Jin Xin I · Passage 46 / 46 · 孟子 7A.46

Mencius 7A.46: wisdom and benevolence start with priorities

Mencius says the wise know widely yet press the urgent first, and the benevolent love widely yet make closeness to the worthy a primary task.

孟子曰：「知者無不知也，當務之為急；仁者無不愛也，急親賢之為務。堯舜之知而不遍物，急先務也。堯舜之仁不遍愛人，急親賢也。不能三年之喪，而緦小功之察：放飯流歠，而問無齒決：是之謂不知務。」

mèng zǐ yuē：「zhī zhě wú bù zhī yě， dāng wù zhī wéi jí； rén zhě wú bú ài yě， jí qīn xián zhī wéi wù。 yáo shùn zhī zhī ér bú biàn wù， jí xiān wù yě。 yáo shùn zhī rén bú biàn ài rén， jí qīn xián yě。 bù néng sān nián zhī sāng， ér sī xiǎo gōng zhī chá： fàng fàn liú chuò， ér wèn wú chǐ jué： shì zhī wèi bù zhī wù。」

Mencius said, 'The wise embrace all knowledge, but they are most earnest about what is of the greatest importance. The benevolent embrace all in their love, but what they consider of the greatest importance is to cultivate an earnest affection for the virtuous. Even the wisdom of Yao and Shun did not extend to everything, but they attended earnestly to what was important. Their benevolence did not show itself in acts of kindness to every man, but they earnestly cultivated an affection for the virtuous. Not to be able to keep the three years' mourning, and to be very particular about that of three months, or that of five months; to eat immoderately and swill down the soup, and at the same time to inquire about the precept not to tear the meat with the teeth; such things show what I call an ignorance of what is most important.

Priority note

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Central question

Why does Mencius say the wise press urgent tasks first and the benevolent make closeness to the worthy a duty?

Direct answer

Because breadth is not the same as diffusion. Real wisdom and love hold the whole in view while first strengthening what matters most and moves the rest.

First principle

Wholeness is not equal distribution. Without order of urgency, even large knowledge and love become thinned and ineffective.

Why it matters

This passage serves searches around priorities, urgency, the worthy, and first-things-first reasoning in Mencius.

What this passage is doing

This is passage 46 of 46 in Jin Xin I. The cleanest entry point is "The wise embrace all knowledge, but they are…". 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 Human nature.

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