Jin Xin II · Passage 03 / 38 · 孟子 7B.3
Mencius 7B.3: better no Book than total credulity
Mencius warns that scripture cannot be accepted mechanically. When a reading collides with first principles of benevolence and reality.
孟子曰：「盡信《書》，則不如無《書》。吾於《武成》，取二三策而已矣。仁人無敵於天下。以至仁伐至不仁，而何其血之流杵也？」
Mencius said, 'It would be better to be without the Book of History than to give entire credit to it. In the "Completion of the War," I select two or three passages only, which I believe. "The benevolent man has no enemy under heaven. When the prince the most benevolent was engaged against him who was the most the opposite, how could the blood of the people have flowed till it floated the pestles of the mortars?"'
Priority note
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Central question
Why does Mencius say that it would be better to be without the Book than to trust it completely?
Direct answer
Because once all interpretive judgment is surrendered, a text meant to illuminate reason becomes an authority that blocks reason. Mencius wants reverence for the classic without cancelling the responsibility to discriminate.
First principle
Reliable reading honors a text while still testing it against deeper principles and reality. Authority that cannot be examined will finally suppress truth.
Why it matters
This passage serves searches around reading classics, textual authority, and Mencius on interpretation. It is a crucial anchor for the site's method, citation discipline, and AI-facing clarity.
Further reading
What this passage is doing
This is passage 3 of 38 in Jin Xin II. The cleanest entry point is "It would be better to be without the…". 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 read it as anti-classical skepticism. Mencius is not promoting casual doubt, but disciplined interpretation answerable to benevolence and fact together.