Jin Xin II · Passage 19 / 38 · 孟子 7B.19
Mencius 7B.19: why say scholars suffer from many
Mencius tells Mo Qi that scholars are exposed to the attacks of public talk.
貉稽曰：「稽大不理於口。」孟子曰：「無傷也。士憎茲多口。《詩》云：『憂心悄悄，慍于群小』，孔子也。『肆不殄厥慍，亦不隕厥問』，文王也。」
Mo Qi said, 'Greatly am I from anything to depend upon from the mouths of men.' Mencius observed, 'There is no harm in that. Scholars are more exposed than others to suffer from the mouths of men. It is said, in the Book of Poetry, "My heart is disquieted and grieved, I am hated by the crowd of mean creatures." This might have been said by Confucius. And again, "Though he did not remove their wrath, He did not let fall his own fame." This might be said of king Wen.'
Priority note
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Central question
Why does Mencius say scholars suffer from many hostile mouths, yet add that there is no real harm in it?
Direct answer
Because public attack is part of the cost of serious speech. The real harm begins only when one sacrifices the work itself, or one's standing in it, in order to quiet the crowd.
First principle
Anyone who speaks with seriousness must expect external noise. Stability means not allowing that noise to reset the measure by which one lives and learns.
Why it matters
This passage serves searches around slander, blame, and public speech in Mencius, while strengthening the site's account of the cost of principled counsel.
Further reading
What this passage is doing
This is passage 19 of 38 in Jin Xin II. The cleanest entry point is "Greatly am I from anything to depend upon…". 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.
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Jin Xin II treats knowing words, knowing destiny, and the judgments proper to mature cultivation together.
Related principles
Citation note
Do not turn it into advice to ignore every criticism. Mencius is distinguishing between other people's anger and the far more serious loss of one's own standard.