Confucius Quotes
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He who cannot describe the problem will never find the solution to that problem.
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Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom associated with true virtue.
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What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others.
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Ah, music, sacred tongue of God! I hear thee calling and I come.
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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 God-given is called nature; to follow nature is called Tao (the Way); to cultivate the way is called culture. Before joy, anger, sadness and happiness are expressed, they are called the inner self; when they are expressed to the proper degree, they are called harmony. The inner self is the correct foundation of the world, and the harmony is the illustrious Way. When a man has achieved the inner self and harmony, the heaven and earth are orderly and the myriad of things are nourished and grow thereby.
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Learning without thought is labour lost.
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Clever talk and domineering manner have little to with being a Man at His Best.
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What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.
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When a man comes to me, I accept him at his best, not at his worst. Why make so much ado? When a man washes his hands before paying a visit, and you receive him in that clean state, you do not thereby stand surety for his always having been clean in the past.
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Friendship with the upright, with the truthful and with the well informed is beneficial. Friendship with those who flatter, with those who are meek and who compromise with principles, and with those who talk cleverly is harmful.
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If you would one day renovate yourself, do so from day to day.
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Thought, unassisted by learning, is dangerous.
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Every piece of marble has a statue in it waiting to be released by a person of sufficient skill to chip away the unnecessary parts. Just as the sculptor is to the marble, so is education to the soul. It releases it. For only educated people are free people. You cannot create a statue by smashing the marble with a hammer, and you cannot by the force of arms release the spirit or the soul of people.
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Not to mend one's ways when one has erred is to err indeed.
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Every journey starts with a single step.
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For one word a man is often deemed to be wise, and for one word he is often deemed to be foolish. We should be careful indeed what we say.
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If a man in the morning hear the right way, he may die in the evening without regret.
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Can there be a love which does not make demands on its object?
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One who is by nature daring and is suffering from poverty will not long be law-abiding. Indeed, any men, save those that are truly good, if their sufferings are very great, will be likely to rebel.
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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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The contrived language and the flattering attitude rarely come with the virtue.
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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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Exemplary people concern themselves with virtue, small people concern themselves with territory. The ruling class thinks of punishment, the lower classes hope for benevolence.