不bù以yǐ惡è小xiǎo而ér為wéi之zhī，不bù以yǐ善shàn小xiǎo而ér不bù為wéi

What does 不以惡小而為之，不以善小而不為 (bù yǐ è xiǎo ér wéi zhī bù yǐ shàn xiǎo ér bù wéi) mean?

不以惡小而為之，不以善小而不為 (bù yǐ è xiǎo ér wéi zhī bù yǐ shàn xiǎo ér bù wéi) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "do not do a small evil, do not neglect a small good." In use it means: No wrong is too minor to avoid, and no kindness is too small to practice; character is built in the smallest choices. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Earth note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Dog.

Literally: "do not do a small evil, do not neglect a small good."

The reading

The coin you drop in a stranger's meter, the unkind remark you swallow. None of these register on any scoreboard. But they accumulate in the person you are becoming, and that person is the one who shows up when the large moment arrives.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typeyànyǔ 諺語
• FocusPresent-minded
• Element土 Earth
• Zodiac tie狗 Year of the Dog

Source Romance of the Three Kingdoms 三國演義, attributed to Liu Bei 劉備

Sits beside

Keep reading

Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Harmony, Virtue & Balance, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Dog, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.