Li Lou I · Passage 25 / 28 · 孟子 4A.25
Mencius 4A.25: learning the ancient Way is not for food
Mencius is not despising food. He is drawing a line: if learning the ancient Way ends in following whoever feeds you, study has already been sold off.
孟子謂樂正子曰：「子之從於子敖來，徒餔啜也。我不意子學古之道而以餔啜也。」
Mencius, addressing the disciple Yue Zheng, said to him, 'Your coming here in the train of Zi Ao was only because of the food and the drink. I could not have thought that you, having learned the doctrine of the ancients, would have acted with a view to eating and drinking.'
Priority note
A human-edited reading layer
Central question
Why does Mencius say that one who learns the ancient Way should not do so for food and drink?
Direct answer
Because food is a real need, but it cannot become the ruling motive of what one learns and whom one follows. Once appetite governs the direction, learning becomes decoration for survival.
First principle
Need may be acknowledged, but it must not reverse into mastery over the end; otherwise the tool seizes the purpose.
Why it matters
This passage serves searches around learning, appetite, ambition, and the corruption of study by immediate gain.
Further reading
What this passage is doing
This is passage 25 of 28 in Li Lou I. The cleanest entry point is "Your coming here in the train of Zi…". In context, it works as part of Mencius's argument about self-examination, disorder, and keeping the way 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
Li Lou I often approaches disorder through self-examination and the standards for keeping the way.
Related principles
Citation note
Do not misread it as contempt for earning a living. Mencius is saying that livelihood cannot become the highest reason for surrendering direction.