A man must first despise himself, and then others will despise him.
MENCIUSIf 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.
More Mencius Quotes
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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.
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Incessant falls teach men to reform, and distress rouses their strength. Life springs from calamity, and death from ease.
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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.
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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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Where it is permissible both to die and not to die, it is an abuse of valour to die.
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So I like life and I like righteousness; if I cannot keep the two together, I will let life go and choose righteousness.
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A real man is he whose goodness is a part of himself.
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The sole concern of learning is to seek one’s original heart.
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People are eager to comment on something when they themselves are not in the situation of doing it.
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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.
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I dislike death, however, there are some things I dislike more than death. Therefore, there are times when I will not avoid danger.
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When one by force subdues men, they do not submit to him in heart. They submit because their strength is not adequate to resist.
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Never has a man who has bent himself been able to make others straight.
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The best things in life come in threes, like friends, dreams, and memories.
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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.
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The tendency of mans nature to good is like the tendency of water to flow downward.
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He who loves others is always loved by them, and he who respects others is always respected by them.
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The way of truth is like a great highway. It is not hard to find.
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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.
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To lay hold of the mean without taking into account the occasion is like grasping one thing only.
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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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A man must not be without shame, for the shame of being without shame is shamelessness indeed.
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He who goes to the bottom of his own heart knows his own nature; And knowing his own nature, he knows heaven.
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By exhaustively examining one’s own mind,one may understand his nature. One who understands his own nature understands Heaven.
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Only those who develop their minds and spirits to the utmost can serve Heaven and fulfill their own destinies.
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Heaven sees as the people see. Heaven hears as the people hear.
MENCIUS