Mencius 7A.7
Mencius (孟子), Book 7, Part I: Jin Xin I 盡心上
孟子曰：「恥之於人大矣。為機變之巧者，無所用恥焉。不恥不若人，何若人有？」
Mencius said, 'The sense of shame is to a man of great importance. Those who form contrivances and versatile schemes distinguished for their artfulness, do not allow their sense of shame to come into action. When one differs from other men in not having this sense of shame, what will he have in common with them?'
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
- 恥chǐshame, humiliation; ashamed
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 於yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 人rénman, person; people
- 大dàbig, great, vast, high, deep
- 矣yǐparticle of completed action
- 為wèito do, to act; to handle, to govern; to
- 機jīdesk; machine; moment, opportunity
- 變biànto change, to transform, to alter; rebel
- 巧qiǎoskillful, ingenious, clever
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 無wúno, not; lacking, -less
- 所suǒplace, location; "that which", a particl
- 用yòngto use, to employ, to apply; use
- 焉yānwhy? where? how?; strange; thereupon, th
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 若ruòif, supposing, assuming; similar
- 何héwhat, why, where, which, how
- 有yǒuto have, to own, to possess; to exist
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi Lieh Tzŭ
- Zhuangzi Opening Trunks
- Zhuangzi Contingencies
- Zhuangzi Robber Chê
- Zhuangzi Autumn Floods
- 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.