Mencius 7A.25
Mencius (孟子), Book 7, Part I: Jin Xin I 盡心上
孟子曰：「雞鳴而起，孳孳為善者，舜之徒也。雞鳴而起，孳孳為利者，蹠之徒也。欲知舜與蹠之分，無他，利與善之閒也。」
Mencius said, 'He who rises at cock-crowing and addresses himself earnestly to the practice of virtue, is a disciple of Shun. He who rises at cock-crowing, and addresses himself earnestly to the pursuit of gain, is a disciple of Zhi. If you want to know what separates Shun from Zhi, it is simply this: the interval between the thought of gain and the thought of virtue.'
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
- 雞jīchicken
- 鳴mínga bird call or animal cry; to make a sou
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 起qǐto begin, to initiate; to rise, to stand
- 孳zīto breed; to produce, to bear; to grow r
- 為wèito do, to act; to handle, to govern; to
- 善shàngood, virtuous, charitable, kind
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 舜shùnlegendary ruler
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 徒túdisciple, follower; only, merely; in vai
- 也yěalso, too
- 利lìgains, advantage, profit, merit
- 蹠zhístep on, tread on; sole
- 欲yùdesire, want, longing, intent
- 知zhīto know, to perceive, to comprehend
- 與yǔand; with; to; for; to give, to grant
- 分fēnto divide, to allocate; fraction; small
- 無wúno, not; lacking, -less
- 他tāother, another; he, she, it
- 閒xiánleisure, idle time; tranquil, peaceful,
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi Hsü Wu Kuei
- Zhuangzi Tsê Yang
- The Great Learning Passage 16
- Zhuangzi Robber Chê
- Zhuangzi The Tao of God
- Zhuangzi Mountain Trees
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.