Follow us on Facebook to receive important updates Follow us on Twitter to receive important updates Follow us on sina.com's microblogging site to receive important updates Follow us on Douban to receive important updates
Chinese Text Project
Back Forward
Confucianism -> Mengzi -> Gong Sun Chou I -> 6

孟子Mencius said,
'All men have a mind which cannot bear to see the sufferings of others.
'The ancient kings had this commiserating mind,
and they, as a matter of course, had likewise a commiserating government.
When with a commiserating mind
was practised a commiserating government,
天下to rule the kingdom was as easy a matter as to make anything go round in the palm.
When I say that all men have a mind which cannot bear to see the sufferings of others,
my meaning may be illustrated thus: even now-a-days, if men suddenly see a child about to fall into a well,
they will without exception experience a feeling of alarm and distress.
They will feel so, not as a ground on which they may gain the favour of the child's parents,
nor as a ground on which they may seek the praise of their neighbours and friends,
nor from a dislike to the reputation of having been unmoved by such a thing.
From this case we may perceive
that the feeling of commiseration is essential to man,
that the feeling of shame and dislike is essential to man,
that the feeling of modesty and complaisance is essential to man,
and that the feeling of approving and disapproving is essential to man.
The feeling of commiseration
is the principle of benevolence.
The feeling of shame and dislike
is the principle of righteousness.
The feeling of modesty and complaisance
is the principle of propriety.
The feeling of approving and disapproving
is the principle of knowledge.
Men have these four principles
just as they have their four limbs.
When men, having these four principles, yet say of themselves that they cannot develop them,
they play the thief with themselves,
and he who says of his prince that he cannot develop them
plays the thief with his prince.
Since all men have these four principles in themselves,
let them know to give them all their development and completion,
and the issue will be like that of fire which has begun to burn,
or that of a spring which has begun to find vent.
Let them have their complete development,
and they will suffice to love and protect all within the four seas.
Let them be denied that development,
。」and they will not suffice for a man to serve his parents with.'


Enjoy this site? Please help.Site design and content copyright 2006-2024. When quoting or citing information from this site, please link to the corresponding page or to https://ctext.org. Please note that the use of automatic download software on this site is strictly prohibited, and that users of such software are automatically banned without warning to save bandwidth. 沪ICP备09015720号-3Comments? Suggestions? Please raise them here.