: he would wear himself down from crown to heel to benefit the world. Zimo chose the middle position, which comes closer. But to cling to the middle without weighing circumstances is merely clinging to a single fixed point. I reject such rigidity because it injures the Way: it raises up one thing and discards a hundred.”

13.27 Mencius said, “To the hungry food tastes sweet, and to the thirsty drink tastes sweet, because hunger and thirst have damaged their true sense of taste. Are the mouth and belly alone harmed by hunger and thirst? Human hearts too can be harmed. If one can keep such hunger from harming one's heart, one need not worry about falling short of others.”

13.28 Mencius said, “Liuxia Hui would not have exchanged his integrity even for a place among the three highest ministers.”

13.29 Mencius said, “Working toward a purpose is like digging a well. If you dig nine ren deep without reaching water, you have still abandoned the well.”

13.30 Mencius said, “Yao and Shun embodied it by nature; Tang and King Wu made it their own through effort; the five hegemons borrowed its appearance. Borrow it long enough without returning it, and how can one know it was never theirs?”

13.31 Gongsun Chou said, “Yi Yin said, ‘I will not grow familiar with what is disobedient.’ He sent Taijia away to Tong, and the people rejoiced; when Taijia became worthy, he brought him back, and they rejoiced again. When a worthy minister has an unworthy ruler, may he send the ruler into exile?”Mencius said, “If he has Yi Yin's purpose, he may. Without it, he is a usurper.”

13.32 Gongsun Chou said, “The Odes say, ‘We do not eat idle bread.’ Why does a noble person eat without plowing?”Mencius said, “When a noble person lives in a state, if its ruler employs him, the ruler becomes secure, prosperous, honored, and glorious. If its young people follow him, they become devoted to parents, respectful of elders, loyal, and trustworthy. What could better fulfill the words ‘We do not eat idle bread’?”

13.33 Prince Dian asked, “What is the work of a man of service?”Mencius replied, “To elevate his purpose.”“What does that mean?”“Humaneness and rightness, nothing more. To kill a single innocent person is not humane; to take what is not yours is not right. Where should one dwell? In humaneness. What road should one travel? Rightness. Dwell in humaneness and travel the road of rightness: a great person's work is complete.”

13.34 Mencius said, “People believe that Chen Zhongzi would refuse the state of Qi if offered it unjustly. But this is only the rightness of refusing a basket of food and a bowl of soup. Nothing one can do is worse than severing ties with one's family, ruler, ministers, and superiors. How can we trust that he would do the greater thing simply because he does the lesser?”

13.35 Tao Ying asked, “If Shun were Son of Heaven, Gao Yao the chief judge, and Gu Sou committed murder, what should happen?”“He should simply be arrested,” Mencius said.“Would Shun not prevent it?”“How could Shun prevent it? The judge has a charge entrusted to him.”“What would Shun do, then?”“Shun would look on abandoning the world as though he were throwing away a worn-out sandal. He would secretly take his father on his back and flee, settle along the coast, and live out his days in joy, forgetting the world.”

13.36 Traveling from Fan to Qi, Mencius saw a prince of Qi in the distance and sighed. “One's dwelling alters one's bearing; one's nourishment alters one's body. How powerful is one's place in life! Is he not the son of human parents, like any of us?”Mencius said, “A prince's halls, carriage and horses, clothing and robes are much like those of others; yet he carries himself so differently because of his place. How much more does dwelling in the world's broadest dwelling transform a person? Once the ruler of Lu came to Song and called out at the gate of Dieze. The guard said, ‘That is not our ruler, but how like our ruler his voice sounds!’ There was no other reason: they lived in similar stations.”

13.37 Mencius said, “To feed someone without loving him is to treat him as a pig. To love him without respect is to keep him as a tame beast. Reverence and respect must be present even before a gift is offered. A noble person cannot be bound by empty gestures of reverence that have no substance.”

13.38 Mencius said, “Our bodily form and appearance are given by Heaven as part of our nature. Only a sage can fully realize the promise of that form.”

13.39 King Xuan of Qi wanted to shorten the mourning period. Gongsun Chou asked, “Would not mourning for a year be better than stopping altogether?”Mencius replied, “That is like seeing a man twist his elder brother's arm and telling him only, ‘Do it more gently.’ Teach him devotion to parents and respect for brothers instead.”A prince whose mother had died asked his tutor to obtain leave for several months of mourning. Gongsun Chou asked, “What about that case?”“He wishes to complete mourning but cannot obtain permission. Even one extra day is better than none. I was speaking of someone free to mourn who refuses.”

13.40 Mencius said, “A noble person teaches in five ways: transforming someone like timely rain, bringing someone's virtue to completion, developing someone's talents, answering someone's questions, and leaving an example for someone to study privately. These are the five ways.”

13.41 Gongsun Chou said, “The Way is high and beautiful, but it seems like climbing to Heaven—beyond reach. Why not make it seem attainable, so students may work toward it every day?”Mencius said, “A master craftsman does not discard his plumb line because a worker lacks skill; Yi did not change the measure for drawing a bow because an archer lacked skill. The noble person draws the bow without releasing the arrow: he seems ready to leap. He stands in the middle of the Way, and those able to follow do so.”

13.42 Mencius said, “When the world has the Way, follow the Way with your whole person. When it lacks the Way, give your person for the Way. I have never heard of giving the Way over to serve a person.”

13.43 Gongduzi asked, “Teng Geng was studying with you and seemed entitled to courtesy. Why did you not answer him?”Mencius said, “I do not answer those who rely on noble rank, their own worth, age, distinguished service, or an old acquaintance when asking questions. Teng Geng relied on two of these.”

13.44 Mencius said, “One who stops where one must not stop will stop anywhere. One who treats those closest to him lightly will treat anyone lightly. Those who advance too sharply retreat just as swiftly.”

13.45 Mencius said, “A noble person cares for other creatures but does not extend humaneness to them as he does to people; he treats the people humanely but not with the intimacy he owes his kin. He cherishes his kin, treats the people humanely, and cares for other creatures.”

13.46 Mencius said, “The wise would know everything, but attend first to the most pressing task. The humane would love everyone, but make closeness to the worthy their first task. Yao and Shun's wisdom did not encompass every thing, because they attended to what came first. Their humaneness did not extend equally to every person, because they made closeness to the worthy their urgent task. To neglect three years of mourning while fussing over the finer points of shorter mourning periods, or to gulp one's food rudely while worrying that one has torn meat with one's teeth—this is failing to know what matters most.”

14.1 Mencius said, “How inhumane King Hui of Liang was! A humane man extends his care from those he loves to those he does not love; an inhumane man lets his disregard for those he does not love reach even those he loves.”Gongsun Chou asked, “What do you mean?”“King Hui ground down his people in war for land and suffered a great defeat. Desiring to fight again but fearing he could not win, he drove his own beloved sons and younger brothers to die in battle. That is letting his disregard for those he does not love reach those he loves.”

14.2 Mencius said, “The Spring and Autumn Annals record no righteous wars. Some combatants were better than others, but that is all. A punitive campaign is an attack by a superior on an inferior; equal states cannot punish one another.”

14.3 Mencius said, “It is better to have no Documents than to believe all of them. Of the chapter Completion of the War I accept only two or three bamboo slips. A humane man has no enemy in the world. How could blood have flowed so deep that it carried away the pestles when one of supreme humaneness attacked one of supreme inhumanity?”

14.4 Mencius said, “Someone who claims, ‘I know how to arrange armies; I know how to wage war,’ is guilty of a great crime. When a state's ruler loves humaneness, he has no enemy in the world. When he marches south, northern tribes complain; when he marches east, western tribes complain, ‘Why leave us until last?’ King Wu went to attack Yin with three hundred armored chariots and three thousand brave soldiers. He said, ‘Do not be afraid! I come to bring you peace, not to oppose the common people.’ They bent their foreheads to the ground in homage, as though collapsing. A punitive campaign is so called because it sets things right: all wished to set themselves right. What need was there for battle?”

14.5 Mencius said, “Woodworkers, carpenters, wheelwrights, and carriage-makers can give others compass and square, but cannot make them skillful.”

14.6 Mencius said, “When Shun ate dry grain and wild greens, it was as if he would live so forever. When he became Son of Heaven, wore splendid robes, played the zither, and had the emperor's two daughters serving him, it was as if he had always possessed them.”

14.7 Mencius said, “Only now do I understand how grave it is to kill another's parent. Kill a man's father, and he will kill yours; kill his elder brother, and he will kill yours. You might not kill your own family with your own hand, but there is only one step between the two.”

14.8 Mencius said, “In antiquity border gates were established to keep out violence. Today they are used to commit it.”

14.9 Mencius said, “If you do not follow the Way yourself, even your wife and children will not follow it. If you command people without the Way, you cannot even command your wife and children.”

14.10 Mencius said, “One fully provisioned in material goods will not be killed by a year of famine. One fully provisioned in virtue will not be corrupted by a perverse age.”

14.11 Mencius said, “A man who loves renown can give away a state of a thousand chariots. If he is not genuinely that sort of man, however, his face betrays him over a basket of food or a bowl of soup.”

14.12 Mencius said, “Fail to trust the humane and worthy, and your state stands empty. Without ritual propriety and rightness, high and low fall into disorder; without sound administration, there will not be enough resources.”

14.13 Mencius said, “Some have gained a state without humaneness; no one has gained the world without it.”

14.14 Mencius said, “The people matter most; the altars of soil and grain come next; the ruler matters least. Win the people of the villages and you become Son of Heaven; win the Son of Heaven and you become a lord; win a lord and you become a minister. If a lord endangers the altars of soil and grain, replace him. If the sacrificial animals have been prepared, the grain offerings cleansed, and sacrifices made at the proper time, yet droughts and floods continue, replace even the altars of soil and grain.”

14.15 Mencius said, “A sage teaches for a hundred generations: Bo Yi and Liuxia Hui are examples. Hear of Bo Yi's conduct, and even stubborn men become upright, weak men acquire purpose. Hear of Liuxia Hui, and the shallow become steadfast, the mean-spirited generous. They rose a hundred generations ago, yet people who hear of them a hundred generations later are still stirred. Could anyone but a sage accomplish this? How much greater their influence on those who knew them in person!”

14.16 Mencius said, “Humaneness means being truly human. The two taken together are the Way.”

14.17 Mencius said, “When Confucius left Lu he said, ‘Slowly, slowly I go.’ That is how one leaves one's ancestral state. When he left Qi he departed with his rice still draining. That is how one leaves another state.”

14.18 Mencius said, “When the noble person was in distress between Chen and Cai, he had no contacts among those above or those below.”

14.19 Mo Ji said, “I have been much maligned.”Mencius said, “It does no harm. A man of service attracts many slanderous tongues. The Odes say, ‘My heart is troubled, resented by petty men’: that was Confucius. ‘He did not extinguish their resentment, yet his reputation did not fall’: that was King Wen.”

14.20 Mencius said, “The worthy make others clear-sighted through their own clarity. Now people try to enlighten others while still confused themselves.”

14.21 Mencius told Gaozi, “When a narrow trail in the mountains is used continually, it becomes a path. Leave it unused for a while and grass chokes it. Now grass has choked your heart.”

14.22 Gaozi said, “The music of Yu surpassed that of King Wen.”“Why do you say so?” asked Mencius.“Because the knobs of Yu's bells are so worn.”“How does that prove it? Do the grooves at a city gate come from the force of just two horses?”

14.23 There was famine in Qi. Chen Zhen said, “The people all expect you to petition again for the opening of the stores at Tang. I fear you cannot do that again.”Mencius said, “That would make me like Feng Fu. This man of Jin was skilled at fighting tigers, but afterward became a good man of service. Once he went into the wild, where a crowd was chasing a tiger. The tiger had backed into a corner, and no one dared approach. When they saw Feng Fu, they ran to greet him. Feng Fu rolled up his sleeves and stepped down from his carriage. The crowd rejoiced, but his fellow men of service laughed at him.”

14.24 Mencius said, “The mouth's taste for flavors, the eyes' for colors, the ears' for sounds, the nose's for scents, and the limbs' for ease belong to nature, but whether these are fulfilled rests with the Mandate; thus a noble person does not call them nature. Humaneness between father and son, rightness between ruler and minister, ritual propriety between host and guest, wisdom among the worthy, and the sage's relation to Heaven's Way depend on the Mandate, yet nature is present in them; thus a noble person does not call them matters of the Mandate.”

14.25 Haosheng Buhai asked, “What kind of man is Yue Zheng?”“He is a good man and a trustworthy man.”“What do ‘good’ and ‘trustworthy’ mean?”“What is worthy of desire is good. Possessing it within oneself is trustworthy. To be filled with it is beautiful. To be filled with it and shine forth is great. To be great and transform others is sagehood. To be a sage whose workings cannot be understood is godlike. Yue Zheng stands at the middle of the first two grades and below the remaining four.”

14.26 Mencius said, “Those who leave Mo's teaching are sure to turn to Yang's; those who leave Yang's turn to the classicists. When they turn to us, simply receive them. People who dispute with Yang and Mo today are like someone pursuing an escaped pig: after it has entered its pen, they still grab at its legs.”

14.27 Mencius said, “There are levies on cloth and thread, grain, and labor. A noble person imposes one and defers the other two. Impose two and people will starve to death; impose all three and fathers and sons will be parted.”

14.28 Mencius said, “A lord has three treasures: land, people, and government. One who treasures pearls and jade will surely bring disaster upon himself.”

14.29 Pen Chengkuo took office in Qi. Mencius said, “Pen Chengkuo will die!”He was killed, and Mencius's disciples asked, “How did you know?”“He had a little talent but had never heard the great Way of a noble person. That was enough to bring about his death.”

14.30 When Mencius went to Teng, he lodged in the upper residence. A sandal in the making was left by the window, but the lodging keeper looked for it and could not find it.Someone asked Mencius, “Are your followers really so prone to stealing?”“Do you think they came here to steal a sandal?”“Surely not. But in admitting students, you do not pursue those who depart or refuse those who arrive. If they come with the right heart, you accept them.”

14.31 Mencius said, “Everyone feels something they cannot bear to see happen; extend that feeling to what you now bear, and you have humaneness. Everyone has something they refuse to do; extend that refusal to what you now do, and you have rightness. Fulfill the heart that does not wish to harm others, and your humaneness will be inexhaustible. Fulfill the heart that refuses to break into someone's home, and your rightness will be inexhaustible. If you fulfill your refusal to accept contemptuous forms of address, you will act rightly wherever you go. To speak when you should not is to seek advantage through words; to remain silent when you should speak is to seek advantage through silence. Both are forms of breaking in through another's wall.”

14.32 Mencius said, “Good words speak of what is near but point far away; a good Way holds to what is simple but extends widely. A noble person's words need not reach below his belt to contain the Way. A noble person's discipline perfects himself and brings peace to the world. People's trouble is that they leave their own fields to weed another's: they make heavy demands of others while demanding little of themselves.”

14.33 Mencius said, “Yao and Shun embodied virtue by nature; Tang and King Wu returned to it through effort. To move and turn so that every gesture accords with ritual propriety is virtue at its fullest. One weeps for the dead from grief, not for the living to see; follows the enduring rule of virtue without deviation, not to gain a stipend; and speaks truthfully, not merely to establish a reputation for honesty. The noble person follows what is right and awaits the Mandate.”

14.34 Mencius said, “When persuading powerful men, regard them as small; do not be awed by their grandeur. Halls several ren high, with rafters jutting out several feet—I would not build them if I attained power. Feasts spread across a square zhang, with hundreds of serving women—I would not hold them. Indulgent music, wine, galloping horses and hunts, a thousand carriages following—I would not have these. Everything they possess is something I would refuse. What I possess is the order established by antiquity. Why should I fear them?”

14.35 Mencius said, “Nothing nourishes the heart better than reducing desire. In one who desires little, little of the heart will be lost; in one who desires much, little of it will remain.”

14.36 Zeng Xi loved yang dates, and his son Zengzi could not bear to eat them after his father's death. Gongsun Chou asked, “Which tastes better, sliced roast meat or yang dates?”“Roast meat, of course.”“Then why did Zengzi eat roast meat but not yang dates?”“Roast meat is enjoyed by everyone; yang dates were his father's particular pleasure. That is why one avoids speaking a parent's personal name, but not the family name: the family name is shared, while the personal name is that person's alone.”

14.37 Wan Zhang asked, “When Confucius was in Chen, he said, ‘Why not return? The young men of my group are ambitious and bold, advancing without forgetting their first purpose.’ Why did he think of the impetuous scholars of Lu?”Mencius said, “Confucius said, ‘If I cannot find companions on the middle Way, I must choose the ardent or the principled. The ardent press forward; the principled refuse certain things.’ Of course Confucius wanted companions on the middle Way, but he could not be sure of finding them, and so thought of the next best.”“What makes someone ardent?”“Men such as Qin Zhang, Zeng Xi, and Mu Pi were the ones Confucius called ardent.”“Why?”“They had lofty ambitions and were always speaking of ‘the people of antiquity,’ but when one examined their conduct, it did not match their words. If the ardent could not be found, he wanted to associate with men too principled to do anything impure: these were the cautious. They were next in rank. Confucius said, ‘Who can pass my gate without entering my house and cause me no regret? Only the respectable villager. The respectable villager is a thief of virtue.’”“What is a respectable villager?”“Such a man says, ‘Why all this lofty talk? His words do not match his actions, his actions do not match his words, yet he cries, “The people of antiquity!” Why walk about so solitary and forlorn? Live in this age and adapt yourself to it: being considered good is enough.’ He quietly flatters the world: that is the respectable villager.”Wan Zhang said, “The whole village calls him respectable, and wherever he goes he appears respectable. Why does Confucius call him a thief of virtue?”“One can find no clear act to condemn, no definite fault to reproach. He flows with the vulgar customs and fits himself to a corrupt age. At home he seems loyal and trustworthy, in public upright and pure. The crowd is delighted with him; he thinks himself right, yet he cannot enter the Way of Yao and Shun. That is why he is a thief of virtue. Confucius said, ‘I detest what looks right but is wrong. I detest weeds for fear they will be confused with seedlings; glib speakers for fear they will confuse rightness; clever tongues for fear they will confuse trustworthiness; the music of Zheng for fear it will confuse true music; purple for fear it will confuse vermilion; respectable villagers for fear they will confuse virtue.’ The noble person simply returns to the enduring rule. When the rule is set right, the common people rise to it; when they rise to it, perversity disappears.”

14.38 Mencius said, “From Yao and Shun to Tang was more than five hundred years. Yu and Gao Yao saw them and understood; Tang heard of them and understood. From Tang to King Wen was more than five hundred years. Yi Yin and Lai Zhu saw and understood; King Wen heard and understood. From King Wen to Confucius was more than five hundred years. Taigong Wang and Sanyi Sheng saw and understood; Confucius heard and understood. From Confucius to the present is only a little more than a hundred years. The sage's time is not so distant; we are still so near the place where he lived. If there is no one to carry on his Way now, then there is no one indeed!”