Choosing Righteousness Over Life

Contents

Text

English translation

Original Chinese text

English translation

Mencius said, “Fish is something I desire, and bear’s paw is also something I desire. If I cannot have both, I give up fish and choose bear’s paw. I desire life, and I also desire righteousness; if I cannot have both, I give up life and choose righteousness. I desire life, but there is something I desire more than life, so I will not seek life by improper means. I dislike death, but there is something I dislike more than death, so there are dangers I will not avoid. If people desired nothing more than life, why would they not use every means to stay alive? If they feared nothing more than death, why would they not do anything to escape danger? Yet there are ways to preserve life that people refuse, and ways to avoid danger that they do not take. Thus there is something people desire more than life and something they detest more than death. This heart is not found only in the worthy; everyone has it, and the worthy are simply able not to lose it.”

Original Chinese text

English translation

Mencius continued, “A basket of food and a bowl of soup mean life if received and death if refused. Yet a passerby will not accept them if they are offered with contempt, and even a beggar rejects food kicked toward him. Some people, however, accept a great stipend without considering ritual or righteousness. What does such wealth add to me? Is it for luxurious houses, the support of wives and concubines, or the gratitude of poor acquaintances? What one once refused even at the cost of life, one now accepts for a fine house, to provide for one’s wives and concubines, or to win gratitude. Can this conduct not be stopped? This is what it means to lose one’s original heart.”

Feedback