A quotation from Mencius
Quotation
If you let people follow their feelings, they will be able to do good. That is what I mean by saying human nature is good.
Mencius
Human nature is good. Like water flows downhill, the heart flows toward compassion. Nurture it, and virtue grows.
Mencius was Confucius' most important successor. He argued that human nature is good at its root: anyone who sees a child about to fall into a well will feel alarm and compassion, not because of any reward but because that is what it means to be human. Evil comes not from our nature but from neglect and bad conditions, the way fertile soil produces weeds when unattended. He traveled the Warring States like Confucius before him, advising rulers that a king who loses the mandate of heaven through cruelty can rightfully be overthrown.
Understanding This Quotation
What does Mencius mean by this quotation?
Human nature is good. Like water flows downhill, the heart flows toward compassion. Nurture it, and virtue grows. Mencius was Confucius' most important successor. He argued that human nature is good at its root: anyone who sees a child about to fall into a well will feel alarm and compassion, not because of any reward but because th…