Meaning

Mencius is saying that the path of truth and right conduct is wide, clear, and available to everyone. It is not hidden, obscure, or reserved for a gifted few. The real obstacle is not intellectual difficulty but a lack of will. People simply choose not to look for the right way, preferring comfort, habit, or convenience over honest seeking.

Context

This line comes from the sixth book of the Mencius, a collection of conversations and teachings attributed to the Confucian philosopher Mencius, who lived in China during the fourth and third centuries BCE. Mencius spent much of his career urging rulers and ordinary people alike to cultivate virtue and act with moral seriousness. This particular passage reflects his recurring theme that goodness is accessible by nature and that moral failure is largely a failure of effort and intention rather than capacity.

About the author

Mencius, known in Chinese as Mengzi, is one of the most influential thinkers in the Confucian tradition. He developed and deepened the ideas of Confucius, arguing most notably that human nature is fundamentally good and that people go wrong through neglect, bad environment, or poor choices rather than innate corruption. His collected writings became one of the classical texts studied throughout East Asian intellectual history, and his arguments about virtue, governance, and human potential continue to be read and debated today.