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To act without clear understanding, to form habits without investigation, to follow a path all one’s life without knowing where it really leads; such is the behavior of the multitude.

Mencius

Evil exists to glorify the good. Evil is negative good. It is a relative term. Evil can be transmuted into good. What is evil to one at one time, becomes good at another time to somebody else.
MENCIUS

Deep Evil Goodness Negative Perspective Philosophy Spiritual
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
Let not a man do what his sense of right bids him not to do, nor desire what it forbids him to desire. This is sufficient. The skillful artist will not alter his measures for the sake of a stupid workman.
MENCIUS

Artist Desire Men Stupidity
He who goes to the bottom of his own heart knows his own nature; And knowing his own nature, he knows heaven.
MENCIUS

Heart Heaven Philosophy
Truth uttered before its time is dangerous.
MENCIUS

Honesty Time Truth
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

Greatness Heaven Suffering
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
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
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
The great man does not think beforehand of his words that they may be sincere, nor of his actions that they may be resolute- he simply speaks and does what is right.
MENCIUS

Inspirational Men Simplicity Thinking
Where it is permissible both to die and not to die, it is an abuse of valour to die.
MENCIUS

Death Freedom
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
Only when someone refuses to do certain things will he be capable of doing great things.
MENCIUS

Capability Greatness Inspirational
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 sole concern of learning is to seek one’s original heart.
MENCIUS

Heart Learning Seek
The feeling of right or wrong is the beginning of wisdom.
MENCIUS

Beginning Feeling Right Wisdom Wrong

To act without clear understanding, to form habits without investigation, to follow a path all one’s life without knowing where it really leads; such is the behavior of the multitude.

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To act without clear understanding, to form habits without investigation, to follow a path all one’s life without knowing where it really leads; such is the behavior of the multitude.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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