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The way of truth is like a great road. It is not difficult to know it. The evil is only that men will not seek it.

Mencius

The best things in life come in threes, like friends, dreams, and memories.
MENCIUS

Dream Friendship Life Material Memories
Sincerity is the way to heaven; to think how to be sincere is the way of man.
MENCIUS

Heaven Men Thinking
The regular path of virtue is to be pursued without any bend, and from no view to emolument.
MENCIUS

Path View Virtue
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
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
Human nature is good, just as water seeks low ground. There is no man who is not good, just as there is no water that does not flow downward.
MENCIUS

Goodness Human Humanity Men Nature Water
Listen to a man’s words and look at the pupil of his eye. How can a man conceal his character?
MENCIUS

Character Eyes Hide Men Word
Friendship is one mind in two bodies.
MENCIUS

Body Friendship Oneself
He who loves others is constantly loved by them. He who respects others is constantly respected by them.
MENCIUS

Himself Love Respect
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.
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Freedom Men Pet
The sole concern of learning is to seek one’s original heart.
MENCIUS

Heart Learning Seek
To lay hold of the mean without taking into account the occasion is like grasping one thing only.
MENCIUS

Oneself Understand
Where it is permissible both to die and not to die, it is an abuse of valour to die.
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Death Freedom
A man must not be without shame, for the shame of being without shame is shamelessness indeed.
MENCIUS

Character Existence Men Shame
The foundation of the world lies in the nation. The foundation of the nation lies in the family. The foundation of the family lies in the individual.
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Confidence Family Foundation Nation World
By exhaustively examining one’s own mind,one may understand his nature. One who understands his own nature understands Heaven.
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Heaven Mind Nature Understand
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
The ways are two: love and want of love. That is all.
MENCIUS

Compassion Love
Virtue alone is not sufficient for the exercise of government; laws alone cannot carry themselves into practice.
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Alone Enough Exercise Government Law Practice Virtue
Friendship with a man is friendship with his virtue, and does not admit of assumptions of superiority.
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Character Friendship Men
The gap between enthusiasm and indifference is filled with failures. The great man is he that does not lose his child’s heart.
MENCIUS

Children Failure Heart Men
The disease of men is that they neglect their own fields and go to weed the fields of others.
MENCIUS

Avoid Destroy Hate Man
It is not difficult to govern. All one has to do is not to offend the noble families.
MENCIUS

Authority Difficult Family Government
One who believes all of a book would be better off without books.
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Believe Book
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
The great man is he who does not lose his child’s heart.
MENCIUS

Children Greatness Heart Man Wisdom
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

The way of truth is like a great road. It is not difficult to know it. The evil is only that men will not seek it.

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The way of truth is like a great road. It is not difficult to know it. The evil is only that men will not seek it.

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