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Friendship with a man is friendship with his virtue, and does not admit of assumptions of superiority.

Mencius

The sole concern of learning is to seek one’s original heart.
MENCIUS

Heart Learning Seek
The way is near, but men seek it afar. It is in easy things, but men seek for it in difficult things.
MENCIUS

Easy Men Philosophy Seek Way
It is not difficult to govern. All one has to do is not to offend the noble families.
MENCIUS

Authority Difficult Family Government
Friends are the siblings God never gave us.
MENCIUS

Friendship God
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
Men must be decided on what they will not do, and then they are able to act with vigor in what they ought to do.
MENCIUS

Decision Men Vigor
Only when someone refuses to do certain things will he be capable of doing great things.
MENCIUS

Capability Greatness Inspirational
All things are already complete in us. There is no greater delight than to be conscious of right within us. If one strives to treat others as he would be treated by them, he shall not fail to come near the perfect life.
MENCIUS

Divine Failure Perfection Philosophy Right
There is no greater delight than to be conscious of sincerity on self-examination.
MENCIUS

Greatness Sincere
He who attends to his greater self becomes a great man, and he who attends to his smaller self becomes a small man.
MENCIUS

Leadership Men Spirituality
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
The ways are two: love and want of love. That is all.
MENCIUS

Compassion Love
The path of duty lies in what is near, and men seek for it in what is remote; the work of duty lies in what is easy, and men seek for it in what is difficult.
MENCIUS

Easy Journey Lying Men Philosophy Seek Way
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
Where it is permissible both to die and not to die, it is an abuse of valour to die.
MENCIUS

Death Freedom
One who believes all of a book would be better off without books.
MENCIUS

Believe Book

Friendship with a man is friendship with his virtue, and does not admit of assumptions of superiority.

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Friendship with a man is friendship with his virtue, and does not admit of assumptions of superiority.

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