Jin Xin I · Passage 32 / 46 · 孟子 7A.32
Mencius 7A.32: why the superior man is not idle when he eats
Pressed with the line about not eating the bread of idleness, Mencius answers that the superior man's labor lies in settling rulers and educating the young.
公孫丑曰：「《詩》曰：『不素餐兮。』君子之不耕而食，何也？」孟子曰：「君子居是國也，其君用之，則安富尊榮；其子弟從之，則孝弟忠信。『不素餐兮』，孰大於是？」
Gong Sun Chou said, 'It is said, in the Book of Poetry, "He will not eat the bread of idleness!" How is it that we see superior men eating without labouring?' Mencius replied, 'When a superior man resides in a country, if its sovereign employ his counsels, he comes to tranquillity, wealth and glory. If the young in it follow his instructions, they become filial, obedient to their elders, true-hearted, and faithful. What greater example can there be than this of not eating the bread of idleness?'
Priority note
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Central question
Why does Mencius think the superior man is not eating idly even when he does not farm?
Direct answer
Because his contribution is not limited to visible material output. If his counsel steadies the state and his teaching forms the young in trust and filial order, he is not merely consuming what others made.
First principle
Not every socially necessary kind of work takes the form of an object. Ordering judgment, preserving standards, and cultivating character are also forms of production.
Why it matters
This passage serves searches around idleness, scholars, and intellectual labor in Mencius, while deepening the site's explanation of moral and political division of labor.
Further reading
What this passage is doing
This is passage 32 of 46 in Jin Xin I. The cleanest entry point is "It is said, in the Book of Poetry,…". In context, it works as part of Mencius's argument about exhausting the heart, sincerity, and preserving the original heart and can be read alongside Humane government / kingly way.
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Jin Xin I centers on exhausting the heart, sincerity, and preserving the capacities already given in the human heart.
Related principles
Citation note
Do not treat it as a defense of parasitism. Mencius is not exempting the superior man from contribution; he is demanding a contribution that genuinely settles rule and educates conduct.