Confucius Quotes
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If either wealth or poverty are come by honesty, there is no shame.
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Don't be concerned about others not appreciating you. Be concerned about your not appreciating others.
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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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A hammer shatters glass but it also forges steel.
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A man may not transgress the bounds of major morals, but may make errors in minor morals.
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Return good for good; return evil with justice.
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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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I daily examine myself on three points: In planning for others, have I failed in conscientiousness? In intercourse with friends, have I been insincere? And have I failed to practice what I have been taught?
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Things have their roots and branches. Affairs have their beginnings and their ends. To know what is first and what is last will lead one near the Way.
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When you know a thing, to hold that you know it, and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it - this is knowledge.
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The superior man cannot be known in little matters, but he may be entrusted with great concerns. The small man may not be entrusted with great concerns, but he may be known in little matters.
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It is the way of the superior man to prefer the concealment of his virtue, while it daily becomes more illustrious, and it is the way of the mean man to seek notoriety, while he daily goes more and more to ruin.
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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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Straight-forwardness, without the rules of propriety, becomes rudeness.
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When you see a good person, think of becoming like her/him. When you see someone not so good, reflect on your own weak points.
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Every journey starts with a single step.
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Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses.
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Plan ahead or find trouble on the doorstep.
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A youth is to be regarded with respect. How do we know that his future will not be equal to our present? If he reach the age of forty or fifty, and has not made himself heard of, then indeed he will not be worth being regarded with respect.
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Desire to have things done quickly prevents their being done thoroughly.
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By gaining the people, the kingdom is gained; by losing the people, the kingdom is lost.
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I never really said all those things I said.
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Only after Winter comes do we know that the pine and the cypress are the last to fade.
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Faithfulness and sincerity are the highest things.