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The Master said:“Loving learning brings one near to wisdom;exerting oneself in practice brings one near to benevolence;knowing shame brings one near to courage.”
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Meng Xianzi said:“A family that keeps a team of four horses for chariots should not concern itself with raising chickens and pigs for profit;a household entitled to cut ice for ancestral rites should not raise cattle and sheep for gain;a state possessing a hundred war chariots should not employ ministers who amass wealth through…
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Duke Wen of Teng asked Mencius: “Teng is a small state, squeezed between the great powers of Qi and Chu. Should we submit to Qi, or align ourselves with Chu?”
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After Qi conquered Yan, the feudal lords began plotting to rescue Yan. Alarmed, King Xuan of Qi asked Mencius, “Many states are now scheming to attack me – what should I do?”
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6.8 Ji Kang asked whether Zilu was the right sort of person to put into office.
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6.2 Ran Yong asked about Zisang Bozi. The Master said, “He is suited to be an official and he is lax.”
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4.13 The Master said, “If it is really possible to govern countries by ritual and yielding, there is no more to be said. But if it is not really possible, of what use is ritual?”
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3.11 Someone asked for an explanation of the Ancestral Sacrifice. Confucius said, “I do not know. Anyone who knew the explanation could deal with all things under Heaven as easily as I lay this here”; and he laid his finger upon the palm of his hand.