gentleman indeed" not only may, but does, assiduously cultivate jen. Mencius nowhere defines jen more closely than this, but rather speaks of the consequence of being jen." ( Dobson, 131)
             Mencius believes thus that human perfection can be attained as long as what is inherently good in the human mind is preserved and nurtured. The reasons he gives for his argument that all human nature is good in its essence are all connected to man as a social being: man is good, for example because he feels horror at other beings' sufferings, or man is good because he loves and respects his parents or other worthy people:
             "It is a feeling common to all mankind that they cannot bear to see others suffer. The Former Kings had such feelings, and it was this that dictated their policies. One could govern the entire world with policies dictated by such feelings, as easily as though one turned it in the palm of the hand. I say that all men have such feelings because, on seeing a child about to fall into a well, everyone has a feeling of horror and distress. They do not have this feeling out of sympathy for the parents, or to be thought well of by friends and neighbours, or from a sense of dislike at not being thought a feeling person. Not to feel distress would be contrary to all human feeling. Just as not to feel shame and disgrace and not to defer to others and not to have a sense of right and wrong are contrary to all human
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