Mencius 7A.45
Mencius (孟子), Book 7, Part I: Jin Xin I 盡心上
孟子曰：「君子之於物也，愛之而弗仁；於民也，仁之而弗親。親親而仁民，仁民而愛物。」
Mencius said, 'In regard to inferior creatures, the superior man is kind to them, but not loving. In regard to people generally, he is loving to them, but not affectionate. He is affectionate to his parents, and lovingly disposed to people generally. He is lovingly disposed to people generally, and kind to creatures.'
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
- 君jūnsovereign, ruler, prince, monarch, chief
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 於yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 物wùthing, substance, matter; creature
- 也yěalso, too
- 愛àito love, to like, to be fond of; love, a
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 弗fúnot, negative
- 仁rénbenevolent, humane, kind
- 民míncitizens, subjects; a nation's people
- 親qīnrelatives, parents; intimate; the hazeln
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi On Letting Alone
- Zhuangzi Hsü Wu Kuei
- Zhuangzi Mountain Trees
- Art of War 13.2
- Zhuangzi Man Among Men
- Zhuangzi The Great Supreme
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.