Mencius in 30 Pages
Four Sprouts
Is the good in you a full-grown tree, or four sprouts just breaking the soil?
Original
由是觀之，無惻隱之心，非人也；無羞惡之心，非人也；無辭讓之心，非人也；無是非之心，非人也。惻隱之心，仁之端也；羞惡之心，義之端也；辭讓之心，禮之端也；是非之心，智之端也。人之有是四端也，猶其有四體也。……凡有四端於我者，知皆擴而充之矣，若火之始然，泉之始達。苟能充之，足以保四海；苟不充之，不足以事父母。In plain words
Seen this way: without a heart of compassion, one is not human; without a sense of shame, not human; without a heart that defers, not human; without a sense of right and wrong, not human. Compassion is the sprout of humaneness; shame, the sprout of rightness; deference, the sprout of ritual propriety; the sense of right and wrong, the sprout of wisdom. People have these four sprouts just as they have four limbs. ... Whoever has these four within and knows to enlarge and fill them out will be like a fire just catching, a spring just breaking through. Fill them out, and you can protect the whole world. Fail to, and you cannot even serve your parents.
Key words
- 端duānA beginning; a sprout just breaking the soil.
- 擴而充之kuò ér chōng zhīTo enlarge and fill out; to grow the sprout.
- 四體sì tǐThe four limbs. Everyone has the sprouts as they have arms and legs.
Reading it step by step
On the last page we stood by the well and saw a heart that cannot bear others' suffering. Mencius goes on: there isn't just one such heart. There are four, and he calls them the four sprouts.
First: a sprout is a beginning, not a tree. Compassion, shame, deference, and a sense of right and wrong are four shoots pushing up from the heart, like four arrows, each springing out when its situation comes. You ache when someone suffers. You blush when you've done wrong. You want to step aside for an elder. You want to get right and wrong straight. Mencius says we have these four as we have four limbs. But he does not say we are born with humaneness, rightness, ritual propriety and wisdom. Those four virtues are what the sprouts become when they grow, and they are what we call good. The sprouts are only the start.
compassion
sprout
shame
sprout
deference
sprout
right & wrong
sprout
Four sprouts in the heart; grown out, they become four virtues.
Second: starting is not finishing. Wanting to give up your seat and actually standing up are separated by one movement. For the Confucians, goodness always shows up between people: toward parents it's filial care, toward siblings it's warmth, toward a superior it's loyalty, toward friends it's trust. Imagine you're Robinson Crusoe. Today you bandage a wounded pigeon: are you good? Tomorrow there's no food and you roast it: are you bad? Alone, the only question is whether you're alive. Only with other people does good and bad come in. The good is done, and it is done in relationships.
Third: enlarge and fill them out, like a fire catching or a spring breaking through. Both images move: fire climbs, water runs. Grow the sprouts and you can care for the whole world; neglect them and you can't even look after your parents. That's a stern line. The sprouts don't grow on their own. Left alone, they stall, and can wither.
Back to today. Where are your four sprouts? A colleague is torn apart in a meeting and you feel uneasy: compassion. You accepted something you shouldn't have and can't sleep: shame. You want to cut in and hold back: deference. You notice the numbers in a report don't add up: right and wrong. Each shoot is a chance to grow. Growing them needn't be dramatic: a fair word on your colleague's behalf, returning a gift you shouldn't have taken. That's one watering.
All four sprouts are there. Whether they get watered is up to you.
The sprouts are given. The good is what you grow.
Today's question
Which of the four sprouts is most alive in you? Which one have you watered least lately?
Quick check
Mencius says we have the four sprouts “as we have four limbs.” Meaning?
The sprouts are beginnings; the virtues are the good they grow into.
II · Goodness Is No Fantasy — Human nature leans toward good; sincerity sets it moving
Notes from the Margin
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