When Mencius was asked his opinion as to
the conduct of two individuals, one of whom
had fled, and the other had remained at home
when their house was attacked by robbers, and
the person who had taken flight was severely
condemned by the questioner, Mencius went
into all the circumstances of the two cases, and
declared that each had been influenced by the
same prudential considerations, and that each
would have acted as the other did had their
positions been changed.

Mencius relates what follows, and it is
characteristic of the manners and customs of his
time.

"There was a man of Tsi who had a legitimate
wife and a concubine, who dwelt together
in his house.

"Whenever the husband went out he
returned gorged with wine and food, and when
his wife inquired where he had been eating and
drinking, he answered, 'With the rich and the
noble.'

"The wife said to the concubine, 'Whenever
my husband goes out he returns satiated with
wine and food. If I ask him with whom he eats
and drinks, he answers, "With the rich and the
noble." Now, never has one illustrious person
visited our abode. I will secretly learn where
he goes.'

"So she rose early, and followed her husband
to the places he visited. He passed through
the locality, but not a soul saluted or spoke to
him. Reaching the western suburb among the
tombs was one who devoured the remains of the
ancestral sacrifices, but without being satisfied.
He went to other places and did the same, and
thus he habitually gratified his appetite.

"His lawful wife returned home, and said to
the concubine, 'We placed our future hopes in
our husband, and lo, what are we doing?' She
told the concubine what she had seen, and they
wept together in the women's apartment (over
the profligacy of the man). He returned—not
knowing what had taken place—with a gay
countenance, boasting of his good fortune to
the wife and the concubine.

"Such are the means," says the sage, "by
which many pursue wealth and honour, profits
and advancement. How few those are who
blush and moan for this misconduct!"

"Who by a tortuous example has ever made
men straightforward and sincere? Who by
dishonouring himself can render others honourable?
Holy men do not necessarily resemble
one another; some seek solitude and retirement;
others exhibit themselves, and approach
the neighbourhood of authority; some are
exiled, others remain at home. The object of
all perfect men is to be pure, free from stains,
and this alone."

Mencius thus describes a good public
functionary: "Lien did not blush to serve a worthless
prince, nor disdain a petty magistracy. But
in the exercise of his functions he drew forth
sages from their obscurity, and himself walked
in the straight path. If he was disesteemed or
neglected he felt no resentment; even when
suffering from want and misery he neither
complained nor was afflicted. If he dwelt in a
village he was always satisfied, had a serene
look, and sought no other abode. His language
was, 'You are you, and I am I' (i.e. we all
pursue our own purposes). 'You approach me
with naked arms, your bodies unclad (it is
unbecoming), but to me it is no defilement.' The
reproof thus conveyed has given courage to the
pusillanimous, and the cold and insensible have
become earnest and affectionate."

He gave the following description of one of
the ancient governments of China (Khi):

"The people were taxed to the amount of one-
ninth of their earnings, the public functionaries
were regularly paid, the frontiers were well
guarded, but no (import) duties were levied.
There was no interference with the fisheries in
the lakes and ponds, criminals were not punished
in the presence of their wives and children.
Widowers, widows, and those who had lost their
parents, were under the special charge of the
state." And he quotes the verse from the Book
of Odes:

     Riches and power are blessings but to those
     Who soothe the widow's and the orphan's woes.

Upon which the king exclaimed, "What
admirable words!" And the sage replied, "O
king! if you find them admirable, why do you
not practise them?"

"Some labour with their intellect, some with
their hands. Those who labour with their
intellect govern men, those who labour with their
hands are governed by men. Those who are
governed by men produce the food of man, and
those who govern men have their food produced
by men."

"Not by superiority of age or honour, not by
the virtues and power of your brother, is friendship
to be secured. Friendship must be allied
with virtue. Virtue is its only bond.

"The virtuous literate of a village spontaneously
links himself in friendship with the
(other) virtuous literates of that village; the
virtuous literate of a kingdom allies himself
spontaneously with the virtuous literates of that
kingdom, the virtuous literate of an empire with
the virtuous literates of that empire. But this
is not enough; he must mount higher; he must
study the works of the ancient sages, recite their
verses, read and explain their books, and he
must make himself acquainted with these sages
to accomplish this. He must examine the era
in which they lived (to learn what they
accomplished). It is by ascending ever higher that the
noblest friendships are accomplished."

When the King of Tsi consulted Mencius as
to the mutual duties of princes and ministers,
he replied:

"If the prince commit great faults, the
minister should remonstrate. If he repeat them,
if he turn a deaf ear to these representations,
the minister should replace him, and deprive him
of his power."