Mencius 7B.13
Mencius (孟子), Book 7, Part II: Jin Xin II 盡心下
孟子曰：「不仁而得國者，有之矣；不仁而得天下，未之有也。」
Mencius said, 'There are instances of individuals without benevolence, who have got possession of a single State, but there has been no instance of the throne's being got by one without benevolence.'
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
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 仁rénbenevolent, humane, kind
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 得déto obtain, to get, to acquire; suitable,
- 國guócountry, nation, state; national
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 有yǒuto have, to own, to possess; to exist
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 矣yǐparticle of completed action
- 天tiānsky, heaven; god, celestial
- 下xiàbelow, underneath; inferior; to bring do
- 未wèinot yet; 8th terrestrial branch
- 也yěalso, too
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi Opening Trunks
- Zhuangzi Autumn Floods
- The Great Learning Passage 13
- Zhuangzi On Letting Alone
- Art of War 11.6
- Mencius 2A.2
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.