Confucius Quotes
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Tsze-Kung asked, “Is there one word with which to act in accordance throughout a lifetime?” The Master said, “Is not reciprocity such a word? What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.
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Although your father and mother are dead, if you propose to yourself any good work, only reflect how it will make their names illustrious, and your purpose will be fixed.
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If you devote your life to seeking revenge, first dig two graves.
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One who has accumulated virtue will certainly also possess eloquence; but he who has eloquence doe not necessarily possess virtue.
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Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles.
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Expect much from yourself and little from others and you will avoid incurring resentments.
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To be poor without murmuring is difficult. To be rich without being proud is easy.
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It is more shameful to distrust our friends than to be deceived by them.
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We should feel sorrow, but not sink under its oppression; the heart of a wise man should resemble a mirror, which reflects every object without being sullied by any.
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Thought, unassisted by learning, is dangerous.
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A lack of patience in trifling matters might lead to the disruption of great project.
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Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.
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A gentleman considers justice to be essential in everything. He practices it according to the principles of propriety. He brings it forth in modesty and faithfully completes it. This is indeed a gentleman.
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The superior man understands what is right; the inferior man understands what will sell.
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Desire to have things done quickly prevents their being done thoroughly.
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The people may be made to follow a path of action but they may not be made to understand it.
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He Who Knows And Knows That He Knows Is A Wise Man - Follow Him; He Who Knows Not And Knows Not That He Knows Not Is A Fool - Shun Him
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Base yourself in loyalty and trust. Don't be companion with those who are not your moral equal. When you make a mistake, don't hesitate to correct it.
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It is easy to hate and it is difficult to love. This is how the whole scheme of things works. All good things are difficult to achieve; and bad things are very easy to get.
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On matters beyond his ken a gentleman speaks with caution. If names are not right, words are misused. When words are misused, affairs go wrong. When affairs go wrong, courtesy and music droop, law and justice fail. And when law and justice fail them, a people can move neither hand nor foot. So a gentleman must be ready to put names in speech, to put words into deeds. A gentleman is nowise careless of words.
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It is only the very wisest and the very stupidest who never change.
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Not feeling compassion for a stranger is like not feeling when one's foot has caught fire.
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Guide the people by law, subdue them by punishment; they may shun crime, but will be void of shame. Guide them by example, subdue them by courtesy; they will learn shame, and come to be good.
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If one leads them with administrative measures and uses punishments to make them conform, the people will be evasive, but if one leads them with virtue, they will come up to expectations.