Why Speak of Gain?

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English translation

Original Chinese text

English translation

Mencius met King Hui of Liang. The king asked, ‘Elder sir, you have come a thousand li, undeterred by the distance. Do you have something that will benefit my state?’

Original Chinese text

English translation

Mencius replied, ‘Your Majesty, why begin with gain? Benevolence and what is right should be enough.’

Original Chinese text

English translation

If the king asks how his state can profit, his high ministers will ask how their houses and fiefs can profit, and the lower-ranking officers and commoners how they themselves can profit. When every rank competes for gain, the state is endangered.

Original Chinese text

English translation

In a state of ten thousand war chariots, it is a house with a thousand chariots that would kill its ruler; in a state of a thousand, it is a house with a hundred. A thousand out of ten thousand, or a hundred out of a thousand, is no small share.

Original Chinese text

English translation

If they put what is right after gain, they will not be satisfied until they usurp their ruler's position.

Original Chinese text

English translation

No one who is benevolent abandons their close kin; no one who acts rightly neglects their ruler. Your Majesty, speak of benevolence and what is right. Why speak of gain?

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