Confucius Quotes
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Love makes a spot beautiful: who chooses not to dwell in love, has he got wisdom?
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Learn, as if never overtaking your object, and yet as if apprehensive of losing it.
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Listen much, keep silent when in doubt, and always take heed of the tongue; thou wilt make few mistakes. See much, beware of pitfalls, and always give heed to thy walk; thou wilt have little to rue. If thy words are seldom wrong, thy deeds leave little to rue, pay will follow.
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In a district of ten families, there must be someone as honorable and sincere as I, but none as fond of learning.
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Even if people do not know what real kindness is, they nonetheless have it within them.
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It is man that makes truth great, and not truth that makes man great.
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You will never know how sharp a sword is unless it's drawn from its sheath.
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In ancient times, those who wished to illuminate the world with virtue first brought order to their nations. Wishing to order well their nations, they first harmonized their families. Wishing to harmonize their families, they first cultivated themselves. Wishing to cultivate themselves, they first rectified their minds. Those who wished to rectify their minds first made their intentions sincere.
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He who learns but does not think, is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.
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Do not worry about not holding high position; worry rather about playing your proper role. Worry not that no one knows of you; seek to be worth knowing.
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Behind every smile there's teeth.
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Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it. To see it a person only needs to imagine how it could be worse.
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Don't make to others what you don't want them to make to you.
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What is necessary is to rectify names.
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Slater soaks into the mind as water into low and marshy places, where it becomes stagnant and offensive.
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The superior man is distressed by the limitations of his ability; he is not distressed by the fact that men do not recognize the ability that he has.
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A reasonable man adjusts himself to the world. An unreasonable man expects the world to adjust itself to him. Therefore all progress is made by unreasonable people.
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If a superior man abandon virtue, how can he fulfil the requirements of that name?
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To learn without thinking is labour in vain, to think without learning is desolation.
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Rather than caring about whether or not you are known, strive to be worth knowing.
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If I am virtuous and worthy, for whom should I not maintain a proper concern?
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The object of the superior man is truth.
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If I am walking with two other men, each of them will serve as my teacher. I will pick out the good points of the one and imitate them, and the bad points of the other and correct them in myself.
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The gods should certainly be revered, but kept at a distance... . The way is not beyond man; he who creates a way outside of man cannot make it a true way. A good man is content with changing man, and that is enough for him.