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

Mencius

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

Character Friendship Men
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 person never loses a childlike spirit.
MENCIUS

Attitude Greatness Person Spirit
Friends are the siblings God never gave us.
MENCIUS

Friendship God
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
One who believes all of a book would be better off without books.
MENCIUS

Believe Book
A man must not be without shame, for the shame of being without shame is shamelessness indeed.
MENCIUS

Character Existence Men Shame
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
There is no greater delight than to be conscious of sincerity on self-examination.
MENCIUS

Greatness Sincere
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
Every duty is a charge, but the charge of oneself is the root of all others.
MENCIUS

Duty Responsibility Roots
If the prince of a State love benevolence, he will have no opponent in all the empire.
MENCIUS

Enemy Government Love
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
If you know that a thing is unrighteous, then use all dispatch in putting an end to it–why wait till next year?
MENCIUS

End Evil Wait Years
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.
MENCIUS

Freedom Men Pet
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

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

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

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