"If you are poor, you will be immune to it, and if you are up to it, you will help the world." It comes from "Dedicated Chapters and Sentences" in Mencius. The original sentence is "If you are poor, you will be immune to it, and if you are up to it, you will help the world." It means that when you are frustrated, you should manage your own moral cultivation, and when you are successful, you should try your best to make the people benefit.

Source

It comes from Mencius' Dedicated Chapters and Sentences, which was written in the Warring States Period.

Original

Mencius said to Song Goujian, "Is it easy to swim? My child travels: people know it, but it is also noisy; "If people don't know, it's noisy."

yue: "why can you be so noisy?"

yue: "if you respect virtue and music, you can make a hullabaloo about. The homeland is poor and righteous, and it is inseparable from the Tao. Poor and unfaithful, so the scholar has his own way; The people are not disappointed because they can't get away from the Tao. Ancient people, success, ze added to the people; Unsuccessful, self-cultivation is seen in the world. If you are poor, you will be good at yourself, and if you are good, you will be good at the world. "

Notes

1. Song Goujian: Name, surname Song, name Goujian, life is unknown.

2, swim; Of lobbying. ?

3. Noisy: serene and complacent.

4. Self-satisfaction: self-satisfaction.

Translation

Mencius said to Song Goujian, "Do you like lobbying monarchs of various countries? I tell you the attitude of lobbying: people understand that I am carefree and have nothing to ask for; People don't understand, and I have nothing to ask for. "

song goujian asked, "how can you be carefree and have nothing to ask for?"

Mencius said that if you respect morality and love benevolence and righteousness, you can be carefree and have nothing to ask for. Therefore, scholars do not lose benevolence and righteousness when they are poor, and do not deviate from morality when they are successful. When you are poor, you don't lose righteousness, so scholars can maintain their own integrity; When you succeed, you will not deviate from morality, so you will not disappoint the people. Ancient people, when they were successful, gave grace to the people; When you are frustrated, cultivate your moral character and live in the world. When you are poor, you should keep your goodness alone, and when you are successful, you should keep the people in the world good. "

Viewpoint

Being poor is the only way to protect oneself, cultivate its integrity, deeply study the theory of sages, and bend and stretch a few times when you are extremely poor, in order to restore the nature endowed by the great harmony and spread its tradition for the world; Reach for the world, when the time is right, and the benevolence is familiar, you will understand the ambition of the world and benefit the people. Knowing that you can't do it, you can't do it. When there is no way in the world, it is difficult for people to do it. For those who do it, the gentleman will not forget his ambition to stop at perfection because of the change of flexion and extension. There are ups and downs in the second qi, and there are good and bad times, but a gentleman does not change his mind because of this.

Author's brief introduction

Mencius was a great philosopher, thinker, politician and educator. He once followed Confucius' example and led his disciples around the world. However, it was not accepted by all countries at that time, and he retired to write books with his disciples. According to scholars' research, he was deeply influenced by Jixia Taoism. There are seven pieces of Mencius handed down from generation to generation: the upper and lower parts of King Hui of Liang; "Gongsun Ugly" up and down; "Teng Wengong" up and down; "Li Lou" up and down; "Zhang Wan" up and down; "Gaozi" up and down; Up and down with all my heart. The starting point of his theory is the theory of good nature, which puts forward "benevolent governance" and "kingly governance" and advocates rule by virtue.