“He who outrages benevolence is called a ruffian: he who outrages righteousness is called a villain.”

— Mencius

1B:8, In relation to righteousness and the overthrow of the tyrannous King Zhou of Shang, as translated in China (1904) by Sir Robert Kennaway Douglas, p. 8
Variant translations:
The ruffian and the villain we call a mere fellow. I have heard of killing the fellow Chou; I have not heard of killing a king.
As translated in Free China Review, Vol. 5 (1955)
I have merely heard of killing a villain Zhou, but I have not heard of murdering the ruler.
1B:8 as translated by Wing-tsit Chan in A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy (1963), p. 78
The Mencius
Context: He who outrages benevolence is called a ruffian: he who outrages righteousness is called a villain. I have heard of the cutting off of the villain Chow, but I have not heard of the putting of a ruler to death.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Sept. 14, 2021. History

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Mencius18

Chinese philosopher -372–-289 BC

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According to a Snopes message board http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=278, the earliest known reference dates to the late 1990s. <br class="br">Misattributed