Widely bestowing benevolence saves many people.
博施濟衆 (박시제중) means To bestow grace widely and rescue many people from hardship — the virtue of a sage.. philanthropy means A goodwilled effort to advance the welfare of humankind, especially generous giving and contribution to society.. Two cultures point to the same truth in different languages.
The Meeting
In the 5th century BCE, in the state of Lu, the disciple Zigong asked Confucius: "If one could bestow widely upon the people and rescue the multitude, could this be called benevolence (仁)?" Confucius replied: "How could it stop at benevolence? It must surely be called sageliness (聖). Even Yao and Shun found it hard." Around the same time in ancient Greece, the playwright Aeschylus called Prometheus — who stole fire and gave it to humankind — "philanthropos tropos" (a character that loves humanity). Both civilizations saw "bestowing widely without condition" as the highest virtue a human being can reach.
The Eastern Story — The Virtue Even Sages Found Hard
The source of the phrase is the "Yong Ye" chapter of the Analects. Confucius's disciple Zigong (子貢, 520–446 BCE) was the wealthiest man and finest diplomat of his day. When he asked, "If one could bestow widely upon the people (博施於民) and rescue the multitude (而能濟衆), could this be called benevolence (仁)?", Confucius gave an unexpected answer: "How could it stop at benevolence? It must surely be called sageliness (聖)! Even the sage-kings Yao (堯) and Shun (舜) found this hard (堯舜其猶病諸)." It was highly unusual for Confucius to invoke "sageliness" (聖), a height above "benevolence" (仁). He taught his disciples benevolence, but he held that the level of sageliness was something even Yao and Shun never fully attained.
What deserves attention in this passage is Confucius's emphasis on "widely" (博) and "the multitude" (衆). To bestow upon a particular individual is benevolence (仁), but to bestow "widely" and rescue "many people" is a level beyond benevolence. Korea's Jeong Yak-yong (丁若鏞, 1762–1836) interpreted this in his Old and New Commentary on the Analects (論語古今註) as "the practice of benevolence carried to its utmost." The wider the reach of giving, the higher the grade of the virtue — that is the thought.
The Western Root — A Heart That Loves Humanity
"Philanthropy" comes from the Greek "philanthropia" (φιλανθρωπία): philos (φίλος, loving) + anthropos (ἄνθρωπος, human being) = "the love of humanity." The word first appears in literature in the 5th century BCE, in the tragedy Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus (525–456 BCE). It begins with the description of Prometheus — who defied the ban of the Olympian gods to bring fire to humankind — as having a "philanthropos tropos" (a character that loves humanity). It was later borrowed into Latin as "philanthropia" in ancient Rome, and entered English around 1607. At first it carried the broad sense of "universal goodwill toward mankind," but over the 18th and 19th centuries the more specific meaning of "charitable activity and giving" grew dominant.
What is striking is that the prototype of philanthropy is a "transgression." Prometheus defied the command of the gods to help humankind. The implication that true giving sometimes crosses the boundaries of the established order is already inscribed in the etymology. Just as Confucius said "even Yao and Shun found it hard," in the Greek tradition too, universal giving was a domain the gods themselves did not easily permit.
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Oxford English Dictionary (OED)"philanthropy, n." OED Online. c. 1607, "love of mankind; desire to promote the welfare of others". From Late Latin philanthropia, from Greek philanthropia "humanity, benevolence", from philanthropos "loving mankind", from phil- "loving" + anthropos "human being". First Greek use: Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound (5th c. BC).
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Online Etymology Dictionaryetymonline.com/word/philanthropy — 1620s, from Late Latin philanthropia, from Greek philanthropia "love of mankind," from philanthropos "loving mankind," from phil- "loving" (see philo-) + anthropos "mankind" (see anthropo-). Originally "love of mankind"; by c. 1800 restricted to "practical benevolence, charitable giving."
Shared Wisdom — The Wider the Giving, the Higher the Virtue
Both take "universality" as the highest standard of giving. The "wide" (博) of the Eastern phrase and the "anthropos" (humanity) of philanthropy both reach toward all humankind rather than a particular object. Both share the recognition that giving to those close to us is friendship, but giving even to strangers is true generosity.
Both place giving as "the highest level a human being can reach." Confucius called it sageliness (聖), a height above benevolence (仁), and in the Greek tradition Prometheus's philanthropy trespassed upon the domain of the gods. Both cultures set universal giving at the very limit of human capacity.
Both stress "practice." The Eastern phrase's "bestow" (施) and "rescue" (濟) are verbs of action, and philanthropy too, after the 18th century, narrowed from "feeling" to "giving and activity." Both demand that intention alone is not enough — it must issue in action.
The difference — the Eastern phrase carries a strong "top-down (the virtue of a ruler)" direction, while philanthropy has more the character of "the voluntary choice of an individual citizen." In the East, universal giving was the duty of kings and sages; in the West, it was charity by individual free will. Yet both traditions arrive at the conclusion that "to give widely is the hardest and the greatest thing of all."
A Mnemonic — One Line to Take Home
- ✓ 博施濟衆 = bestow (施) widely (博) and rescue (濟) the multitude (衆). The virtue of a sage.
- ✓ philanthropy = philos (love) + anthropos (humanity) → the heart and action of loving humankind.
- ✓ Remember it at once: "Confucius said 'even sages found it hard,' and Prometheus was punished — universal giving is that difficult."
"True giving does not choose who will receive."
