The Four Beginnings...

"The feeling of commiseration is the beginning of humanity; the feeling of shame and dislike is the beginning of righteousness; the feeling of deference and compliance is the beginning of propriety; and the feeling of right or wrong is the beginning of wisdom.

"Men have these Four Beginnings just as they have their four limbs. Having these Four Beginnings, but saying that they cannot develop them is to destroy themselves."



Mencius 2A:6
Translated by Wing-tsit Chan
A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy, Princeton University Press, 1963, p. 65