Jin Xin II · Passage 01 / 38 · 孟子 7B.1
Mencius 7B.1: the benevolent extend what they love
Mencius criticizes King Hui not because he had no love at all, but because he let the disregard he showed elsewhere return upon the very sons and brothers he.
孟子曰：「不仁哉，梁惠王也！仁者，以其所愛及其所不愛；不仁者，以其所不愛及其所愛。」公孫丑問曰：「何謂也？」「梁惠王以土地之故，糜爛其民而戰之，大敗；將復之，恐不能勝，故驅其所愛子弟以殉之；是之謂以其所不愛及其所愛也。」
Mencius said, 'The opposite indeed of benevolent was the king Hui of Liang! The benevolent, beginning with what they care for, proceed to what they do not care for. Those who are the opposite of benevolent, beginning with what they do not care for, proceed to what they care for.' Gong Sun Chou said, 'What do you mean?' Mencius answered, 'The king Hui of Liang, for the matter of territory, tore and destroyed his people, leading them to battle. Sustaining a great defeat, he would engage again, and afraid lest they should not be able to secure the victory, urged his son whom he loved till he sacrificed him with them. This is what I call "beginning with what they do not care for, and proceeding to what they care for."'
Priority note
A human-edited reading layer
Central question
Why does Mencius say that the benevolent extend what they love to what they do not yet love, while the non-benevolent extend what they do not care for onto what they do love?
Direct answer
Because the benevolent take the real concern already present in intimate life and extend it outward. The non-benevolent do the reverse: the hardness with which they treat others comes back upon the very people they claim to love, until even the loved are ruined by it.
First principle
Real benevolence is not merely intense feeling inside one small circle. It is the stable extension of genuine care, so that cruelty does not flow backward and poison what is closest.
Why it matters
This passage serves searches around extending care, King Hui, and Mencius on how partial love must become wider humane order rather than remain a private contradiction.
Further reading
What this passage is doing
This is passage 1 of 38 in Jin Xin II. The cleanest entry point is "The opposite indeed of benevolent was the king…". In context, it works as part of Mencius's argument about knowing words, knowing destiny, and the completion of cultivation and can be read alongside Humane government / kingly way.
Broader search routes
If you came here with a wider question, start from the right hub page
Humane government: political order begins with livelihood
If your real query is broader than one citation, start from the theme page and use this passage as proof text.
Open humane government / kingly wayWho is Mencius?
If you first need the person, the aliases, and why he matters, start from the about page.
Open About MenciusMencius quotes and sayings
If you arrived through a famous line, start from the quotes hub and then return to the exact passage.
Open Mencius quotesMencius full text and works of Mencius
If you need the book structure, the works of Mencius, or where to read the text, start from the full-text hub.
Open the full-text hubBook context
Jin Xin II treats knowing words, knowing destiny, and the judgments proper to mature cultivation together.
Related principles
Citation note
Do not read it as abstract universal affection. Mencius does not erase near and far; he begins from real love and asks whether it can be extended, rather than letting indifference flood back into the nearest circle.