So I like life and I like righteousness; if I cannot keep the two together, I will let life go and choose righteousness.
MENCIUSSecure property in hand leads to peace in mind.
More Mencius Quotes
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The myriad things are complete in us. There is no greater joy than to reflect on ourselves and become sincere.
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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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The tendency of mans nature to good is like the tendency of water to flow downward.
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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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The path of duty lies in what is near, and men seek for it in what is remote; the work of duty lies in what is easy, and men seek for it in what is difficult.
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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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Listen to a man’s words and look at the pupil of his eye. How can a man conceal his character?
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The Way lies at hand yet it is sought afar off; the thing lies in the easy yet it is sought in the difficult.
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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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The gap between enthusiasm and indifference is filled with failures. The great man is he that does not lose his child’s heart.
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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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Incessant falls teach men to reform, and distress rouses their strength. Life springs from calamity, and death from ease.
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Benevolence is one of the distinguishing characters of man.
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He who wishes to be benevolent will not be rich.
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Truth uttered before its time is dangerous.
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A real man is he whose goodness is a part of himself.
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There is no greater delight than to be conscious of sincerity on self-examination.
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Never lose your child’s heart.
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Sincerity is the way to heaven; to think how to be sincere is the way of man.
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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.
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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 exerts his mind to the utmost knows his nature.
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It is not difficult to govern. All one has to do is not to offend the noble families.
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He who loves others is constantly loved by them. He who respects others is constantly respected by them.
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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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All people have the common desire to be elevated in honour, but all people have something still more elevated in themselves without knowing it.
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