Page 130 - 《孟子》（三）中·英对照版
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his victim. Yet if they put a good face of propriety
on their gifts, then the superior man receives them. I
venture to ask how you explain this.”
Mencius answered, “Do you think that, if there
should arise a truly royal sovereign, he would collect
the princes of the present day, and put them all to
death? Or would he admonish them, and then, on
their not changing their ways, put them to death?
Indeed, to call every one who takes what does not
properly belong to him a robber, is pushing a point
of resemblance to the utmost, and insisting on the
most refined idea of righteousness. When Confucius
was in office in Lu, the people struggled together
for the game taken in hunting, and he also did the
same. If that struggling for the captured game was
proper, how much more may the gifts of the princes
be received!”
Wan Zhang urged, “Then are we to suppose
that when Confucius held office, it was not with the
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