2A.2  Gongsun Chou¹ asked: May I venture to ask, sir, how you maintain an unperturbed mind and how Gaozi maintains an unperturbed mind. May I be told?

Mengzi answered: Gaozi said, “What is not attained in words is not to be sought in the mind, and what is not attained in the mind is not to be sought in the vital force.” It is all right to say that what is not attained in the mind is not to be sought in the vital force, but it is not all right to say that what is not attained in words is not to be sought in the mind. The will is the leader of the vital force, and the vital force pervades and animates the body. The will is the highest; the vital force comes next. Therefore I say, “Hold the will firm and never do violence to the vital force.”

曰：「敢問夫子之不動心，與告子之不動心，可得聞與？」「告子曰：『不得於言，勿求於心；不得於心，勿求於氣。』不得於心，勿求於氣，可；不得於言，勿求於心，不可。夫志，氣之帥也；氣，體之充也。夫志至焉，氣次焉。故曰：『持其志，無暴其氣。』」

Chou said: You said that the will is the highest and that the vital force comes next. But you also say to hold the will firm and never to do violence to the vital force. Why?

Mengzi said: If the will is concentrated, the vital force [will follow it] and become active. If the vital force is concentrated, the will [will follow it] and become active. For instance, here is a case of a man falling or running. It is his vital force that is active, and yet it causes his mind to be active too.

「既曰『志至焉，氣次焉』，又曰『持其志無暴其氣』者，何也？」曰：「志壹則動氣，氣壹則動志也。今夫蹶者趨者，是氣也，而反動其心。」

Chou asked: May I venture to ask, sir, in what you are strong?

Mengzi replied: I understand words. And I am skillful in nourishing my strong, moving power.

May I ask what is meant by the strong, moving power?

It is difficult to describe. As power, it is exceedingly great and exceedingly strong. If nourished by uprightness and not injured, it will fill up all between heaven and earth. As power, it is accompanied by righteousness and the Way. Without them, it will be devoid of nourishment. It is produced by the accumulation of righteous deeds but is not obtained by incidental acts of righteousness. When one’s conduct is not satisfactory to his own mind, then one will be devoid of nourishment. I therefore said that Gaozi never understood righteousness because he made it something external.

「敢問夫子惡乎長？」曰：「我知言，我善養吾浩然之氣。」「敢問何謂浩然之氣？」曰：「難言也。其為氣也，至大至剛，以直養而無害，則塞于天地之閒。其為氣也，配義與道；無是，餒也。是集義所生者，非義襲而取之也。行有不慊於心，則餒矣。我故曰，告子未嘗知義，以其外之也。

Always be doing something without expectation. Let the mind not forget its objective, but let there be no artificial effort to help it grow. Do not be like the man of Song. There was a man of Song who was sorry that his corn was not growing, and so he pulled it up. Having been tired out he went home and said to his people, “I am all tired. I have helped the corn to grow.” When his son ran to look at it, the corn had already withered.

必有事焉而勿正，心勿忘，勿助長也。無若宋人然：宋人有閔其苗之不長而揠之者，芒芒然歸。謂其人曰：『今日病矣，予助苗長矣。』其子趨而往視之，苗則槁矣。」

2A.3  Mengzi said: A ruler who uses force to make a pretense at humanity is a despot. Such a despot requires a large kingdom. A ruler who practices humanity with virtue is a true king. To become a true king does not depend on a large kingdom. Tang became so with only seventy li, and King Wen with only a hundred. When force is used to overcome people, they do not submit willingly but only because they have not sufficient strength to resist. But when virtue is used to overcome people, they are pleased in their hearts and sincerely submit, as the seventy disciples submitted to Master Kong. The Book of Odes says:

From the west, from the east,
From the south, from the north,
None wanted to resist.²

This is what is meant.

孟子曰：「以力假仁者霸，霸必有大國，以德行仁者王，王不待大。湯以七十里，文王以百里。以力服人者，非心服也，力不贍也；以德服人者，中心悅而誠服也，如七十子之服孔子也。《詩》云：『自西自東，自南自北，無思不服。』此之謂也。」

2A.5  Mengzi said: If a ruler honors the worthy and employs the competent so that offices are occupied by the wisest, then scholars throughout the world will be delighted to stand in his court. If in the city he levies a rent but does not tax the goods, or enforces certain regulations but does not levy a rent, then traders throughout the world will be delighted to store goods in his city. If at his frontier passes there will be inspection but no tax, then travelers throughout the world will be delighted to travel on his highways. If farmers are required to give their mutual aid to cultivate the public field but not required to pay tax, then all farmers throughout the world will be delighted to farm in his land. If there is no fine for the idler or the family that fails to meet a certain quota of cloth products, then all people throughout the world will be delighted to become his subjects.

孟子曰：「尊賢使能，俊傑在位，則天下之士皆悅而願立於其朝矣。市廛而不征，法而不廛，則天下之商皆悅而願藏於其市矣。關譏而不征，則天下之旅皆悅而願出於其路矣。耕者助而不稅，則天下之農皆悅而願耕於其野矣。廛無夫里之布，則天下之民皆悅而願為之氓矣。

If a ruler can truly practice these five things, then the people in the neighboring states will look up to him as a parent. Ever since there has been mankind, none has succeeded in leading children to attack their parents. Thus such a ruler will have no enemy anywhere in the world, and having no enemy in the world, he will be an official appointed by Heaven. There has never been such a person who did not become the true king of the empire.

信能行此五者，則鄰國之民仰之若父母矣。率其子弟，攻其父母，自生民以來，未有能濟者也。如此，則無敵於天下。無敵於天下者，天吏也。然而不王者，未之有也。」

2A.6  Mengzi said: All men have the mind which cannot bear [to see the suffering of] others. The ancient kings had this mind and therefore they had a government that could not bear to see the suffering of the people. When a government that cannot bear to see the suffering of the people is conducted from a mind that cannot bear to see the suffering of others, the government of the empire will be as easy as making something go round in the palm.

孟子曰：「人皆有不忍人之心。先王有不忍人之心，斯有不忍人之政矣。以不忍人之心，行不忍人之政，治天下可運之掌上。

When I say that all men have the mind which cannot bear to see the suffering of others, my meaning may be illustrated thus: Now, when men suddenly see a child about to fall into a well, they all have a feeling of alarm and distress, not to gain friendship with the child’s parents, nor to seek the praise of their neighbors and friends, nor because they dislike the reputation [of lack of humanity if they did not rescue the child]. From such a case, we see that a man without the feeling of commiseration is not a man; a man without the feeling of shame and dislike is not a man; a man without the feeling of deference and compliance is not a man; and a man without the feeling of right and wrong is not a man.

所以謂人皆有不忍人之心者，今人乍見孺子將入於井，皆有怵惕惻隱之心。非所以內交於孺子之父母也，非所以要譽於鄉黨朋友也，非惡其聲而然也。由是觀之，無惻隱之心，非人也；無羞惡之心，非人也；無辭讓之心，非人也；無是非之心，非人也。

The feeling of commiseration is the beginning of humanity; the feeling of shame and dislike is the beginning of righteousness; the feeling of deference and compliance is the beginning of propriety; and the feeling of right and wrong is the beginning of wisdom.

惻隱之心，仁之端也；羞惡之心，義之端也；辭讓之心，禮之端也；是非之心，智之端也。

Men have these Four Beginnings³ just as they have their four limbs. Having these Four Beginnings, but saying that they cannot develop them is to destroy themselves. When they say that their ruler cannot develop them, they are destroying their ruler. If anyone with these Four Beginnings in him knows how to give them the fullest extension and development, the result will be like fire beginning to burn or a spring beginning to shoot forth. When they are fully developed, they will be sufficient to protect all people within the four seas (the world). If they are not developed, they will not be sufficient even to serve one’s parents.

人之有是四端也，猶其有四體也。有是四端而自謂不能者，自賊者也；謂其君不能者，賊其君者也。凡有四端於我者，知皆擴而充之矣，若火之始然，泉之始達。苟能充之，足以保四海；苟不充之，不足以事父母。」