Winning Through Virtue
Text
English translation
Original Chinese text
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。」
English translation
Mencius said: 'One who uses force while borrowing the name of benevolence becomes a hegemon; to become a hegemon, one must have a large state. One who uses virtue to practice benevolence becomes a true king; to become a true king, one need not wait until the state is large. Tang did it with seventy li, and King Wen with a hundred li. Those who make people submit by force do not win their hearts' submission; it is only that their strength is insufficient. Those who make people submit by virtue win their hearts' joyful and sincere submission, as the seventy disciples submitted to Confucius. The Book of Songs says: 'From west and east, from south and north, there is no one who does not submit.' This is what it means.'