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When Heaven is about to confer a great office upon you, it first exercises your mind with suffering and your sinews and bones with toil.

Mencius

There is no greater delight than to be conscious of sincerity on self-examination.
MENCIUS

Greatness Sincere
To feed men and not to love them is to treat them as if they were barnyard cattle. To love them and not respect them is to treat them as if they were household pets.
MENCIUS

Freedom Men Pet
The great man is he who does not lose his child’s heart.
MENCIUS

Children Greatness Heart Man Wisdom
If you let people follow their feelings, they will be able to do good. This is what is meant by saying that human nature is good.
MENCIUS

Deep Feeling Human People Philosophy Spiritual
Never has there been one possessed of complete sincerity who did not move others. Never has there been one who had not sincerity who was able to move others.
MENCIUS

Ability Change Sincere
Sincerity is the way to heaven; to think how to be sincere is the way of man.
MENCIUS

Heaven Men Thinking
By exhaustively examining one’s own mind,one may understand his nature. One who understands his own nature understands Heaven.
MENCIUS

Heaven Mind Nature Understand
When one by force subdues men, they do not submit to him in heart. They submit because their strength is not adequate to resist.
MENCIUS

Force Heart Men Power Resistance
The ways are two: love and want of love. That is all.
MENCIUS

Compassion Love
All people have the common desire to be elevated in honour, but all people have something still more elevated in themselves without knowing it.
MENCIUS

Deep Desire People Philosophy
Incessant falls teach men to reform, and distress rouses their strength. Life springs from calamity, and death from ease.
MENCIUS

Born Fall Men Philosophy Spirituality Spring
A man must first despise himself, and then others will despise him.
MENCIUS

Hate Men
Treat your elders as elders, and extend it to the elders of others; treat your young ones as young ones, and extend it to the young ones of others; then you can turn the whole world in the palm of your hand.
MENCIUS

Hands Respect World
The people turn in allegiance to Humanity, as surely as water flows downward or as a wild animal takes cover in the wilderness.
MENCIUS

Animal Humanity People Water Wild
Only those who develop their minds and spirits to the utmost can serve Heaven and fulfill their own destinies.
MENCIUS

Destiny Development Heaven Mindset
A small country cannot contend with a great; the few cannot contend with the many; the weak cannot contend with the strong.
MENCIUS

Country Greatness Strong Weakness

When Heaven is about to confer a great office upon you, it first exercises your mind with suffering and your sinews and bones with toil.

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When Heaven is about to confer a great office upon you, it first exercises your mind with suffering and your sinews and bones with toil.

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