Gong Sun Chou II · Passage 08 / 14 · 孟子 2B.8

Mencius 2B.8: a just cause is not a blank check

Asked whether Yan may be attacked, Mencius separates moral judgment from rightful authority: a punishable wrong is not an open license for any state to invade.

沈同以其私問曰：「燕可伐與？」孟子曰：「可。子噲不得與人燕，子之不得受燕於子噲。有仕於此，而子悅之，不告於王，而私與之吾子之祿爵；夫士也，亦無王命而私受之於子，則可乎？何以異於是？」齊人伐燕。或問曰：「勸齊伐燕，有諸？」曰：「未也。沈同問：『燕可伐與？』吾應之曰：『可。』彼然而伐之也。彼如曰：『孰可以伐之？』則將應之曰：『為天吏則可以伐之。』今有殺人者，或問之曰：『人可殺與？』則將應之曰：『可。』彼如曰：『孰可以殺之？』則將應之曰：『為士師則可以殺之。』今以燕伐燕，何為勸之哉？」

shěn tóng yǐ qí sī wèn yuē：「yàn kě fá yǔ？」 mèng zǐ yuē：「kě。 zǐ kuài bù dé yǔ rén yàn， zǐ zhī bù dé shòu yàn wū zǐ kuài。 yǒu shì wū cǐ， ér zǐ yuè zhī， bú gào wū wáng， ér sī yǔ zhī wú zǐ zhī lù jué； fū shì yě， yì wú wáng mìng ér sī shòu zhī wū zǐ， zé kě hū？ hé yǐ yì wū shì？」 qí rén fá yàn。 huò wèn yuē：「quàn qí fá yàn， yǒu zhū？」 yuē：「wèi yě。 shěn tóng wèn：『yàn kě fá yǔ？』 wú yīng zhī yuē：『kě。』 bǐ rán ér fá zhī yě。 bǐ rú yuē：『shú kě yǐ fá zhī？』 zé jiāng yīng zhī yuē：『wéi tiān lì zé kě yǐ fá zhī。』 jīn yǒu shā rén zhě， huò wèn zhī yuē：『rén kě shā yǔ？』 zé jiāng yīng zhī yuē：『kě。』 bǐ rú yuē：『shú kě yǐ shā zhī？』 zé jiāng yīng zhī yuē：『wéi shì shī zé kě yǐ shā zhī。』 jīn yǐ yàn fá yàn， hé wéi quàn zhī zāi？」

Shen Tong, on his own impulse, asked Mencius, saying, 'May Yan be smitten?' Mencius replied, 'It may. Zi Kuai had no right to give Yan to another man, and Zi Zhi had no right to receive Yan from Zi Kuai. Suppose there were an officer here, with whom you, Sir, were pleased, and that, without informing the king, you were privately to give to him your salary and rank; and suppose that this officer, also without the king's orders, were privately to receive them from you - would such a transaction be allowable? And where is the difference between the case of Yan and this?' The people of Qi smote Yan. Some one asked Mencius, saying, 'Is it really the case that you advised Qi to smite Yan?' He replied, 'No. Shen Tong asked me whether Yan might be smitten, and I answered him, "It may." They accordingly went and smote it. If he had asked me, "Who may smite it?" I would have answered him, "He who is the minister of Heaven may smite it." Suppose the case of a murderer, and that one asks me, "May this man be put to death?" I will answer him, "He may." If he ask me, "Who may put him to death?" I will answer him, "The chief criminal judge may put him to death." But now with one Yan to smite another Yan - how should I have advised this?'

Priority note

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Central question

Why does Mencius say Yan may be attacked yet deny that he urged Qi to attack it?

Direct answer

Because he is judging whether Yan's political condition is liable to punishment, not granting any opportunistic power the authority to carry it out. A just cause and a rightful agent are separate questions.

First principle

To say an act deserves punishment is not yet to say who may punish it. Once those questions collapse into one, justice becomes cover for expansion.

Why it matters

This passage serves searches around just war, legitimacy, intervention, and the political limits of righteous punishment.

What this passage is doing

This is passage 8 of 14 in Gong Sun Chou II. The cleanest entry point is "May Yan be smitten". In context, it works as part of Mencius's argument about flood-like qi, moral judgment, and public responsibility and can be read alongside Humane government / kingly way.

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