"Mencius·Gaozi Xia"

Shun was raised in the countryside, Fu Shuo was raised in the building, Jiao Ge was raised in the fish and salt, and Guan Yi was raised in Wu. Among the scholars, Sun Shuao was raised in the sea, and Baili Xi was raised in the city.

Therefore, when Heaven is about to entrust a person with a great responsibility, he must first strain his mind, strain his muscles and bones, starve his body and skin, deplete his body, and mess up his actions. Therefore, tempting his heart and forbearance has benefited him. Can't.

People always make mistakes, and then they can change; trapped in the heart, balanced by considerations, and then act; marked by color, produced by sound, and then metaphor. If you enter, you will be unable to control the people at home, if you leave, you will be invincible to foreign patients, and the country will be permanently destroyed.

Then you realize that you are born in sorrow and die in happiness.

[Translation]

Shun was promoted from the fields, Fu Yue was promoted from building walls, Chiao Ke was promoted from selling fish and salt, Guan was promoted from Yiwu was promoted to the position of prime minister after being released from prison officials, Sun Shuao was promoted to the imperial court from the seaside, and Baili Xi was promoted to the position of prime minister from the market.

So when God is going to place a great responsibility on such a person, he must first make his heart suffer, make his muscles and bones tired, make him suffer from hunger, make his skin become thin, and make him suffer from poverty. , make what he does confusing and always unsatisfactory, and use them to make his heart alert, make his character firm, and increase the talents he does not possess.

People often make mistakes before they can correct them; they are troubled in their hearts and blocked by thoughts before they can make a difference; all this is reflected in their faces and expressed in their words, and then they are understood by others. If there are no ministers who uphold the law and wise men who can assist the monarch in a country, and there are no hostile countries and foreign invasion abroad, it will often lead to destruction.

This can explain that sorrow and suffering can make people survive, while ease and enjoyment can make people wither and die.