Mencius 7B.8
Mencius (孟子), Book 7, Part II: Jin Xin II 盡心下
孟子曰：「古之為關也，將以禦暴。今之為關也，將以為暴。」
Mencius said, 'Anciently, the establishment of the frontier-gates was to guard against violence. Nowadays, it is to exercise violence.'
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
- 古gǔold, classic, ancient
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 為wèito do, to act; to handle, to govern; to
- 關guānfrontier pass; to close, to shut; relati
- 也yěalso, too
- 將jiāngthe future, what will be; ready, prepare
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 禦yùchariot; to drive, to ride; to manage
- 暴bàoviolent, brutal, tyrannical
- 今jīnmodern, current; today, now
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi Horses' Hoofs
- Zhuangzi Kêng Sang Ch’u
- Zhuangzi Hsü Wu Kuei
- Zhuangzi The Empire
- Art of War 10.13
- Art of War 10.20
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.