Book 2A · Gongsun Chou, Part One

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.”

3.1 Gongsun Chou asked, “If you took power in Qi, could you achieve what Guan Zhong and Yanzi achieved?”Mencius said, “You really are from Qi! You only know about Guan Zhong and Yanzi. Someone once asked Zeng Xi, ‘Who is more capable, you or Zilu?’ Zeng Xi looked troubled and said, ‘My late father held Zilu in awe.’ The man asked, ‘Then who is more capable, you or Guan Zhong?’ Zeng Xi grew angry and said, ‘How can you compare me with Guan Zhong? He had the exclusive trust of his ruler and governed the state for so long, yet his achievements were so limited. How can you compare me with him?’ Guan Zhong's work was beneath Zeng Xi. Do you want me to aspire to it?”“Guan Zhong made his ruler a leading power, and Yanzi made his ruler famous. Is even their work beneath you?”“Making Qi the ruler of the world would be as easy as turning a hand over.”“That confuses me even more. King Wen was virtuous, yet by the time he died at nearly a hundred he still had not brought his influence to the whole world. King Wu and the Duke of Zhou succeeded him, and only then did his way spread widely. If you say becoming king is so easy, does that mean King Wen is not worth following?”“How could anyone compare with King Wen? Between Tang and Wu Ding, six or seven worthy and wise kings arose. The world had belonged to Yin for a long time, and something so long established is hard to change. Wu Ding could summon the lords to court and govern the world as easily as turning his hand. Zhou came not long after Wu Ding, while old families, inherited customs, good habits, and sound government still survived. Worthy men, including Weizi, Weizhong, Prince Bigan, Jizi, and Jiao Ge, helped and advised him. That is why it took so long for him to lose the world. Not a foot of land lay outside his control, not a person outside his rule. King Wen, by contrast, began with only a hundred li square, so his task was hard. There is a saying in Qi: ‘Wisdom matters less than using the opportunity; a fine hoe matters less than waiting for the right season.’ The present opportunity makes things easy. In the best days of Xia, Yin, and Zhou, none held more than a thousand li of land, and Qi has as much land today. The sounds of chickens crowing and dogs barking can be heard from village to village all the way to Qi's borders: Qi already has the people it needs. Without expanding its land or gathering any more people, it could rule the world by governing kindly. No one could stop it. Never has it been longer since a true king arose, and never have the people suffered more from cruel government. Hungry people are easy to feed, and thirsty people are easy to give water. Confucius said, ‘Virtue spreads faster than orders carried by relay stations.’ If a state with ten thousand war chariots practiced kind government now, its people would rejoice as if they had been freed from hanging upside down. One could do half as much work as people of old and achieve twice as much. That is possible now.”

3.2 Gongsun Chou asked, “If you became a high minister in Qi and could put your way into practice, it would not be surprising if you made the king a leading power or a true king. Would that shake your heart?”Mencius said, “No. My heart has been steady since I turned forty.”“Then you have far surpassed Meng Ben.”“That is not difficult. Gaozi had a steady heart before I did.”“Is there a way to steady the heart?”“Yes. Beigong You cultivated courage this way: he did not flinch when struck or turn his eyes away. He regarded the slightest humiliation from another person as though he had been whipped in the public square. He would accept it neither from a poor man in coarse clothes nor from a ruler of ten thousand chariots. He thought stabbing such a ruler no different from stabbing a poor man. He had no fear of the lords. If they spoke harshly to him, he answered in kind. Meng Shishe cultivated courage differently. He said, ‘I face the prospect of defeat as though it were victory. A person who advances only after assessing the enemy and joins battle only when he expects victory is afraid of the entire opposing army. Can I guarantee victory? I can only be unafraid.’ Meng Shishe resembled Zengzi, and Beigong You resembled Zixia. I cannot say which of the two was braver, but Meng Shishe held to a simpler principle. Zengzi once told Zixiang, ‘Do you like courage? I once heard about great courage from the Master. If I examine myself and find I am in the wrong, I feel afraid even before a poor man in coarse clothes. If I examine myself and find I am in the right, I will face even ten million people.’ Meng Shishe held fast to his qi, but Zengzi held to something simpler still.”“Can you explain how your steady heart differs from Gaozi's?”“Gaozi said, ‘If words fail to convince you, do not look for an answer in the heart; if the heart does not yield an answer, do not look for one in qi.’ It is all right not to look to qi when the heart offers no answer. It is not all right to refuse to look to the heart when words do not convince you. Intent directs qi, and qi fills the body. Intent comes first and qi follows. That is why I say: keep your intent firm, but do not treat your qi roughly.”“Why say both that intent comes first and qi follows, and that we must keep our intent firm without treating our qi roughly?”“Focused intent can move qi, but focused qi can also move intent. When someone trips or runs, that movement of qi can in turn affect the heart.”“May I ask what you are good at?”“I understand speech, and I know how to nurture my flood-like qi.”“What is flood-like qi?”“It is hard to describe. This qi is immensely vast and firm. Nurture it by acting straight and do not damage it, and it fills the space between Heaven and earth. It goes together with rightness and the Way; without them it weakens. It grows from doing what is right again and again; it cannot be taken by performing a single righteous act. If you do something that leaves you dissatisfied with yourself, it weakens. That is why I say Gaozi never understood rightness: he treated it as something outside himself. You must keep working at it without forcing it. Do not forget it, but do not try to make it grow. Do not be like the man from Song who worried that his seedlings were not growing and pulled them up. He came home exhausted and told his family, ‘I am tired today! I helped the seedlings grow!’ His son hurried to look, and the seedlings had withered. There are few people in the world who do not try to force their seedlings to grow. Those who think tending them is useless and abandon them fail to weed them. Those who try to make them grow pull them up. Their work is not just useless; it does harm.”“What do you mean by understanding speech?”“When speech is one-sided, I know what it hides. When it runs to excess, I know where it leads. When it is wrong, I know what it departs from. When it evades the issue, I know where its argument runs out. These faults arise in the heart and harm government; expressed in government, they harm its work. If a sage arose again, he would agree with me.”“Zai Wo and Zigong were good speakers, while Ran Niu, Minzi, and Yan Yuan spoke well about virtuous conduct. Confucius combined these abilities but said, ‘I cannot manage formal speeches.’ Does that mean you are already a sage?”“What? Why say that? Zigong once asked Confucius, ‘Are you a sage?’ Confucius answered, ‘I cannot claim to be a sage. I never tire of learning and never weary of teaching.’ Zigong said, ‘Never tiring of learning is wisdom, and never wearying of teaching is kindness. If you are both kind and wise, you are a sage.’ Confucius himself did not claim to be a sage. How can you say such a thing about me?”“I have heard that Zixia, Ziyou, and Zizhang each possessed one part of a sage's qualities, while Ran Niu, Minzi, and Yan Yuan had them all, though to a lesser degree. Which group would you place yourself in?”“Let us set that aside.”“What about Bo Yi and Yi Yin?”“They took different paths. Bo Yi would serve only a ruler he approved of and employ only people he approved of. He entered public life when order prevailed and withdrew in times of disorder. Yi Yin said, ‘What ruler is not worth serving? What people are not worth helping?’ He entered public life in orderly times and in disorderly times. Confucius took office when it was right to do so, stopped when it was right to stop, stayed when it was right to stay, and left quickly when it was right to leave. All three were sages of ancient times. I cannot yet act like any of them, but I wish to learn from Confucius.”“Were Bo Yi and Yi Yin on the same level as Confucius?”“No. Since people first existed, there has been no one like Confucius.”“Did they have anything in common?”“Yes. Give any of them a territory a hundred li square to rule, and each could make the lords come to court and take charge of the world. None would commit one wrongful act or kill one innocent person to gain the world. They shared that.”“Then how were they different?”“Zai Wo, Zigong, and You Ruo were wise enough to recognize a sage. Even if they were of lesser ability, they would not flatter someone they admired. Zai Wo said, ‘From what I have seen, the Master is far greater than Yao and Shun.’ Zigong said, ‘By seeing his rites one can know his government; by hearing his music one can know his virtue. Even a hundred generations later, if one compares the kings of a hundred generations, no one can challenge that judgment. Since people first existed, there has been no one like the Master.’ You Ruo said, ‘This is true not only of people! The unicorn is like other running animals, the phoenix like other birds, Mount Tai like other hills, and rivers and seas like puddles left by rain: they are of the same kind, but far greater. A sage is of the same kind as other people, but stands out above them all. Since people first existed, none has been greater than Confucius.’”

3.3 Mencius said, “One who uses force while pretending to be kind becomes a hegemon, and a hegemon needs a large state. One who practices kindness through virtue rules as a true king, and a king does not need a large state: Tang began with seventy li and King Wen with a hundred. People forced to submit do not submit willingly; they simply lack the strength to resist. People won over by virtue submit sincerely and gladly from their hearts, as the seventy disciples did to Confucius. The Book of Songs says, ‘From west and east, from south and north, none thought of refusing to submit.’ That is what it means.”

3.4 Mencius said, “Kind government brings honor, and unkind government brings disgrace. To hate disgrace while governing unkindly is like hating dampness while living in a low place. If a ruler hates disgrace, he should value virtue and respect men of service. Let worthy people hold positions of authority and capable people carry out official duties. While the state is at peace, make its government and laws clear; then even great states will fear it. The Book of Songs says, ‘Before the sky brings rain, I gather mulberry bark and bind my window and door tightly. Now which people below will dare harm me?’ Confucius said, ‘The writer of this song understood the Way! If you can put your state in order, who will dare harm it?’ But if a ruler spends peaceful times in reckless pleasure and idleness, he invites disaster on himself. Both disaster and good fortune come from our own actions. The Book of Songs says, ‘Always think how to meet Heaven's command, and seek many blessings for yourself.’ The Book of Tai Jia says, ‘Disasters sent by Heaven can still be escaped; disasters you bring on yourself leave no way to survive.’ This is what they mean.”

3.5 Mencius said, “Respect worthy people and employ capable ones; place outstanding people in office. Then men of service throughout the world will gladly seek posts at your court. If you charge market traders rent for their stalls but do not tax their goods, and enforce the rules without seizing their stalls, merchants everywhere will gladly store their goods in your markets. If you inspect travelers at border gates but do not tax them, travelers everywhere will gladly take your roads. If farmers pay with work in the shared fields rather than with a tax, farmers everywhere will gladly work your fields. If you charge residents neither a levy on households nor a levy on the number of adults, people everywhere will gladly settle in your state. If you can truly do these five things, the people of neighboring states will look up to you as to their own parents. No one in the history of humanity has succeeded in leading children to attack their parents. Then you will have no enemy in the world. Someone with no enemy in the world acts on Heaven's behalf. No such person has ever failed to rule as a true king.”

3.6 Mencius said, “All people have a heart that cannot bear to see others suffer. The ancient kings had that heart and therefore governed in a way that spared others suffering. Govern with such a heart, and ordering the world is as easy as turning your hand over. Here is why I say everyone has it: if people suddenly saw a child about to fall into a well, they would all feel alarm and compassion. They would not feel it to make friends with the child's parents, to win praise from neighbors and friends, or to avoid an unpleasant reputation. From this we see that anyone without compassion is not human. Anyone without a sense of shame at wrong is not human. Anyone without a willingness to give way is not human. Anyone without a sense of right and wrong is not human. Compassion is the beginning of kindness; shame at wrong is the beginning of rightness; willingness to give way is the beginning of proper conduct; and a sense of right and wrong is the beginning of wisdom. People have these four beginnings just as they have four limbs. A person who has them but says he cannot use them harms himself; one who says his ruler cannot use them harms his ruler. Everyone who has these four beginnings within should know how to develop each one fully, just as a fire grows from its first flame or a spring flows from its first opening. If you can develop them, you can care for all within the four seas. If you cannot, you cannot even serve your parents.”

3.7 Mencius said, “Is the arrow maker less kind than the armor maker? The arrow maker fears that his product will not wound people, while the armor maker fears that people will be wounded. The same difference exists between a healer and a coffin maker. We must therefore choose our work carefully. Confucius said, ‘It is good to live among kind people. How can someone who chooses not to live among them be wise?’ Kindness is Heaven's highest rank and people's safest home. If no one prevents you from being kind but you still refuse, you lack wisdom. People without kindness, wisdom, proper conduct, or rightness become servants to others. To be a servant and feel ashamed of serving is like making bows while feeling ashamed of making bows, or making arrows while feeling ashamed of making arrows. If you are ashamed, the best answer is to act kindly. Kindness is like archery: an archer puts himself in the proper position before shooting. If he shoots and misses, he does not blame the person who outshot him; he looks for the cause in himself.”

3.8 Mencius said, “Zilu was glad when someone told him of a fault. Yu bowed when he heard good advice. The great Shun did something even greater: he worked for the good with other people. He set aside his own views and followed theirs, taking pleasure in learning from them how to do good. From the days when he farmed, made pottery, and fished until he became emperor, he continually learned from others. Learning from others how to do good means helping others do good. Nothing is greater for a noble person than helping others do good.”

3.9 Mencius said, “Bo Yi would serve no ruler and make no friend unless he approved of them. He would neither stand in a bad ruler's court nor speak with a bad person. To do so would have been like sitting in mud and soot while wearing court robes and a court cap. His aversion to wrong extended so far that, if he thought about standing beside a villager whose cap was crooked, he would turn away, afraid of being soiled. So even when lords came with well-worded invitations, he refused them. In refusing, he showed that he considered serving them beneath him. Liuxia Hui was not ashamed to serve a corrupt ruler and did not think a low office beneath him. When promoted, he never hid his abilities and always followed his principles. If overlooked, he held no grudge; if in difficulty, he did not complain. He said, ‘You are you, and I am I. Even if you undress and stand naked beside me, how could you make me dirty?’ So he stayed comfortably in their company without losing himself. If someone urged him to stay, he stayed. In agreeing to stay, he showed that he did not consider remaining among them beneath him.” Mencius added, “Bo Yi was too rigid, and Liuxia Hui too undemanding of others. A noble person does not follow either extreme.”