The feeling of compassion is the sprout of benevolence; shame, of righteousness; deference, of propriety; right and wrong, 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。
Philosophers
Mencius
Born c. 372 BC in China's Warring States era, Mencius held that human nature is inherently good. He championed benevolent rule rooted in the people's welfare. His writings became one of Confucianism's Four Books.
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Mencius's Other Quotes
Those who fully develop their mind know their nature. Knowing their nature, they know Heaven.
Favorable timing is less important than geographical advantage, and that is less important than unity among people.
The people are most important; the altars of state come next; the ruler is least important.
The trouble with people is that they love playing teacher to others.
We survive through adversity and perish through comfort.
Related Quotes
All human beings by nature desire to know.
-- Aristotle
Man is by nature a political animal.
-- Aristotle
The blank slate doctrine, holding that the human mind has no inherent structure and is shaped entirely by experience, is itself a kind of myth — a politically convenient story rather than a scientific finding.
-- Steven Pinker