Confucius Quotes
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Not to converse with a man worthy of conversation is to waste the man. To converse with a man not worthy of conversation is to waste words. The wise waste neither men nor words.
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Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.
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Happiness does not consist in having what you want, but in wanting what you have.
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Does Heaven ever speak? The four seasons come and go, and all creatures thrive and grow. Does Heaven ever speak!
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Coarse rice to eat, water to drink, my bended arm for a pillow - therein is happiness. Wealth and rank attained through immoral means are nothing but drifting clouds.
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Humanity is the equity of the heart.
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The superior man honors his virtuous nature, and maintains constant inquiry and study, seeking to carry it out to its breadth and greatness, so as to omit none of the more exquisite and minute points which it embraces, and to raise it to its greatest height and brilliancy.
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Not to mend one's ways when one has erred is to err indeed.
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There is good government when those who are near are made happy, and when those who are afar are attracted.
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The superior man, when resting in safety, does not forget that danger may come. When in a state of security he does not forget the possibility of ruin. When all is orderly, he does not forget that disorder may come. Thus his person is not endangered, and his States and all their clans are preserved.
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If a man is not good, what has he to do with the rules of propriety? If he is not good, what has he to do with music?
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A ruthless man extends his ruthlessness from those he does not love to those he loves.
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In old days men studied for the sake of self-improvement; nowadays men study in order to impress other people.
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The superior man is distressed by his want (lack) of ability.
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Straight-forwardness, without the rules of propriety, becomes rudeness.
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Between friends, frequent reproofs make the friendship distant.
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All things are already complete in oneself.
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When the perfect order prevails, the world is like a home shared by all. Leaders are capable and virtuous. Everyone loves and respects their own parents and children as well as the parents and children of others. The old are cared for, adults have jobs, children are nourished and educated. There is a means of support for all those who are disabled or find themselves alone in the world. Everyone has an appropriate role to play in the family and society. Devotion to public duty leaves no place for idleness. Scheming for ill gain is unknown. Sharing displaces selfishness and materialism.
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Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know more.
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A lack of patience in trifling matters might lead to the disruption of great project.
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To love a thing means wanting it to live.
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A scholar who loves comfort is not fit to be called a scholar.
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If you don't know the life yet, how could be possible for you to know the death?
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A man should demand much from himself, but little from others. When you meet a man of worth, think how you may attain to his excellence. When you meet an unworthy one, then look within and examine yourself.