Mencius 4A.15
Mencius (孟子), Book 4, Part I: Li Lou I 離婁上
孟子曰：「存乎人者，莫良於眸子。眸子不能掩其惡。胸中正，則眸子瞭焉；胸中不正，則眸子眊焉。聽其言也，觀其眸子，人焉廋哉？」
Mencius said, 'Of all the parts of a man's body there is none more excellent than the pupil of the eye. The pupil cannot be used to hide a man's wickedness. If within the breast all be correct, the pupil is bright. If within the breast all be not correct, the pupil is dull. Listen to a man's words and look at the pupil of his eye. How can a man conceal his character?'
James Legge (1861), The Works of Mencius, The Chinese Classics vol. 2 (1861; 2nd ed. 1895); romanization modernized on Wikisource — public domain.
Character glossary
- 孟mèngfirst in a series; great, eminent
- 子zison, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thin
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 存cúnto exist; to survive, to maintain; to ke
- 乎hūinterrogative or exclamatory final parti
- 人rénman, person; people
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 莫mòcannot; do not; is not; negative
- 良liánggood, virtuous, respectable
- 於yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 眸móueye; pupil
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 能néngcan, may; capable, full of energy
- 掩yǎnto cover up (with a hand); to ambush, to
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 惡èbad, evil, wicked; to hate, to loathe; f
- 胸xiōngbreast, bosom; heart, mind
- 中zhōngcentral; center, middle; amidst; to hit
- 正zhèngstraight, right, proper, correct, just,
- 則zérule, law, regulation; grades
- 瞭liǎobright; clear-sighted; to understand
- 焉yānwhy? where? how?; strange; thereupon, th
- 眊màodim-sighted; dull, bewildered
- 聽tīngto hear, to listen; to understand; to ob
- 言yánwords, speech; to speak, to say
- 也yěalso, too
- 觀guānto observe, to spectate; appearance, vie
- 廋sōuconceal, hide; search for, seek
- 哉zāifinal exclamatory particle
Passages with shared wording
- Analects 2.10
- Zhuangzi Kêng Sang Ch’u
- The Doctrine of the Mean Passage 32
- Zhuangzi The Circling Sky
- Analects 5.9
- Zhuangzi On Letting Alone
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0); Chinese Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.