Selected 20 famous sayings of Mencius

1. Therefore, when Heaven is about to assign a great responsibility to a person, he must first strain his mind, strain his muscles and bones, starve his body and skin, and deplete his body. His behavior was disturbed by his actions, so his mind and forbearance were tempted to do what he could not do.

2. The sage uses his enlightenment to make others enlighten, but now he uses his faintness to make others enlighten.

3. If you are poor, you will be good for yourself; if you are ambitious, you will be good for the world.

4. If you ask, you will gain it; if you give it up, you will lose it; seeking is beneficial to gaining, and seeking is mine. There is a way to seek, and there is a destiny to obtain. This is because seeking is not beneficial to obtaining, and it is also seeking something outside.

5. The trouble with people lies in being a teacher.

6. The people are the most important, the country is the second most important, and the king is the least important.

7. The wife must insult herself, and then others will insult her; the family must destroy herself, and then others will destroy it; the country must destroy itself, and then others will destroy it.

8. Born in sorrow and died in happiness.

9. People do not do anything, and then they can do something.

10. Nothing is better than the eyes. The eyes cannot hide the evil. If the chest is straight, the eyes will be clear; if the chest is irregular, the eyes will be dim. Listening to his words and looking at his eyes, he looks very thin.

11. Wealth and honor cannot be licentious, poverty and lowliness cannot be moved, and power cannot bend.

12. Old people, I am old, and people are old; young people, I am young, and people are young.

13. If there are no rules, there will be no square.

14. A gentleman has three kinds of happiness, but the king of the world does not share them. Having both parents and brothers without any reason is one kind of happiness; looking up to heaven and not being ashamed of others is the second kind of happiness; being able to educate the talented people from all over the world is the third kind of happiness.

15. A benevolent person loves others, and a polite person respects others. Those who love others will always be loved by others, and those who respect others will always be respected by others.

16. The weather is not as good as the right place, and the right place is not as good as the people.

17. Do not rely on elders, do not rely on nobles, do not rely on brothers but make friends.

18. A respectful person will not insult others, and a thrifty person will not take away from others.

19. You can’t have your cake and eat it too.

20. Those who have attained the right will receive many help, while those who have lost the right will receive little help.