--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The great man is he who does not lose his…" description: "\"The great man is he who does not lose his child's heart.\" — Mencius" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cce/mencius-3576_children_the-great-man-is-he-who-does-not-lose-hi_2969947.png" --- # The great man is he who does not lose his child's heart. ![“The great man is he who does not lose his child's heart.” quote by Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cce/mencius-3576_children_the-great-man-is-he-who-does-not-lose-hi_2969947.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cce/mencius-3576_children_the-great-man-is-he-who-does-not-lose-hi_2969947.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cce/mencius-3576_children_the-great-man-is-he-who-does-not-lose-hi_2969947.png) > “The great man is he who does not lose his child's 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 great person retains the innocence and wonder of a child, avoiding cynicism. **In simple terms:** Stay childlike in wonder. Key Takeaway Preserve curiosity. Themes innocence wisdom leadership Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - parenting - education - leadership development Key Concepts Confucianism human nature Questions to Reflect On - How can you keep childlike wonder in adult life? - What risks come from naïveté? A Different Perspective Childlike perspective may lack experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Child Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child-heart-416112/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Great man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-man/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Lose Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lose-child-476596/) [Man Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-does-334860/) ## Related quotes > [The great man is one who does not lose his child's heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-great-man-is-one-who-does-not-lose-his-child-s-heart/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Never lose your child's heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/never-lose-your-child-s-heart/) [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/) > [A great man is one who has not lost the child's heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/a-great-man-is-one-who-has-not-lost-the-child-s-heart/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [The man of true greatness never loses his child's heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/the-man-of-true-greatness-never-loses-his-child-s-heart/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [“…the child's heart bled when it was broken.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/the-child-s-heart-bled-when-it-was-broken/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [The great man is the man who does a thing for the first time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-smith/the-great-man-is-the-man-who-does-a-thing-for-the-first-time/) [Alexander Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-smith/) > [The great man does not think beforehand of his words that they may be sincere, nor of his actions that they may be resolute-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/the-great-man-does-not-think-beforehand-of-his-words-that-they-may-be/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [The indwelling of Christ is a thought particularly fit for the children, because their large faith does not stumble at the mystery, their imagination…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-mason/the-indwelling-of-christ-is-a-thought-particularly-fit-for-the/) [Charlotte Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-mason/) > [I would let my child do whatever made their heart sing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-hayes/i-would-let-my-child-do-whatever-made-their-heart-sing/) [Darren Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hayes/) > [I'll never grow up. I'll always be a child at heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-ii-prince-of-monaco/i-ll-never-grow-up-i-ll-always-be-a-child-at-heart/) [Albert II, Prince of Monaco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-ii-prince-of-monaco/) > [“when describing children with Down's Syndrome, he called a child 'heart spontaneous'.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/when-describing-children-with-down-s-syndrome-he-called-a-child-heart/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [God wants a child's heart and a grownup's head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/god-wants-a-child-s-heart-and-a-grownup-s-head/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Discovering that with every child, your heart grows bigger and stronger - that there is no limit to how much or how many people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-le-bon/discovering-that-with-every-child-your-heart-grows-bigger-and/) [Yasmin Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-le-bon/) > [It was not fair, it was not fair, it was not fair. So cried his child's heart, and then his child's heart died a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/it-was-not-fair-it-was-not-fair-it-was-not-fair-so-cried-his-child-s/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## 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 Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. 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You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“Children's lives are always beginning and adults' lives are always ending. Or is it the opposite? 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