“The superior man has three things in which he delights, and to be ruler over the kingdom is not one of them. That his father and mother are both alive, and that the condition of his brothers affords no cause for anxiety;—this is one delight. That, when looking up, he has no occasion for shame before Heaven, and, below, he has no occasion to blush before men;—this is a second delight. That he can get from the whole kingdom the most talented individuals, and teach and nourish them;—this is the third delight.”

— Mencius

7A:20, as translated by James Legge in The Chinese Classics, Vol. II (1861), p. 335
The Mencius

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Mencius 18

Chinese philosopher -372–-289 BC

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Mencius 18

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