Mencius Quotes on Nature
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 nature, 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 -
“The virtues are not poured into us, they are natural. Seek, and you will find them: neglect, and you will lose them.”
Pebbles, Pearls and Gems of the Orient(1882) | "Uses and Sanctions", no. 22 -
“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.”
The Mencius | Book 6, pt. 1, v. 6