Gao Zi II · Passage 14 / 16 · 孟子 6B.14

Mencius 6B.14: three ways to enter and leave office

Mencius distinguishes three levels of accepting office and leaving it, so a scholar can tell whether he stays to carry the Way, honor respect.

陳子曰：「古之君子何如則仕？」孟子曰：「所就三，所去三。迎之致敬以有禮，言將行其言也，則就之；禮貌未衰，言弗行也，則去之。其次，雖未行其言也，迎之致敬以有禮，則就之；禮貌衰，則去之。其下，朝不食，夕不食，饑餓不能出門戶；君聞之，曰：『吾大者不能行其道，又不能從其言也，使饑餓於我土地，吾恥之。』周之，亦可受也，免死而已矣。」

chén zǐ yuē：「gǔ zhī jūn zǐ hé rú zé shì？」 mèng zǐ yuē：「suǒ jiù sān， suǒ qù sān。 yíng zhī zhì jìng yǐ yǒu lǐ， yán jiāng xíng qí yán yě， zé jiù zhī； lǐ mào wèi shuāi， yán fú xíng yě， zé qù zhī。 qí cì， suī wèi xíng qí yán yě， yíng zhī zhì jìng yǐ yǒu lǐ， zé jiù zhī； lǐ mào shuāi， zé qù zhī。 qí xià， cháo bù shí， xī bù shí， jī è bù néng chū mén hù； jūn wén zhī， yuē：『wú dà zhě bù néng xíng qí dào， yòu bù néng cóng qí yán yě， shǐ jī è wū wǒ tǔ dì， wú chǐ zhī。』 zhōu zhī， yì kě shòu yě， miǎn sǐ ér yǐ yǐ。」

The disciple Chen said, 'What were the principles on which superior men of old took office?' Mencius replied, 'There were three cases in which they accepted office, and three in which they left it. If received with the utmost respect and all polite observances, and they could say to themselves that the prince would carry their words into practice, then they took office with him. Afterwards, although there might be no remission in the polite demeanour of the prince, if their words were not carried into practice, they would leave him. The second case was that in which, though the prince could not be expected at once to carry their words into practice, yet being received by him with the utmost respect, they took office with him. But afterwards, if there was a remission in his polite demeanour, they would leave him. The last case was that of the superior man who had nothing to eat, either morning or evening, and was so famished that he could not move out of his door. If the prince, on hearing of his state, said, "I must fail in the great point, that of carrying his doctrines into practice, neither am I able to follow his words, but I am ashamed to allow him to die of want in my country;" the assistance offered in such a case might be received, but not beyond what was sufficient to avert death.'

Priority note

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Central question

Why does Mencius divide both entering and leaving office into three cases?

Direct answer

Because taking office is not only about whether one remains, but on what basis one remains. The highest case is respect joined to the real possibility of carrying the Way; the lowest is aid accepted only to avoid death.

First principle

Actions with the same outer form may rest on very different inner grounds. Without that distinction, convenience easily disguises itself as principle.

Why it matters

This passage serves searches around office, departure, standards, and why Mencius gives a graded ethics of public vocation.

What this passage is doing

This is passage 14 of 16 in Gao Zi II. The cleanest entry point is "What were the principles on which superior men…". In context, it works as part of Mencius's argument about nourishing the heart, judgment, and the formation of character and can be read alongside Flood-like qi, Human nature.

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