Book 6B · Gaozi, Part Two

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.”

12.1 A man from Ren asked Wuluzi, “Which is more important, proper conduct or food?”“Proper conduct,” he replied.“Which is more important, sex or proper conduct?”“Proper conduct.”“If following proper conduct in eating means starving to death, but ignoring it means getting food, must you follow it? If performing the marriage visit means failing to get a wife, but skipping it means getting one, must you perform the visit?”Wuluzi could not answer. The next day he went to Zou and told Mencius.Mencius said, “That is easy to answer. If you ignore the base of one thing and compare only its tip with the tip of another, you can make a piece of wood an inch high taller than a tall tower. When we say gold is heavier than feathers, we do not mean a small hook of gold is heavier than a cartload of feathers. If you compare a serious need for food with a minor requirement of proper conduct, of course food matters more. If you compare a serious need for marriage with a minor requirement of proper conduct, of course marriage matters more. Go back and ask him, ‘If you could get food only by twisting your older brother's arm and taking his meal, would you do it? If you could get a wife only by climbing your eastern neighbor's wall and grabbing his unmarried daughter, would you do it?’”

12.2 Cao Jiao asked, “Is it true that everyone can become like Yao or Shun?”“Yes,” said Mencius.“I hear King Wen was ten feet tall and Tang nine. I am over nine feet four inches tall, but I just eat grain. How can I become like them?”“What does height have to do with it? You only have to act. A man who cannot lift a single duckling is considered weak. One who can lift a hundred jun is considered strong. If he lifts as much as the strongman Wu Huo, he will be like Wu Huo. People's problem is not that they are unable but that they do not act. Walking slowly behind your elders is respect; rushing ahead of them is disrespect. Is walking slowly beyond people's ability? They simply choose not to. The Way of Yao and Shun is just respect for parents and older siblings. Wear what Yao wore, speak as he spoke, and act as he acted, and you will be like Yao. Wear what Jie wore, speak as he spoke, and act as he acted, and you will be like Jie.”“I can meet the ruler of Zou and ask him for lodging. I would like to stay and study with you.”“The Way is like a broad road. How could it be hard to find? People simply fail to look. Go home and seek it. You have teachers enough there.”

12.3 Gongsun Chou said, “Gaozi calls the song Little Bow ‘the song of a petty person.’”“Why?” asked Mencius.“Because it expresses resentment.”“How rigid Gaozi is in reading the Songs! If a man from Yue drew his bow to shoot at someone, that person might describe it laughing and talking, because the attacker is a stranger. If his own brother drew a bow at him, he would describe it weeping, because his brother is close to him. The resentment in Little Bow comes from love of family. Loving your family is kindness. Gaozi reads the Songs far too rigidly!”“Then why does the song Gentle Wind express no resentment?”“In Gentle Wind, the parent's fault is small; in Little Bow, the parent's fault is great. To feel no hurt over a great fault would mean being too distant from your parent. To express resentment over a small fault would mean being too easily upset. Both distance and easy resentment fail in respect for parents. Confucius said, ‘Shun's respect for his parents was complete: even at fifty he longed for them.’”

12.4 Song Keng was going to Chu when Mencius met him at Shiqiu and asked, “Where are you going?”“I hear Qin and Chu are going to war. I will see the king of Chu and persuade him to call it off. If he will not listen, I will see the king of Qin and persuade him. I expect one of them to listen.”“Let me ask about your main point rather than the details. How will you persuade them?”“I will tell them war brings no advantage.”“Your aim is great, but your argument is wrong. If you speak to the kings of Qin and Chu in terms of advantage and they stop their armies because advantage pleases them, the soldiers will also be pleased to stop for the sake of advantage. Ministers will serve their rulers for advantage; children will serve their parents for advantage; younger brothers will serve older brothers for advantage. Rulers and ministers, parents and children, older and younger siblings will set aside kindness and rightness and deal with each other for gain. Nothing built on that can survive. But if you speak to the kings of Qin and Chu about kindness and rightness, and they stop their armies because kindness and rightness please them, the soldiers too will be glad to stop for those reasons. Ministers will serve rulers with kindness and rightness in mind; children will serve parents that way; younger brothers will serve older brothers that way. All will set aside personal gain and deal with each other kindly and rightly. No ruler who achieves that has failed to become a true king. Why speak of advantage?”

12.5 While Mencius lived in Zou, Ji Ren was acting ruler in Ren and sent gifts to establish relations. Mencius accepted them but did not return a visit. When Mencius stayed at Pinglu, the minister Chu Zi sent gifts; Mencius accepted but did not visit. Later Mencius went from Zou to Ren and visited Ji Ren, but traveled through Pinglu to Qi without visiting Chu Zi. Wuluzi was pleased: “Now I have a chance to ask.”He said, “Why did you visit Ji Ren on your way to Ren but not Chu Zi on your way to Qi? Was it because Chu Zi was only a minister?”“No. The Book of Documents says, ‘An offering has many ceremonies, but if the ceremonies are not matched by the gift, it is no offering at all; the giver has not put his heart into it.’ Chu Zi had not given a real gift.” Wuluzi was satisfied. When someone asked him to explain, he said, “Ji Ren could not come to Zou, but Chu Zi could have come to Pinglu.”

12.6 Chunyu Kun said, “People who put their reputation and achievements first do it for others; people who put them last do it for themselves. You were one of three high ministers but left before your name and work benefited either the ruler or the people. Is that how a kind person acts?”Mencius said, “Bo Yi held a low position but would not use his abilities to serve an unworthy ruler. Yi Yin went to Tang five times and to Jie five times. Liuxia Hui did not refuse to serve a corrupt ruler or take a small post. Their paths differed, but their aim was the same. What was it? Kindness. A noble person needs only to be kind; why must everyone act alike?”“Under Duke Mu of Lu, Gongyi Zi governed and Zi Liu and Zisi were his ministers, yet Lu lost more and more territory. It seems worthy people did not help the state at all.”“Yu perished because it did not employ Baili Xi; Duke Mu of Qin employed him and became a leading ruler. A state that refuses worthy people perishes. How could mere territorial losses be the worst outcome?”“Long ago Wang Bao lived beside the Qi River, and the people west of the Yellow River became good singers. Mian Ju lived in Gaotang, and the people on the right side of Qi became good singers. The wives of Hua Zhou and Qi Liang mourned their husbands so powerfully that they changed the customs of the state. What is within must show outwardly. I have never seen anyone work without results. So there can be no worthy people now; if there were, I would know them.”“Confucius served as chief judge in Lu, but no one followed his advice. After he joined in a ceremonial offering, the portion of roast meat due to him did not arrive. He left without even removing his ritual cap. Those who did not understand thought he left over the meat. Those who understood thought he left because the proper forms were neglected. In fact, Confucius wanted to leave over a minor offense rather than appear to leave without a reason. Ordinary people often fail to understand why noble people act as they do.”

12.7 Mencius said, “The five hegemons offended against the three ancient kings. Today's lords offend against the five hegemons, and today's high officials offend against today's lords. When the Son of Heaven visits the lords, that is an inspection. When the lords attend him, that is a report on their work. In spring he examines the plowing and helps those who lack supplies; in autumn he examines the harvest and helps those without enough food. If he enters a territory where land has been opened and fields are well tended, the elderly cared for, worthy people respected, and outstanding people hold office, he rewards its ruler with land. If he finds fields abandoned, the elderly neglected, worthy people overlooked, and greedy officials in office, he reprimands the ruler. If a lord fails to attend court once, his rank is reduced; twice, his territory is reduced; three times, the royal armies are sent against him. Thus the Son of Heaven imposes punishment by authority, while the lords wage war but cannot claim that authority. The five hegemons drew lords into alliances to attack other lords. That is why I say they offended against the three ancient kings. Duke Huan was the greatest of the five. At the meeting at Kuiqiu, the lords bound a sacrificial animal and read their agreement without smearing their lips with blood. Its first order said, ‘Punish those who fail their parents; do not replace the appointed heir or make a concubine your wife.’ The second said, ‘Respect the worthy and train the able to make virtue known.’ The third said, ‘Respect the elderly, care for the young, and do not forget guests and travelers.’ The fourth said, ‘Do not make offices hereditary, let each official perform only his own duties, choose men of service well, and do not execute high officials on your own authority.’ The fifth said, ‘Do not build dams that harm others, block grain purchases, or grant land without giving notice.’ The pact concluded, ‘All of us in this alliance will return to friendly relations after making our oath.’ Today's lords break all five prohibitions. That is why I say they offend against the five hegemons. It is a lesser wrong to let a ruler's bad habits grow; it is a greater one to encourage them. Today's high officials all encourage their rulers' faults. That is why I say they offend against today's lords.”

12.8 Lu wanted to make Shen Zi a general. Mencius said, “To send people into battle without training them is to bring disaster on them. Anyone who did that would have no place in the age of Yao and Shun. Even if you won one battle against Qi and gained Nanyang, it would still be wrong.”Shen Zi was visibly displeased. “I, Hua Li, do not understand your meaning.”“Let me explain plainly. The Son of Heaven's territory is a thousand li square. Anything less is insufficient for him to receive the lords. A lord's territory is a hundred li square. Anything less is insufficient to maintain the records of his ancestral temple. The Duke of Zhou received a hundred li square when he was granted Lu. It was limited to a hundred not because there was too little land. The Grand Duke received a hundred li square when he was granted Qi, also not for lack of land. Today Lu holds five times a hundred li square. If a true king arose, do you think he would reduce Lu's territory or increase it? Even if one were merely taking land from one state to give it to another, a kind person would refuse. How much more would he refuse to kill people for land? A noble person serving his ruler works only to guide him to the right Way and set his mind on kindness.”

12.9 Mencius said, “People who serve rulers today say, ‘I can expand your land and fill your treasuries.’ Those called good ministers today would have been called enemies of the people in ancient times. To enrich a ruler who does not seek the Way or set his mind on kindness is to enrich Jie. Others say, ‘I can make alliances for you and win every battle.’ They too would have been called enemies of the people in ancient times. To fight fiercely for a ruler who does not seek the Way or set his mind on kindness is to help Jie. If we keep today's methods and never change today's customs, even if someone gave us the world, we could not hold it for a single morning.”

12.10 Bai Gui said, “I want to collect one part in twenty as tax. What do you think?”Mencius said, “That is the way of the Mo people. Could a state of ten thousand households manage with only one potter?”“No. There would not be enough pottery.”“Among the Mo, the five grains do not grow; only millet grows. They have no walled towns, palaces, ancestral temples, or offering ceremonies; no gifts of silk, feasts, or meals for visiting lords; and no large body of officials. So a tax of one part in twenty is enough for them. But can you live in the central states while abandoning human relationships and doing without governing officials? One potter is too few even for a state; how could it do without officials? Those who want taxes lighter than Yao's and Shun's are great Mo or small Mo; those who want them heavier are great Jie or small Jie.”

12.11 Bai Gui said, “I am better at controlling floods than Yu was.”Mencius said, “You are wrong. Yu controlled water by following its natural course. He made the four seas the channels into which it flowed. You make the neighboring states your drainage basin. Water forced back against its course becomes a flood, and flooding is something a kind person hates. You are wrong.”

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

12.13 Lu was going to put Yue Zheng in charge of government. Mencius said, “When I heard, I was so happy that I could not sleep.”Gongsun Chou asked, “Is Yue Zheng strong?”“No.”“Does he have insight?”“No.”“Is he widely learned?”“No.”“Then why were you so happy that you could not sleep?”“He loves what is good.”“Is that enough?”“Loving what is good is more than enough to govern the world, much less Lu. If someone loves goodness, people throughout the four seas will think a journey of a thousand li is nothing and come to tell him what is good. But if he does not love goodness, people will say, ‘He is dismissive. He already thinks he knows everything.’ The sound of that voice and the look of that face keep people a thousand li away. When capable people stay so far off, flatterers come close. Can a state be governed well when its ruler lives among flattering, deceitful people?”

12.14 Chen Zi asked, “When did noble people of old take office?”Mencius said, “There were three reasons for joining a ruler and three for leaving him. If a ruler welcomed a man respectfully and with proper conduct, and said he would follow his advice, the man joined him. If the ruler stopped following his advice even while still treating him properly, the man left. Second, even if the ruler did not promise to follow his advice, the man could join if the welcome was respectful and proper; when that respectful treatment declined, he left. Last, a man might have nothing to eat morning or night and be too hungry to go out the door. If a ruler heard this and said, ‘I cannot put his Way into practice or follow his advice, but I am ashamed to let him starve on my land,’ the man could accept help, but only enough to avoid death.”

12.15 Mencius said, “Shun rose from work in the fields; Fu Yue was chosen from among people building with earth and boards; Jiao Ge from among fish and salt sellers; Guan Yiwu from prison; Sunshu Ao from the coast; and Baili Xi from the marketplace. So when Heaven is about to give a person a heavy responsibility, it first makes his mind suffer, tires his muscles and bones, makes his body hungry, reduces him to poverty, and frustrates everything he tries. This shakes his heart, strengthens his character, and gives him abilities he lacked. People make mistakes regularly before they learn to correct them. They struggle inwardly and find their thoughts blocked before they rise to act. Their troubles show in their faces and voices before others understand them. A state without officials at home who uphold the law and offer correction, or threats from rival states abroad, usually falls. Then we understand that worry and hardship keep us alive, while ease and pleasure lead to death.”

12.16 Mencius said, “There are many ways to teach. When I refuse to teach someone because I think him unworthy of it, that too is a kind of teaching.”