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The people are the most important element in a nation; the spirits of the land and grain come next; the sovereign counts for the least. | Of the first importance are the people, next comes the good of land and grains, and of the least importance is the ruler. | The people are the most important ... and the ruler is the least important.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Mencius (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.