Human Nature and the Good Heart
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English translation
Original Chinese text
公都子曰:“告子曰:‘性无善无不善也。’或曰:‘性可以为善,可以为不善,是故文武兴则民好善,幽厉兴则民好暴。’或曰:‘有性善,有性不善,是故以尧为君而有象,以瞽瞍为父而有舜,以纣为兄之子且以为君,而有微子启、王子比干。’今曰‘性善’,然则彼皆非欤?”
English translation
Gongduzi said, “Gaozi holds that human nature is neither good nor not good. Some say it can develop toward goodness or toward its opposite: when Kings Wen and Wu ruled, people favored goodness; under Kings You and Li, they favored violence. Others say some people are born good and some are born not good. They point out that when Yao was ruler there was Xiang, who was not virtuous; Shun had Gu Sou as his father; and even though Zhou was the son of an elder brother and became ruler, there were still worthy men such as Weizi Qi and Prince Bigan. You now say human nature is good. Does that mean all these other views are wrong?”
Original Chinese text
孟子曰:“乃若其情则可以为善矣,乃所谓善也。若夫为不善,非才之罪也。恻隐之心,人皆有之;羞恶之心,人皆有之;恭敬之心,人皆有之;是非之心,人皆有之。恻隐之心,仁也;羞恶之心,义也;恭敬之心,礼也;是非之心,智也。仁义礼智,非由外铄我也,我固有之也,弗思耳矣。故曰:求则得之,舍则失之。或相倍蓰而无算者,不能尽其才者也。《诗》曰:‘天生蒸民,有物有则。民之秉彝,好是懿德。’孔子曰:‘为此诗者,其知道乎!故有物必有则,民之秉彝也,故好是懿德。’”
English translation
Mencius said, “By their inborn dispositions, people can become good; that is what I mean by goodness. When people do wrong, it is not the fault of their natural capacities. Everyone has a heart of compassion, a heart of shame and dislike, a heart of reverence, and a heart that distinguishes right from wrong. Compassion is benevolence; shame and dislike are righteousness; reverence is ritual; and distinguishing right from wrong is wisdom. Benevolence, righteousness, ritual, and wisdom are not poured into us from outside; we already possess them, though we fail to reflect on them. Thus it is said: seek and you will find; abandon and you will lose. Some people differ from others many times over, beyond calculation, because they do not fully develop their natural capacities. The Book of Songs says, ‘Heaven gave birth to the many people; for every thing there is a pattern. The people hold fast to their constant nature and love this excellent virtue.’ Confucius said, ‘The one who composed this poem must have understood the Way! For every thing there is a pattern; this is what the people hold in common, and therefore they love excellent virtue.’”