Confucius Quotes
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Be faithful and true of word; let thy walk be plain and lowly: thou wilt get on, though in savage land. If thy words be not faithful and true, thy walk plain and lowly, wilt thou get on, though in thine own home? Standing, see these words ranged before thee; driving, see them written upon the yoke. Then thou wilt get on.
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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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We can know a person by observing his behaviour, understanding the reasons for his actions and ascertaining his intentions. If we do this, how can we not know him?
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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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It is better not to proceed at all than to proceed without purpose.
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There is the love of knowing without the love of learning; the beclouding here leads to dissipation of mind.
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The demands that good people make are upon themselves; Those that bad people make are upon others.
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The Essence of Knowledge is, having it, to use it.
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The shortest distance between any two points on a golf course is a straight line that passes directly through the center of a very large tree.
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I am not concerned that I am not known, I seek to be worthy to be known.
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Some may study side by side, and yet be asunder when they come to the logic of things.
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The Master said, "Wealth and honor are things that all people desire, and yet unless they are acquired in the proper way I will not abide them. Poverty and disgrace are things that all people hate, and yet unless they are avoided in the proper way I will not despise them. If the gentleman abandons ren, how can he be worthy of that name? The gentleman does not violate ren even for the amount of time required to eat a meal. Even in times of urgency or distress, he does not depart from it."
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Possessed of courage but devoid of morality, a superior man will make trouble while a small man will be a brigand.
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By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.
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An orchid in a deep forest sends out its fragrance even if no one is around to appreciate it.
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Those whose courses are different cannot lay plans for one another.
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A happy union with wife and child is like the music of lutes and harps.
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Looking at small advantages prevents great affairs from being accomplished.
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Place where man laughs, sings, picks flowers, chases butterflies and pets birds, makes love with maidens, and plays with children. Here he spontaneously reveals his nature, the base as well as the noble. Here also he buries his sorrows and difficulties and cherishes his ideals and hopes. It is in the garden that men discover themselves. Indeed one discovers not only his real self but also his ideal self?he returns to his youth. Inevitably the garden is made the scene of man's merriment, escapades, romantic abandonment, spiritual awakening or the perfection of his finer self.
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The commander of the forces of a large State may be carried off, but the will of even a common man cannot be taken from him.
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If you try to do too much, you will not achieve anything.
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The man of perfect virtue, wishing to be established himself, seeks also to establish others; wishing to be enlarged himself, he seeks also to enlarge others.
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When I am with others, they are my teachers. I can select their good points and follow them, and select their bad points and avoid them.
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To lead uninstructed people to war is to throw them away.