Mencius 7B.29

Mencius (孟子), Book 7, Part II: Jin Xin II 盡心下

盆成括仕於齊。孟子曰：「死矣盆成括！」盆成括見殺。門人問曰：「夫子何以知其將見殺？」曰：「其為人也小有才，未聞君子之大道也，則足以殺其軀而已矣。」

Pen Cheng Kuo having obtained an official situation in Qi, Mencius said, 'He is a dead man, that Pen Cheng Kuo!'

Pen Cheng Kuo being put to death, the disciples asked, saying, 'How did you know, Master, that he would meet with death?'

Mencius replied, 'He was a man, who had a little ability, but had not learned the great doctrines of the superior man. He was just qualified to bring death upon himself, but for nothing more.'

James Legge (1861), The Works of Mencius, The Chinese Classics vol. 2 (1861; 2nd ed. 1895); romanization modernized on Wikisource — public domain.

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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.