Mencius 7A.3
Mencius (孟子), Book 7, Part I: Jin Xin I 盡心上
孟子曰：「求則得之，舍則失之，是求有益於得也，求在我者也。求之有道，得之有命，是求無益於得也，求在外者也。」
Mencius said, 'When we get by our seeking and lose by our neglecting - in that case seeking is of use to getting, and the things sought for are those which are in ourselves. When the seeking is according to the proper course, and the getting is only as appointed - in that case the seeking is of no use to getting, and the things sought are without ourselves.'
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
- 求qiúto seek; to request, to demand; to besee
- 則zérule, law, regulation; grades
- 得déto obtain, to get, to acquire; suitable,
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 舍shěhouse, dwelling; to reside, to dwell; to
- 失shīto lose; to make a mistake, to neglect
- 是shìto be; indeed, right, yes; okay
- 有yǒuto have, to own, to possess; to exist
- 益yìto profit, to benefit; advantage
- 於yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 也yěalso, too
- 在zàiat, in, on; to exist; used to indicate t
- 我wǒI, me, my; our, us
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 道dàomethod, way; path, road
- 命mìnglife; destiny, fate, luck; an order, ins
- 無wúno, not; lacking, -less
- 外wàiout, outside, external; foreign; in addi
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi Tien Tzŭ Fang
- Mencius 6A.6
- Analects 16.1
- Zhuangzi Autumn Floods
- Zhuangzi Man Among Men
- The Great Learning Passage 13
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.
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