King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Mencius 7B.31

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

孟子曰:「人皆有所不忍,達之於其所忍,仁也;人皆有所不為,達之於其所為,義也。人能充無欲害人之心,而仁不可勝用也;人能充無穿踰之心,而義不可勝用也。人能充無受爾汝之實,無所往而不為義也。士未可以言而言,是以言餂之也;可以言而不言,是以不言餂之也,是皆穿踰之類也。」

Mencius said, 'All men have some things which they cannot bear; extend that feeling to what they can bear, and benevolence will be the result. All men have some things which they will not do; extend that feeling to the things which they do, and righteousness will be the result. If a man can give full development to the feeling which makes him shrink from injuring others, his benevolence will be more than can be called into practice. If he can give full development to the feeling which refuses to break through, or jump over, a wall, his righteousness will be more than can be called into practice. If he can give full development to the real feeling of dislike with which he receives the salutation, "Thou," "Thou," he will act righteously in all places and circumstances. When a scholar speaks what he ought not to speak, by guile of speech seeking to gain some end; and when he does not speak what he ought to speak, by guile of silence seeking to gain some end; both these cases are of a piece with breaking through a neighbour's wall.'

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.