Mencius Quotes on Knowledge
Mengzi, conventionally known in the West as Mencius, was a Chinese Confucian philosopher of the fourth century BC, traditionally regarded as the second sage of the Confucian tradition after Confucius himself. This page collects quotes attributed to Mencius on the topic of knowledge, drawn from across the philosopher's works.
Quotes
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“He who exerts his mind to the utmost knows his nature.”
7A:1, as translated by Wing-tsit Chan in A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy (1963), p. 62 -
“The feeling of compassion is the beginning of benevolence; the feeling of shame is the beginning of righteousness; the feeling of deference is the beginning of propriety; the feeling of right and wrong is the beginning of wisdom.”
2A:6, as translated by Wing-tsit Chan in A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy (1963), p. 65 | Variant translation: The sense of compassion is the beginning of benevolence; the sense of shame the beginning of righteousness; the sense of modesty the beginning of decorum; the sense of right and wrong the beginning of wisdom. Man possesses these four beginnings just as he possesses four limbs. Anyone p -
“If the king loves music , there is little wrong in the land.”
Discourses , as quoted in "I Want to Know!" by Ivan Gogol Esipoff, The Etude , Vol. LXIII, No. 9 (September 1945), p. 496 -
“Discourses , as quoted in "I Want to Know!" by Ivan Gogol Esipoff, The Etude , Vol. LXIII, No. 9 (September 1945), p. 496”
If the king loves music , there is little wrong in the land. -
“Mencius went to see King Huei of Liang. The king said, "Venerable sir, since you have not counted it far to come here, a distance of a thousand li , may I presume that you are provided with counsels to profit my kingdom?" Mencius replied, " Why must your Majesty use that word " profit "? What I am provided with, are counsels to benevolence and righteousness , and these are my only topics.”
Book 1, part 1, as translated by James Legge in The Life and Works of Mencius (1875), p. 124 -
“1B:8, In relation to righteousness and the overthrow of the tyrannous King Zhou of Shang , as translated by Sir Robert Kennaway Douglas, China (1904), p. 8”
He who outrages benevolence is called a ruffian: he who outrages righteousness is called a villain. I have heard of the cutting off of the villain Chow, but I have not heard of the putting of a ruler to death . -
“Those who are humane achieve glory. Those who are inhumane suffer disgrace.”
2A:4 -
“2A:6, as translated by Wing-tsit Chan in A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy (1963), p. 65”
The feeling of commiseration is the beginning of humanity ; the feeling of shame and dislike is the beginning of righteousness; the feeling of deference and compliance is the beginning of propriety; and the feeling of right or wrong is the beginning of wisdom. Men have these Four Beginnings just as they have their four limbs. Having these Four Beginnings, but saying that they cannot develop them i -
“Variant translation: The sense of compassion is the beginning of benevolence; the sense of shame the beginning of righteousness; the sense of modesty the beginning of decorum; the sense of right and wrong the beginning of wisdom. Man possesses these four beginnings just as he possesses four limbs. Anyone possessing these four and saying that he can not do what is required of him is abasing himself. Yao Dan, translated by Li Ziliang, Li Guoqing and Zhao Feifei, Chinese Literature: From 'The Book of Songs' to 'A Dream of Red Mansions' (Beijing: China Intercontinental Press, 2006), p. 24”
The feeling of commiseration is the beginning of humanity ; the feeling of shame and dislike is the beginning of righteousness; the feeling of deference and compliance is the beginning of propriety; and the feeling of right or wrong is the beginning of wisdom. Men have these Four Beginnings just as they have their four limbs. Having these Four Beginnings, but saying that they cannot develop them i