Does English have a way to express a simple moral statement?

Question

Ancient Chinese have a philosophy which holds that some names have substantial content, i.e., moral requirement for humans. For example, the word *human* carries with it the meaning of *compassion*; if you want to be reckoned as a human being, you must show compassion. One fundamental expression in ancient texts of this philosophy is something like "humans ought to be (like) a 'human being'". The basic structure of this sentence is "individuals or particulars + be + an embodiment of the species". In Chinese, the phrase is composed of two repetitive nouns. For example, maybe I shall say "a man shall act as a man" (人人) or "things shall be treated as they should be" (物物）? Do these sentences succeed in expressing a moral? How would English phrase a statement like this one?

Answer 1

"A man shall act as a man" is a decent translation, although it's a bit old fashioned and I might say "A human shall act as a human." However, it's important to remember that language is inextricably intertwined and while in English can certainly discuss the morality of humanity, innate compassion is not something we think of when we use this particular word.