Mencius said: “The trouble with people is that they love to act as teachers to others.”
Mencius said: “What duty is greatest? Serving one’s parents is greatest.What must be guarded above all? Guarding one’s own moral integrity is paramount.I have heard of people with moral integrity can serve their parents well;but I have never heard of anyone of lax morals can do so. There are various kinds of duties. Yet…
Mencius said: “A truly respectful person never humiliates others;a truly frugal person never takes what belongs to others.Yet some rulers humiliate their people and seize their wealth,all while fearing that others won’t obey them.How can such people be called ‘respectful’ or ‘frugal’?Can respectfulness and frugality really be faked through tone of voice, smiles, and…
Gongsun Chou asked Mencius: “What is the principle behind scholars not seeking audiences with feudal lords?”
Jing Chun said: “Aren’t Gongsun Yan and Zhang Yi truly great men? When they get angry, feudal lords tremble; when they stay at ease, wars across the world cease.”
Chen Dai said to his teacher Mencius: “You refuse to visit feudal lords – it seems overly modest, even petty. If you’d just go see one once, at best you could implement the Kingly Way; at least, you might help him achieve hegemony. And as the old saying goes: ‘Bend one chi (about a…
Mencius formally resigned his post (as guest minister in Qi state) and was preparing to return home.
Chen Zhen asked Mencius: “The other day in Qi, the king offered you one hundred yi of fine gold, and you refused it. But in Song, you accepted seventy yi, and in Xue, fifty yi. This seems contradictory: If refusing the gift in Qi was right, then accepting in Song and Xue must be…