Mencius 7A.10
Mencius (孟子), Book 7, Part I: Jin Xin I 盡心上
孟子曰：「待文王而後興者，凡民也。若夫豪傑之士，雖無文王猶興。」
Mencius said, 'The mass of men wait for a king Wen, and then they will receive a rousing impulse. Scholars distinguished from the mass, without a king Wan, rouse themselves.'
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
- 待dàito entertain, to receive, to treat; to d
- 文wénculture, literature, writing
- 王wángking, ruler; royal; surname
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 後hòuafter; behind, rear; descendants
- 興xìngto thrive, to prosper, to flourish
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 凡fánany, every, all; common, ordinary
- 民míncitizens, subjects; a nation's people
- 也yěalso, too
- 若ruòif, supposing, assuming; similar
- 夫fūman, husband; worker; those
- 豪háobrave, heroic, chivalrous
- 傑jiéhero; heroic, outstanding
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 士shìscholar, gentleman; soldier
- 雖suīalthough, even though
- 無wúno, not; lacking, -less
- 猶yóusimilar to, just like, as
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.