Mencius

MENCIUS

"'Don’t talk about profit,' said Mencius. 'It’s Humanity and Duty that matter. Emperors say How can I profit my nation? Lords say How can I profit my house? And everyone else says How can I profit myself? Then everyone high and low is scrambling for profit, pitching the nation into grave danger.'" [I.1]^1a* HERZL TRUDEAU

"' . . . Unless they have a constant livelihood, the common people will never have constant minds. And without constant minds, they’ll wander loose and wild. They’ll stop at nothing, and soon cross the law.'" [I.7]^1b LOCKE

"' . . . When chickens or dogs wander away, people know enough to search for them, but when their heart wanders away they don’t. The Way of learning is nothing other than this: searching for the heart that’s wandered away.'" [XI.11]^1c

"'The heart we all share longs to be exalted. But the exalted is already there in us, though we may not realize it. . . '" [XI.17]^1d GNOSTICS

"'The ten thousand things are all there in me. And there’s no joy greater than looking within and finding myself faithful to them. Treat others as you would be treated. Devote yourself to that, for there’s no more direct approach to Humanity.'" [XIII.4]^1e GNOSTICS

"' . . To rise at the cock’s cry and chase profits with untiring diligence – that is to be a follower of Chih the bandit. . . '" [XIII.25]^1f

"'The people are the most precious of all things. Next come the gods of soil and grain. The sovereign matters least. . . '" [XIV.14]^1g


	Mencius. Mencius. Translated with an Introduction by David Hinton. SEARCH BUY IT

* Italics in the original.

¹ Mencius. Mencius. Translated with an Introduction by David Hinton. David Hinton, 1998. Washington, DC: COUNTERPOINT, member of the Perseus Books Group.
^a Emperor Hui Liang, Book One, I.1, at 3.
^b Ibid., I.7, at 16.
^c Master Kao, Book One, XI.11, at 207.
^d Ibid., XI.17, at 210.
^e To Fathom the Mind, Book One, XIII.4, at 236.
^f Ibid., XIII.25, at 244.^g To Fathom the Mind, Book Two, XIV.14, at 261.

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