Mencius 4B.19
Mencius (孟子), Book 4, Part II: Li Lou II 離婁下
孟子曰：「人之所以異於禽於獸者幾希，庶民去之，君子存之。舜明於庶物，察於人倫，由仁義行，非行仁義也。」
Mencius said, 'That whereby man differs from the lower animals is but small. The mass of people cast it away, while superior men preserve it. Shun clearly understood the multitude of things, and closely observed the relations of humanity. He walked along the path of benevolence and righteousness; he did not need to pursue benevolence and righteousness.'
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
- 人rénman, person; people
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 所suǒplace, location; "that which", a particl
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 異yìdifferent, strange, unusual; foreign; su
- 於yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 禽qínbirds, fowl; to capture; surname
- 獸shòubeast, animal; bestial
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 幾jǐsmall table; how many; a few, some
- 希xīrare; to hope for, to strive for; to exp
- 庶shùnumerous, various; multitude
- 民míncitizens, subjects; a nation's people
- 去qùto go away, to leave, to depart
- 君jūnsovereign, ruler, prince, monarch, chief
- 存cúnto exist; to survive, to maintain; to ke
- 舜shùnlegendary ruler
- 明míngbright, clear; to explain, to understand
- 物wùthing, substance, matter; creature
- 察cháto examine, to investigate, to observe
- 倫lúnhuman relationships; society
- 由yóucause, reason; from
- 仁rénbenevolent, humane, kind
- 義yìright conduct, propriety; justice
- 行xíngto go, to walk, to move; professional
- 非fēinot, negative, non-; to oppose
- 也yěalso, too
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi The Old Fisherman
- Zhuangzi Robber Chê
- Mencius 4B.28
- Mencius 3A.4
- Mencius 7A.16
- The Great Learning Passage 16
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.