Mencius 7A.4
Mencius (孟子), Book 7, Part I: Jin Xin I 盡心上
孟子曰：「萬物皆備於我矣。反身而誠，樂莫大焉。強恕而行，求仁莫近焉。」
Mencius said, 'All things are already complete in us. There is no greater delight than to be conscious of sincerity on self-examination. If one acts with a vigorous effort at the law of reciprocity, when he seeks for the realization of perfect virtue, nothing can be closer than his approximation to it.'
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
- 萬wànten thousand; innumerable
- 物wùthing, substance, matter; creature
- 皆jiēall, every, everybody
- 備bèito prepare; to get ready, to equip; read
- 於yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 我wǒI, me, my; our, us
- 矣yǐparticle of completed action
- 反fǎnreverse, opposite; contrary, anti-
- 身shēnbody, torso; person; pregnancy
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 誠chénghonest, sincere, true; actually, really
- 樂lècheerful, happy, laughing; music
- 莫mòcannot; do not; is not; negative
- 大dàbig, great, vast, high, deep
- 焉yānwhy? where? how?; strange; thereupon, th
- 強qiángstrong, powerful, energetic
- 恕shùto excuse, to forgive, to show mercy
- 行xíngto go, to walk, to move; professional
- 求qiúto seek; to request, to demand; to besee
- 仁rénbenevolent, humane, kind
- 近jìnto approach; near, close; intimate
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi The Circling Sky
- Zhuangzi The Identity of Contraries
- Zhuangzi Tsê Yang
- Zhuangzi Perfect Happiness
- Mencius 2B.6
- Mencius 4A.12
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.