惻隱之心

From the book Mengzi; see the quotes below.

惻隱之心

1. feeling of compassion; heart of sympathy

   • 所以謂人皆有不忍人之心者，今人乍見孺子將入於井，皆有怵惕惻隱之心。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     所以谓人皆有不忍人之心者，今人乍见孺子将入于井，皆有怵惕恻隐之心。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Mencius, circa 4^th century BCE

     Suǒyǐ wèi rén jiē yǒu bù rěn rén zhī xīn zhě, jīn rén zhà jiàn rúzǐ jiāng rù yú jǐng, jiē yǒu chùtì cèyǐn zhī xīn. [Pinyin]

     When I say that all men have a mind which cannot bear to see the sufferings of others, my meaning may be illustrated thus: even now-a-days, if men suddenly see a child about to fall into a well, they will without exception experience a feeling of alarm and distress.

   • 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。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     恻隐之心，仁之端也；羞恶之心，义之端也；辞让之心，礼之端也；是非之心，智之端也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Mencius, circa 4^th century BCE

     Cèyǐn zhī xīn, rén zhī duān yě; xiūwù zhī xīn, yì zhī duān yě; círàng zhī xīn, lǐ zhī duān yě; shìfēi zhī xīn, zhì zhī duān yě. [Pinyin]

     The feeling of commiseration is the principle of benevolence. The feeling of shame and dislike is the principle of righteousness. The feeling of modesty and complaisance is the principle of propriety. The feeling of approving and disapproving is the principle of knowledge.