Mencius 6B.16
Mencius (孟子), Book 6, Part II: Gaozi II 告子下
孟子曰：「教亦多術矣，予不屑之教誨也者，是亦教誨之而已矣。」
Mencius said, 'There are many arts in teaching. I refuse, as inconsistent with my character, to teach a man, but I am only thereby still teaching him.'
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
- 教jiàoschool, education
- 亦yìalso, too; likewise
- 多duōmuch, many, multi-; more than, over
- 術shùskill, art; method, technique; trick
- 矣yǐparticle of completed action
- 予yǔto give; to award
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 屑xièbits, crumbs, scraps; fragments; not wor
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 誨huìto teach, to instruct; to encourage, to
- 也yěalso, too
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 是shìto be; indeed, right, yes; okay
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 已yǐalready; finished; to stop; then, afterw
Passages with shared wording
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.