Mencius 7A.44
Mencius (孟子), Book 7, Part I: Jin Xin I 盡心上
孟子曰：「於不可已而已者，無所不已；於所厚者薄，無所不薄也。其進銳者，其退速。」
Mencius said, 'He who stops short where stopping is acknowledged to be not allowable, will stop short in everything. He who behaves shabbily to those whom he ought to treat well, will behave shabbily to all. He who advances with precipitation will retire with speed.'
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
- 於yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 可kěmay, can, -able; possibly
- 已yǐalready; finished; to stop; then, afterw
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 無wúno, not; lacking, -less
- 所suǒplace, location; "that which", a particl
- 厚hòugenerous; substantial; deep (as a friend
- 薄báothin, slight; meager, weak; poor, stingy
- 也yěalso, too
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 進jìnto advance, to make progress; to come in
- 銳ruìsharp, pointed; keen, acute
- 退tuìto retreat, to step back, to withdraw
- 速sùprompt, quick, speedy
Passages with shared wording
- The Great Learning Passage 2
- Analects 7.28
- Zhuangzi The Circling Sky
- Art of War 9.23
- Zhuangzi Knowledge travels North
- Zhuangzi On Letting Alone
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.