black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

The myriad things are complete in us. There is no greater joy than to reflect on ourselves and become sincere.

Mencius

The great person never loses a childlike spirit.
MENCIUS

Attitude Greatness Person Spirit
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
One who believes all of a book would be better off without books.
MENCIUS

Believe Book
Virtue alone is not sufficient for the exercise of government; laws alone cannot carry themselves into practice.
MENCIUS

Alone Enough Exercise Government Law Practice Virtue
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

Act Ignorance Leadership Life Understand
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
Friendship is one mind in two bodies.
MENCIUS

Body Friendship Oneself
Those who follow the part of themselves which is great are great men; those who follow the part which is little are little men.
MENCIUS

Greatness Men
Sincerity is the way to heaven; to think how to be sincere is the way of man.
MENCIUS

Heaven Men Thinking
A real man is he whose goodness is a part of himself.
MENCIUS

Goodness Man Reality
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
Every duty is a charge, but the charge of oneself is the root of all others.
MENCIUS

Duty Responsibility Roots
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
Friends are the siblings God never gave us.
MENCIUS

Friendship God
If the King loves music, it is well with the land.
MENCIUS

King Land Music Rule
People are eager to comment on something when they themselves are not in the situation of doing it.
MENCIUS

Advice People Talk
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
Benevolence is one of the distinguishing characters of man.
MENCIUS

Character Kindness Men
He who wishes to be benevolent will not be rich.
MENCIUS

Choice Himself Rich
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 sole concern of learning is to seek one’s original heart.
MENCIUS

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

Avoid Destroy Hate Man
To lay hold of the mean without taking into account the occasion is like grasping one thing only.
MENCIUS

Oneself Understand
Sincerity is the way to heaven.
MENCIUS

Heaven Sincere
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 lies at hand yet it is sought afar off; the thing lies in the easy yet it is sought in the difficult.
MENCIUS

Difficult Hands Lying Warrior
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 myriad things are complete in us. There is no greater joy than to reflect on ourselves and become sincere.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

The myriad things are complete in us. There is no greater joy than to reflect on ourselves and become sincere.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Mencius Quotes