The Chinese Classics/Volume 2/The Works of Mencius/chapter11

告子上

Gaozi I

告子曰：「性，猶杞柳也；義，猶桮棬也. 以人性為仁義，猶以杞柳為桮棬. 」

The philosopher Gao said, 'Man's nature is like the qi-willow, and righteousness is like a cup or a bowl. The fashioning benevolence and righteousness out of man's nature is like the making cups and bowls from the qi-willow.'

孟子曰：「子能順杞柳之性而以為桮棬乎？將戕賊杞柳而後以為桮棬也？如將戕賊杞柳而以為桮棬，則亦將戕賊人以為仁義與？率天下之人而禍仁義者，必子之言夫！」

Mencius replied, 'Can you, leaving untouched the nature of the willow, make with it cups and bowls? You must do violence and injury to the willow, before you can make cups and bowls with it. If you must do violence and injury to the willow in order to make cups and bowls with it, on your principles you must in the same way do violence and injury to humanity in order to fashion from it benevolence and righteousness! Your words, alas! would certainly lead all men on to reckon benevolence and righteousness to be calamities.'

告子曰：「性猶湍水也，決諸東方則東流，決諸西方則西流. 人性之無分於善不善也，猶水之無分於東西也. 」

The philosopher Gao said, 'Man's nature is like water whirling round in a corner. Open a passage for it to the east, and it will flow to the east; open a passage for it to the west, and it will flow to the west. Man's nature is indifferent to good and evil, just as the water is indifferent to the east and west.'

孟子曰：「水信無分於東西. 無分於上下乎？人性之善也，猶水之就下也. 人無有不善，水無有不下. 今夫水，搏而躍之，可使過顙；激而行之，可使在山. 是豈水之性哉？其勢則然也. 人之可使為不善，其性亦猶是也. 」

Mencius replied, 'Water indeed will flow indifferently to the east or west, but will it flow indifferently up or down? The tendency of man's nature to good is like the tendency of water to flow downwards. There are none but have this tendency to good, just as all water flows downwards. Now by striking water and causing it to leap up, you may make it go over your forehead, and, by damming and leading it you may force it up a hill - but are such movements according to the nature of water? It is the force applied which causes them. When men are made to do what is not good, their nature is dealt with in this way.'

告子曰：「生之謂性. 」

The philosopher Gao said, 'Life is what we call nature!'

孟子曰：「生之謂性也，猶白之謂白與？」曰：「然. 」

Mencius asked him, 'Do you say that by nature you mean life, just as you say that white is white?' 'Yes, I do,' was the reply.

「白羽之白也，猶白雪之白；白雪之白，猶白玉之白與？」曰：「然. 」

Mencius added, 'Is the whiteness of a white feather like that of white snow, and the whiteness of white snow like that of white jade?' Gao again said 'Yes.'

「然則犬之性，猶牛之性；牛之性，猶人之性與？」

'Very well,' pursued Mencius. 'Is the nature of a dog like the nature of an ox, and the nature of an ox like the nature of a man?'

告子曰：「食色，性也. 仁，內也，非外也；義，外也，非內也. 」

The philosopher Gao said, 'To enjoy food and delight in colours is nature. Benevolence is internal and not external; righteousness is external and not internal.'

孟子曰：「何以謂仁內義外也？」

Mencius asked him, 'What is the ground of your saying that benevolence is internal and righteousness external?'

曰：「彼長而我長之，非有長於我也；猶彼白而我白之，從其白於外也，故謂之外也. 」

He replied, 'There is a man older than I, and I give honour to his age. It is not that there is first in me a principle of such reverence to age. It is just as when there is a white man, and I consider him white; according as he is so externally to me. On this account, I pronounce of righteousness that it is external.'

曰：「異於白馬之白也，無以異於白人之白也；不識長馬之長也，無以異於長人之長與？且謂長者義乎？長之者義乎？」

Mencius said, 'There is no difference between our pronouncing a white horse to be white and our pronouncing a white man to be white. But is there no difference between the regard with which we acknowledge the age of an old horse and that with which we acknowledge the age of an old man? And what is it which is called righteousness? The fact of a man's being old? Or the fact of our giving honour to his age?'

曰：「吾弟則愛之，秦人之弟則不愛也，是以我為悅者也，故謂之內. 長楚人之長，亦長吾之長，是以長為悅者也，故謂之外也. 」

Gao said, 'There is my younger brother; I love him. But the younger brother of a man of Qin I do not love: that is, the feeling is determined by myself, and therefore I say that benevolence is internal. On the other hand, I give honour to an old man of Chu, and I also give honour to an old man of my own people: that is, the feeling is determined by the age, and therefore I say that righteousness is external.'

曰：「耆秦人之炙，無以異於耆吾炙. 夫物則亦有然者也，然則耆炙亦有外與？」

Mencius answered him, 'Our enjoyment of meat roasted by a man of Qin does not differ from our enjoyment of meat roasted by ourselves. Thus, what you insist on takes place also in the case of such things, and will you say likewise that our enjoyment of a roast is external?'

孟季子問公都子曰：「何以謂義內也？」曰：「行吾敬，故謂之內也. 」

The disciple Meng Ji asked Gong Du, saying, 'On what ground is it said that righteousness is internal?' Gong Du replied, 'We therein act out our feeling of respect, and therefore it is said to be internal.'

「鄉人長於伯兄一歲，則誰敬？」曰：「敬兄. 」

The other objected, 'Suppose the case of a villager older than your elder brother by one year, to which of them would you show the greater respect?' 'To my brother,' was the reply.

「酌則誰先？」曰：「先酌鄉人. 」

'But for which of them would you first pour out wine at a feast?' 'For the villager.'

「所敬在此，所長在彼，果在外，非由內也. 」

Meng Ji argued, 'Now your feeling of reverence rests on the one, and now the honour due to age is rendered to the other - this is certainly determined by what is without, and does not proceed from within.'

公都子不能答，以告孟子. 孟子曰：「敬叔父乎？敬弟乎？彼將曰『敬叔父』. 曰：『弟為尸，則誰敬？』彼將曰『敬弟. 』子曰：『惡在其敬叔父也？』彼將曰『在位故也. 』子亦曰：『在位故也. 庸敬在兄，斯須之敬在鄉人. 』」

Gong Du was unable to reply, and told the conversation to Mencius. Mencius said, 'You should ask him, "Which do you respect most, your uncle, or your younger brother?" He will answer, "My uncle." Ask him again, "If your younger brother be personating a dead ancestor, to which do you show the greater respect, to him or to your uncle?" He will say, "To my younger brother." You can go on, "But where is the respect due, as you said, to your uncle?" He will reply to this, "I show the respect to my younger brother, because of the position which he occupies," and you can likewise say, "So my respect to the villager is because of the position which he occupies. Ordinarily, my respect is rendered to my elder brother; for a brief season, on occasion, it is rendered to the villager."'

季子聞之曰：「敬叔父則敬，敬弟則敬，果在外，非由內也. 」

Meng Ji heard this and observed, 'When respect is due to my uncle, I respect him, and when respect is due to my younger brother, I respect him; the thing is certainly determined by what is without, and does not proceed from within.'

公都子曰：「冬日則飲湯，夏日則飲水，然則飲食亦在外也？」

Gong Du replied, 'In winter we drink things hot, in summer we drink things cold; and so, on your principle, eating and drinking also depend on what is external!'

公都子曰：「告子曰：『性無善無不善也. 』或曰：『性可以為善，可以為不善；是故文武興，則民好善；幽厲興，則民好暴. 』或曰：『有性善，有性不善；是故以堯為君而有象，以瞽瞍為父而有舜；以紂為兄之子且以為君，而有微子啟、王子比干. 』今曰『性善』，然則彼皆非與？」

The disciple Gong Du said, 'The philosopher Gao says, "Man's nature is neither good nor bad." Some say, "Man's nature may be made to practise good, and it may be made to practise evil, and accordingly, under Wen and Wu, the people loved what was good, while under Yu and Li, they loved what was cruel." Some say, "The nature of some is good, and the nature of others is bad. Hence it was that under such a sovereign as Yao there yet appeared Xiang; that with such a father as Gu Sou there yet appeared Shun; and that with Zhou for their sovereign, and the son of their elder brother besides, there were found Qi, the viscount of Wei, and the prince Bi Gan. And now you say, "The nature is good." Then are all those wrong?'

孟子曰：「乃若其情，則可以為善矣，乃所謂善也. 若夫為不善，非才之罪也. 惻隱之心，人皆有之；羞惡之心，人皆有之；恭敬之心，人皆有之；是非之心，人皆有之. 惻隱之心，仁也；羞惡之心，義也；恭敬之心，禮也；是非之心，智也. 仁義禮智，非由外鑠我也，我固有之也，弗思耳矣. 故曰：『求則得之，舍則失之. 』或相倍蓰而無算者，不能盡其才者也. 《詩》曰：『天生蒸民，有物有則. 民之秉夷，好是懿德. 』孔子曰：『為此詩者，其知道乎！故有物必有則，民之秉夷也，故好是懿德. 』」

Mencius said, 'From the feelings proper to it, it is constituted for the practice of what is good. This is what I mean in saying that the nature is good. If men do what is not good, the blame cannot be imputed to their natural powers. The feeling of commiseration belongs to all men; so does that of shame and dislike; and that of reverence and respect; and that of approving and disapproving. The feeling of commiseration implies the principle of benevolence; that of shame and dislike, the principle of righteousness; that of reverence and respect, the principle of propriety; and that of approving and disapproving, the principle of knowledge. Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and knowledge are not infused into us from without. We are certainly furnished with them. And a different view is simply owing to want of reflection. Hence it is said, "Seek and you will find them. Neglect and you will lose them." Men differ from one another in regard to them - some as much again as others, some five times as much, and some to an incalculable amount - it is because they cannot carry out fully their natural powers. It is said in the Book of Poetry, "Heaven in producing mankind, Gave them their various faculties and relations with their specific laws. These are the invariable rules of nature for all to hold, And all love this admirable virtue." Confucius said, "The maker of this ode knew indeed the principle of our nature!" We may thus see that every faculty and relation must have its law, and since there are invariable rules for all to hold, they consequently love this admirable virtue.'

孟子曰：「富歲，子弟多賴；凶歲，子弟多暴，非天之降才爾殊也，其所以陷溺其心者然也. 今夫麰麥，播種而耰之，其地同，樹之時又同，浡然而生，至於日至之時，皆熟矣. 雖有不同，則地有肥磽，雨露之養，人事之不齊也. 故凡同類者，舉相似也，何獨至於人而疑之？聖人與我同類者. 故龍子曰：『不知足而為屨，我知其不為蕢也. 』屨之相似，天下之足同也. 口之於味，有同耆也. 易牙先得我口之所耆者也. 如使口之於味也，其性與人殊，若犬馬之與我不同類也，則天下何耆皆從易牙之於味也？至於味，天下期於易牙，是天下之口相似也惟耳亦然. 至於聲，天下期於師曠，是天下之耳相似也. 惟目亦然. 至於子都，天下莫不知其姣也. 不知子都之姣者，無目者也. 故曰：口之於味也，有同耆焉；耳之於聲也，有同聽焉；目之於色也，有同美焉. 至於心，獨無所同然乎？心之所同然者何也？謂理也，義也. 聖人先得我心之所同然耳. 故理義之悅我心，猶芻豢之悅我口. 」

Mencius said, 'In good years the children of the people are most of them good, while in bad years the most of them abandon themselves to evil. It is not owing to any difference of their natural powers conferred by Heaven that they are thus different. The abandonment is owing to the circumstances through which they allow their minds to be ensnared and drowned in evil. There now is barley. Let it be sown and covered up; the ground being the same, and the time of sowing likewise the same, it grows rapidly up, and, when the full time is come, it is all found to be ripe. Although there may be inequalities of produce, that is owing to the difference of the soil, as rich or poor, to the unequal nourishment afforded by the rains and dews, and to the different ways in which man has performed his business in reference to it. Thus all things which are the same in kind are like to one another; why should we doubt in regard to man, as if he were a solitary exception to this? The sage and we are the same in kind. In accordance with this the scholar Long said, "If a man make hempen sandals without knowing the size of people's feet, yet I know that he will not make them like baskets." Sandals are all like one another, because all men's feet are like one another. So with the mouth and flavours - all mouths have the same relishes. Yi Ya only apprehended before me what my mouth relishes. Suppose that his mouth in its relish for flavours differed from that of other men, as is the case with dogs or horses which are not the same in kind with us, why should all men be found following Yi Ya in their relishes? In the matter of tastes all the people model themselves after Yi Ya; that is, the mouths of all men are like one another. And so also it is with the ear. In the matter of sounds, the whole people model themselves after the music-master Kuang; that is, the ears of all men are like one another. And so also it is with the eye. In the case of Zi Du, there is no man but would recognise that he was beautiful. Any one who would not recognise the beauty of Zi Du must have no eyes. Therefore I say, Men's mouths agree in having the same relishes; their ears agree in enjoying the same sounds; their eyes agree in recognising the same beauty - shall their minds alone be without that which the similarly approve? What is it then of which they similarly approve? It is, I say, the principles of our nature, and the determinations of righteousness. The sages only apprehended before me that of which my mind approves along with other men. Therefore the principles of our nature and the determinations of righteousness are agreeable to my mind, just as the flesh of grass and grain-fed animals is agreeable to my mouth.'

孟子曰：「牛山之木嘗美矣，以其郊於大國也，斧斤伐之，可以為美乎？是其日夜之所息，雨露之所潤，非無萌櫱之生焉，牛羊又從而牧之，是以若彼濯濯也. 人見其濯濯也，以為未嘗有材焉，此豈山之性也哉？雖存乎人者，豈無仁義之心哉？其所以放其良心者，亦猶斧斤之於木也，旦旦而伐之，可以為美乎？其日夜之所息，平旦之氣，其好惡與人相近也者幾希，則其旦晝之所為，有梏亡之矣. 梏之反覆，則其夜氣不足以存；夜氣不足以存，則其違禽獸不遠矣. 人見其禽獸也，而以為未嘗有才焉者，是豈人之情也哉？故苟得其養，無物不長；苟失其養，無物不消. 孔子曰：『操則存，舍則亡；出入無時，莫知其鄉. 』惟心之謂與？」

Mencius said, 'The trees of the Niu mountain were once beautiful. Being situated, however, in the borders of a large State, they were hewn down with axes and bills - and could they retain their beauty? Still through the activity of the vegetative life day and night, and the nourishing influence of the rain and dew, they were not without buds and sprouts springing forth, but then came the cattle and goats and browsed upon them. To these things is owing the bare and stripped appearance of the mountain, and when people now see it, they think it was never finely wooded. But is this the nature of the mountain? And so also of what properly belongs to man; shall it be said that the mind of any man was without benevolence and righteousness? The way in which a man loses his proper goodness of mind is like the way in which the trees are denuded by axes and bills. Hewn down day after day, can it - the mind - retain its beauty? But there is a development of its life day and night, and in the calm air of the morning, just between night and day, the mind feels in a degree those desires and aversions which are proper to humanity, but the feeling is not strong, and it is fettered and destroyed by what takes place during the day. This fettering taking place again and again, the restorative influence of the night is not sufficient to preserve the proper goodness of the mind; and when this proves insufficient for that purpose, the nature becomes not much different from that of the irrational animals, and when people now see it, they think that it never had those powers which I assert. But does this condition represent the feelings proper to humanity? Therefore, if it receive its proper nourishment, there is nothing which will not grow. If it lose its proper nourishment, there is nothing which will not decay away. Confucius said, "Hold it fast, and it remains with you. Let it go, and you lose it. Its outgoing and incoming cannot be defined as to time or place." It is the mind of which this is said!'

孟子曰：「無或乎王之不智也，雖有天下易生之物也，一日暴之、十日寒之，未有能生者也. 吾見亦罕矣，吾退而寒之者至矣，吾如有萌焉何哉？今夫弈之為數，小數也；不專心致志，則不得也. 弈秋，通國之善弈者也. 使弈秋誨二人弈，其一人專心致志，惟弈秋之為聽. 一人雖聽之，一心以為有鴻鵠將至，思援弓繳而射之，雖與之俱學，弗若之矣. 為是其智弗若與？曰非然也. 」

Mencius said, 'It is not to be wondered at that the king is not wise! Suppose the case of the most easily growing thing in the world; if you let it have one day's genial heat, and then expose it for ten days to cold, it will not be able to grow. It is but seldom that I have an audience of the king, and when I retire, there come all those who act upon him like the cold. Though I succeed in bringing out some buds of goodness, of what avail is it? Now chess-playing is but a small art, but without his whole mind being given, and his will bent, to it, a man cannot succeed at it. Chess Qiu is the best chess-player in all the kingdom. Suppose that he is teaching two men to play. The one gives to the subject his whole mind and bends to it all his will, doing nothing but listening to Chess Qiu. The other, although he seems to be listening to him, has his whole mind running on a swan which he thinks is approaching, and wishes to bend his bow, adjust the string to the arrow, and shoot it. Although he is learning along with the other, he does not come up to him. Why? Because his intelligence is not equal? Not so.'

孟子曰：「魚，我所欲也；熊掌，亦我所欲也，二者不可得兼，舍魚而取熊掌者也. 生，亦我所欲也；義，亦我所欲也，二者不可得兼，舍生而取義者也. 生亦我所欲，所欲有甚於生者，故不為苟得也；死亦我所惡，所惡有甚於死者，故患有所不辟也. 如使人之所欲莫甚於生，則凡可以得生者，何不用也？使人之所惡莫甚於死者，則凡可以辟患者，何不為也？由是則生而有不用也，由是則可以辟患而有不為也. 是故所欲有甚於生者，所惡有甚於死者，非獨賢者有是心也，人皆有之，賢者能勿喪耳. 一簞食，一豆羹，得之則生，弗得則死. 嘑爾而與之，行道之人弗受；蹴爾而與之，乞人不屑也. 萬鍾則不辨禮義而受之. 萬鍾於我何加焉？為宮室之美、妻妾之奉、所識窮乏者得我與？鄉為身死而不受，今為宮室之美為之；鄉為身死而不受，今為妻妾之奉為之；鄉為身死而不受，今為所識窮乏者得我而為之，是亦不可以已乎？此之謂失其本心. 」

Mencius said, 'I like fish, and I also like bear's paws. If I cannot have the two together, I will let the fish go, and take the bear's paws. So, I like life, and I also like righteousness. If I cannot keep the two together, I will let life go, and choose righteousness. I like life indeed, but there is that which I like more than life, and therefore, I will not seek to possess it by any improper ways. I dislike death indeed, but there is that which I dislike more than death, and therefore there are occasions when I will not avoid danger. If among the things which man likes there were nothing which he liked more than life, why should he not use every means by which he could preserve it? If among the things which man dislikes there were nothing which he disliked more than death, why should he not do everything by which he could avoid danger? There are cases when men by a certain course might preserve life, and they do not employ it; when by certain things they might avoid danger, and they will not do them. Therefore, men have that which they like more than life, and that which they dislike more than death. They are not men of distinguished talents and virtue only who have this mental nature. All men have it; what belongs to such men is simply that they do not lose it. Here are a small basket of rice and a platter of soup, and the case is one in which the getting them will preserve life, and the want of them will be death; if they are offered with an insulting voice, even a tramper will not receive them, or if you first tread upon them, even a beggar will not stoop to take them. And yet a man will accept of ten thousand zhong, without any consideration of propriety or righteousness. What can the ten thousand chung add to him? When he takes them, is it not that he may obtain beautiful mansions, that he may secure the services of wives and concubines, or that the poor and needy of his acquaintance may be helped by him? In the former case the offered bounty was not received, though it would have saved from death, and now the emolument is taken for the sake of beautiful mansions. The bounty that would have preserved from death was not received, and the emolument is taken to get the service of wives and concubines. The bounty that would have saved from death was not received, and the emolument is taken that one's poor and needy acquaintance may be helped by him. Was it then not possible likewise to decline this? This is a case of what is called "Losing the proper nature of one's mind."'

孟子曰：「仁，人心也；義，人路也. 舍其路而弗由，放其心而不知求，哀哉！人有雞犬放，則知求之；有放心，而不知求. 學問之道無他，求其放心而已矣. 」

Mencius said, 'Benevolence is man's mind, and righteousness is man's path. How lamentable is it to neglect the path and not pursue it, to lose this mind and not know to seek it again! When men's fowls and dogs are lost, they know to seek for them again, but they lose their mind, and do not know to seek for it. The great end of learning is nothing else but to seek for the lost mind.'

孟子曰：「今有無名之指，屈而不信，非疾痛害事也，如有能信之者，則不遠秦楚之路，為指之不若人也. 指不若人，則知惡之；心不若人，則不知惡，此之謂不知類也. 」

Mencius said, 'Here is a man whose fourth finger is bent and cannot be stretched out straight. It is not painful, nor does it incommode his business, and yet if there be any one who can make it straight, he will not think the way from Qin to Chu far to go to him; because his finger is not like the finger of other people. When a man's finger is not like those of other people, he knows to feel dissatisfied, but if his mind be not like that of other people, he does not know to feel dissatisfaction. This is called "Ignorance of the relative importance of things."'

孟子曰：「拱把之桐梓，人苟欲生之，皆知所以養之者. 至於身，而不知所以養之者，豈愛身不若桐梓哉？弗思甚也. 」

Mencius said, 'Anybody who wishes to cultivate the tong or the zi, which may be grasped with both hands, perhaps with one, knows by what means to nourish them. In the case of their own persons, men do not know by what means to nourish them. Is it to be supposed that their regard of their own persons is inferior to their regard for a tong or zi? Their want of reflection is extreme.'

孟子曰：「人之於身也，兼所愛. 兼所愛，則兼所養也. 無尺寸之膚不愛焉，則無尺寸之膚不養也. 所以考其善不善者，豈有他哉？於己取之而已矣. 體有貴賤，有小大. 無以小害大，無以賤害貴. 養其小者為小人，養其大者為大人. 今有場師，舍其梧檟，養其樲棘，則為賤場師焉. 養其一指而失其肩背，而不知也，則為狼疾人也. 飲食之人，則人賤之矣，為其養小以失大也. 飲食之人無有失也，則口腹豈適為尺寸之膚哉？」

Mencius said, 'There is no part of himself which a man does not love, and as he loves all, so he must nourish all. There is not an inch of skin which he does not love, and so there is not an inch of skin which he will not nourish. For examining whether his way of nourishing be good or not, what other rule is there but this, that he determine by reflecting on himself where it should be applied? Some parts of the body are noble, and some ignoble; some great, and some small. The great must not be injured for the small, nor the noble for the ignoble. He who nourishes the little belonging to him is a little man, and he who nourishes the great is a great man. Here is a plantation-keeper, who neglects his wu and jia, and cultivates his sour jujube-trees; he is a poor plantation-keeper. He who nourishes one of his fingers, neglecting his shoulders or his back, without knowing that he is doing so, is a man who resembles a hurried wolf. A man who only eats and drinks is counted mean by others; because he nourishes what is little to the neglect of what is great. If a man, fond of his eating and drinking, were not to neglect what is of more importance, how should his mouth and belly be considered as no more than an inch of skin?'

公都子問曰：「鈞是人也，或為大人，或為小人，何也？」

The disciple Gong Du said, 'All are equally men, but some are great men, and some are little men - how is this?'

孟子曰：「從其大體為大人，從其小體為小人. 」

Mencius replied, 'Those who follow that part of themselves which is great are great men; those who follow that part which is little are little men.'

曰：「鈞是人也，或從其大體，或從其小體，何也？」

Gong Du pursued, 'All are equally men, but some follow that part of themselves which is great, and some follow that part which is little - how is this?'

曰：「耳目之官不思，而蔽於物，物交物，則引之而已矣. 心之官則思，思則得之，不思則不得也. 此天之所與我者，先立乎其大者，則其小者弗能奪也. 此為大人而已矣. 」

Mencius answered, 'The senses of hearing and seeing do not think, and are obscured by external things. When one thing comes into contact with another, as a matter of course it leads it away. To the mind belongs the office of thinking. By thinking, it gets the right view of things; by neglecting to think, it fails to do this. These - the senses and the mind - are what Heaven has given to us. Let a man first stand fast in the supremacy of the nobler part of his constitution, and the inferior part will not be able to take it from him. It is simply this which makes the great man.'

孟子曰：「有天爵者，有人爵者. 仁義忠信，樂善不倦，此天爵也；公卿大夫，此人爵也. 古之人修其天爵，而人爵從之. 今之人修其天爵，以要人爵；既得人爵，而棄其天爵，則惑之甚者也，終亦必亡而已矣. 」

Mencius said, 'There is a nobility of Heaven, and there is a nobility of man. Benevolence, righteousness, self-consecration, and fidelity, with unwearied joy in these virtues; these constitute the nobility of Heaven. To be a gong, a qing, or a da fu; this constitutes the nobility of man. The men of antiquity cultivated their nobility of Heaven, and the nobility of man came to them in its train. The men of the present day cultivate their nobility of Heaven in order to seek for the nobility of man, and when they have obtained that, they throw away the other - their delusion is extreme. The issue is simply this, that they must lose that nobility of man as well.'

孟子曰：「欲貴者，人之同心也. 人人有貴於己者，弗思耳. 人之所貴者，非良貴也. 趙孟之所貴，趙孟能賤之. 《詩》云：『既醉以酒，既飽以德. 』言飽乎仁義也，所以不願人之膏粱之味也；令聞廣譽施於身，所以不願人之文繡也. 」

Mencius said, 'To desire to be honoured is the common mind of men. And all men have in themselves that which is truly honourable. Only they do not think of it. The honour which men confer is not good honour. Those whom Zhao the Great ennobles he can make mean again. It is said in the Book of Poetry, "He has filled us with his wine, He has satiated us with his goodness." "Satiated us with his goodness," that is, satiated us with benevolence and righteousness, and he who is so satiated, consequently, does not wish for the fat meat and fine millet of men. A good reputation and far-reaching praise fall to him, and he does not desire the elegant embroidered garments of men.'

孟子曰：「仁之勝不仁也，猶水勝火. 今之為仁者，猶以一杯水，救一車薪之火也；不熄，則謂之水不勝火，此又與於不仁之甚者也. 亦終必亡而已矣. 」

Mencius said, 'Benevolence subdues its opposite just as water subdues fire. Those, however, who now-a-days practise benevolence do it as if with one cup of water they could save a whole waggon-load of fuel which was on fire, and when the flames were not extinguished, were to say that water cannot subdue fire. This conduct, moreover, greatly encourages those who are not benevolent. The final issue will simply be this: the loss of that small amount of benevolence.'

孟子曰：「五穀者，種之美者也；苟為不熟，不如荑稗. 夫仁亦在乎熟之而已矣. 」

Mencius said, 'Of all seeds the best are the five kinds of grain, yet if they be not ripe, they are not equal to the ti or the bai. So, the value of benevolence depends entirely on its being brought to maturity.'

孟子曰：「羿之教人射，必志於彀；學者亦必志於彀. 大匠誨人，必以規矩；學者亦必以規矩. 」

Mencius said, 'Yi, in teaching men to shoot, made it a rule to draw the bow to the full, and his pupils also did the same. A master-workman, in teaching others, uses the compass and square, and his pupils do the same.'