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Mozi Quotes
China
Mozi (墨子; Mòzǐ, also Mo Tzu, latinized as Micius; originally named 墨翟 Mo Di) (c. 470 BC – c. 391 BC) was a Chinese philosopher during the Hundred Schools of Thought era in the early Warring States Period. He founded the school of Mohism and argued strongly against Confucianism and Daoism.
Also known as: Micius, Mo Di, Mo Ti, Mo Tzu, Mohism, Motse
Random Mozi quote
19 quotes
Universal love is really the way of the sage-kings. It is what gives peace to the rulers and sustenance to the people.
I feel people will tend toward universal love and mutual aid like fire tending upward and water downwards — it will be unpreventable in the world.
The wise man who has charge of governing the empire should know the cause of disorder before he can put it in order. Unless he knows its cause, he cannot regulate it.
Whoever criticizes others must have something to replace them. Criticism without suggestion is like trying to stop flood with flood and put out fire with fire. It will surely be without worth.
Now, as to universal love and mutual aid, they are beneficial and easy beyond a doubt. It seems to me that the only trouble is that there is no superior who encourages it.
The purpose of the magnanimous is to be found in procuring benefits for the world and eliminating its calamities.
Few are those, who, neglecting the virtuous and slighting the learned, could still maintain the existence of their countries.
The virtuous who are prosperous must be exalted, and the virtuous who are not prosperous must be exalted too.
All the calamities, strifes, complaints, and hatred in the world have arisen out of want of mutual love. Therefore the benevolent disapproved of this want.
Suppose we try to locate the cause of disorder, we shall find it lies in the want of mutual love.
To accomplish anything whatsoever one must have standards. None have yet accomplished anything without them.
If the rulers sincerely desire the empire to be wealthy and dislike to have it poor, desire to have it orderly and dislike to have it chaotic, they should bring about universal love and mutual aid. This is the way of the sage-kings and the way to order for the world, and it should not be neglected.
All the gentlemen of the world know that they should condemn these things, calling them unrighteous. But when it comes to the great unrighteousness of attacking states, they do not know that they should condemn it. On the contrary, they applaud it, calling it righteous.
It is the business of the benevolent man to seek to promote what is beneficial to the world and to eliminate what is harmful, and to provide a model for the world. What benefits he will carry out; what does not benefit men he will leave alone.
If we should classify one by one all those who hate others and injure others, should we find them to be universal in love or partial? Of course we should say they are partial. Now, since partiality against one another is the cause of the major calamities in the empire, then partiality is wrong.
When nobody in the world loves any other, naturally the strong will overpower the weak, the many will oppress the few, the wealthy will mock the poor, the honoured will disdain the humble, the cunning will deceive the simple. Therefore all the calamities, strifes, complaints, and hatred in the world have arisen out of want of mutual love. Therefore the benevolent disapproved of this want.
What is the purpose of houses? It is to protect us from the wind and cold of winter, the heat and rain of summer, and to keep out robbers and thieves. Once these ends have been secured, that is all. Whatever does not contribute to these ends should be eliminated.[6]
Universal love is to regard another's state as one's own. A person of universal love will take care of his friend as he does of himself, and take care of his friend's parents as his own. So when he finds his friend hungry he will feed him, and when he finds him cold he will clothe him.
The words of malicious slander should not be allowed to enter the ear. A defensive voice should not be allowed to come out of the mouth. The want to gravely injure people should not be allowed to exist in the heart. If this is accomplished, though there be people who cynically expose others, they would be without people who would align with them.