--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Great is the man who has not lost his…" description: "\"Great is the man who has not lost his childlike heart.\" — Mencius" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66f/mencius-3576_childlike_great-is-the-man-who-has-not-lost-his-ch_1449277.png" --- # Great is the man who has not lost his childlike heart. ![“Great is the man who has not lost his childlike heart.” quote by Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66f/mencius-3576_childlike_great-is-the-man-who-has-not-lost-his-ch_1449277.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66f/mencius-3576_childlike_great-is-the-man-who-has-not-lost-his-ch_1449277.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66f/mencius-3576_childlike_great-is-the-man-who-has-not-lost-his-ch_1449277.png) > “Great is the man who has not lost his childlike heart.” [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A person who retains childlike wonder and openness is truly great. **In simple terms:** Keeping childlike wonder is greatness. Key Takeaway Cherish curiosity and humility. Themes innocence wonder humility Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - parenting - creative work - learning new skills - spiritual practice Key Concepts Confucianism psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance wonder with wisdom? - When does curiosity become impractical? A Different Perspective Childlike openness can be mistaken for naiveté. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Childlike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childlike/) [Childlike Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childlike-heart-2837985/) [Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great/) [Great man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-man/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) ## Related quotes > [It takes a childlike heart to feel the promptings of the Spirit, to surrender to those commands, and to obey. That is what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/it-takes-a-childlike-heart-to-feel-the-promptings-of-the-spirit-to/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [Great is the human who has not lost his childlike heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/great-is-the-human-who-has-not-lost-his-childlike-heart/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [“Don't grow up too fast, darling. Age is inevitalbe but if you nurture a childlike heart you'll never grow old.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-hoffman/don-t-grow-up-too-fast-darling-age-is-inevitalbe-but-if-you-nurture-a/) [Beth Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-hoffman/) > [“don't grow up to fast, darling. Age is inevitable, but if you nuture a childlike heart, you'll never ever grow old.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-hoffman/don-t-grow-up-to-fast-darling-age-is-inevitable-but-if-you-nuture-a/) [Beth Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-hoffman/) > [It is the mark of a great man that he puts to flight all ordinary calculations. He is at once sublime and touching, childlike…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/it-is-the-mark-of-a-great-man-that-he-puts-to-flight-all-ordinary/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [The great person never loses a childlike spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/the-great-person-never-loses-a-childlike-spirit/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [The great man is he who does not lose his child-heart. He does not think beforehand that his words shall be sincere, nor that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/the-great-man-is-he-who-does-not-lose-his-child-heart-he-does-not/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [Football is a team sport. I'm proud of what I achieved in my career, but I also know that I wouldn't have achieved any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schmeichel/football-is-a-team-sport-i-m-proud-of-what-i-achieved-in-my-career/) [Peter Schmeichel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schmeichel/) > [My father was truly a great man. I remember one day putting my feet in my father's shoes. I was amazed at the size.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/my-father-was-truly-a-great-man-i-remember-one-day-putting-my-feet-in/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) > [It's awfully hard to be the son of a great man and also of a half-crazy woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-steele-commager/it-s-awfully-hard-to-be-the-son-of-a-great-man-and-also-of-a-half/) [Henry Steele Commager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-steele-commager/) > [Beautiful was this world, looking at it thus, without searching, thus simply, thus childlike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/beautiful-was-this-world-looking-at-it-thus-without-searching-thus/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [My mother spoke of Christ to my father, by her feminine and childlike virtues, and, after having borne his violence without a murmur or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/my-mother-spoke-of-christ-to-my-father-by-her-feminine-and-childlike/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [I’m cold,' Snowden said softly, 'I’m cold.' 'You’re going to be all right, kid,' Yossarian reassured him with a grin. 'You’re going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/i-m-cold-snowden-said-softly-i-m-cold-you-re-going-to-be-all-right/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) > [You've had a whole lot of experience, but everything is also radically new at each moment, and you have to bring a kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/you-ve-had-a-whole-lot-of-experience-but-everything-is-also-radically/) [Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/) > [Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-pharcellus-church/yes-virginia-there-is-a-santa-claus-he-exists-as-certainly-as-love/) [Francis Pharcellus Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-pharcellus-church/) ## More by Mencius > [The fruit of humanity is devotion to one's parents. The fruit of righteousness is to respect one's elders. The fruit of wisdom is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/the-fruit-of-humanity-is-devotion-to-one-s-parents-the-fruit-of/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [People are eager to comment on something when they themselves are not in the situation of doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/people-are-eager-to-comment-on-something-when-they-themselves-are-not/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [Truth uttered before its time is dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/truth-uttered-before-its-time-is-dangerous/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [Only when someone refuses to do certain things will he be capable of doing great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/only-when-someone-refuses-to-do-certain-things-will-he-be-capable-of/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [The disease of men is that they neglect their own fields and go to weed the fields of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/the-disease-of-men-is-that-they-neglect-their-own-fields-and-go-to/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [People can have a long-term life plan only if they know their private property is secure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/people-can-have-a-long-term-life-plan-only-if-they-know-their-private/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [Is it only the mouth and belly which are injured by hunger and thirst? Men's minds are also injured by them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/is-it-only-the-mouth-and-belly-which-are-injured-by-hunger-and-thirst/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [Mankind fears an evil man but heaven does not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/mankind-fears-an-evil-man-but-heaven-does-not/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [Water indeed will flow indifferently to the east or west, but will it flow indifferently up or down? The tendency of our nature to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/water-indeed-will-flow-indifferently-to-the-east-or-west-but-will-it/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [When the men of antiquity realized their wishes, benefits were conferred by them on the people. If they did not realize their wishes, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/when-the-men-of-antiquity-realized-their-wishes-benefits-were/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [If the King loves music, it is well with the land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/if-the-king-loves-music-it-is-well-with-the-land/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [The poor attend to their own virtue in solitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/the-poor-attend-to-their-own-virtue-in-solitude/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [There is the work of great men and there is the work of little men. Therefore it is said, 'Some labor with their minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/there-is-the-work-of-great-men-and-there-is-the-work-of-little-men/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [There is a power in everything; it is the job of the artist to determine it and express it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/there-is-a-power-in-everything-it-is-the-job-of-the-artist-to/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [All people have the common desire to be elevated in honour, but all people have something still more elevated in themselves without knowing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/all-people-have-the-common-desire-to-be-elevated-in-honour-but-all/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) [Explore all 125 Mencius quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) ## More Childlike quotes > [You've had a whole lot of experience, but everything is also radically new at each moment, and you have to bring a kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/you-ve-had-a-whole-lot-of-experience-but-everything-is-also-radically/) [Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/) > [I’m cold,' Snowden said softly, 'I’m cold.' 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He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-pharcellus-church/yes-virginia-there-is-a-santa-claus-he-exists-as-certainly-as-love/) [Francis Pharcellus Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-pharcellus-church/) > [“Ô, Wanderess, Wanderess When did you feel your most euphoric kiss? Was I the source of your greatest bliss?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-payne/wanderess-wanderess-when-did-you-feel-your-most-euphoric-kiss-was-i/) [Roman Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-payne/) > [Enter the writing process with a childlike sense of wonder and discovery. Let it surprise you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-ghigna/enter-the-writing-process-with-a-childlike-sense-of-wonder-and/) [Charles Ghigna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-ghigna/) > [A simple, childlike faith in a Divine Friend solves all the problems that come to us by land or sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/a-simple-childlike-faith-in-a-divine-friend-solves-all-the-problems/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [The naive is what is or appears to be natural, individual, or classical to the point of irony or to the point of continuous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/the-naive-is-what-is-or-appears-to-be-natural-individual-or-classical/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [I like crazy, childlike, candy bar-filled cakes with gooey caramel, chocolate-covered nuts, marshmallows, and the like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-ben-israel/i-like-crazy-childlike-candy-bar-filled-cakes-with-gooey-caramel/) [Ron Ben-Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-ben-israel/) > [“God sense little children to speak and act for him. In their simplicity and naivety they say and do things that we adults never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-steer/god-sense-little-children-to-speak-and-act-for-him-in-their/) [Phil Steer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-steer/) > [It's fun playing two roles. The roles provide a wonderful range of emotions. Stuart is childlike and sensitive. Adam is ruthless, outrageous. He's flamboyant.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-canary/it-s-fun-playing-two-roles-the-roles-provide-a-wonderful-range-of/) [David Canary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-canary/) > [I think it is important to learn to distinguish between being childlike and being childish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-it-is-important-to-learn-to-distinguish-between-being/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The storm lashes us, out of the confusion of grey and yellow the hail of splinters whips forth the childlike cries of the wounded,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/the-storm-lashes-us-out-of-the-confusion-of-grey-and-yellow-the-hail/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [Things involved with a computer fill me with a childlike terror. Now, if it were a nice ogre or some such I'd be more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-giles/things-involved-with-a-computer-fill-me-with-a-childlike-terror-now/) [Rupert Giles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-giles/) [Browse all 267 Childlike quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childlike/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Great is the man who has not lost his childlike heart.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mencius" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/great-is-the-man-who-has-not-lost-his-childlike-heart/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Childlike" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/great-is-the-man-who-has-not-lost-his-childlike-heart/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66f/mencius-3576_childlike_great-is-the-man-who-has-not-lost-his-ch_1449277.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66f/mencius-3576_childlike_great-is-the-man-who-has-not-lost-his-ch_1449277.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66f/mencius-3576_childlike_great-is-the-man-who-has-not-lost-his-ch_1449277.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Great is the man who has not lost his childlike heart.” — Mencius", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mencius", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Great is the man who has...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/great-is-the-man-who-has-not-lost-his-childlike-heart/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/great-is-the-man-who-has-not-lost-his-childlike-heart/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```