Speaking to the Powerful

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Original Chinese text

English translation

Mencius said, “When speaking to powerful men, regard them as small and do not be dazzled by their grandeur. A hall several ren high, with rafter ends projecting several chi—these are not what I would seek even if I prospered. Nor would I seek tables laden with food and hundreds of concubines, or lavish revelry, drinking, hunting, and a thousand chariots following behind me. Those things belong to them; what belongs to me is the institutions of the ancients. Why should I fear them?”

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