Confucius Quotes
-
He who flatters a man is his enemy. he who tells him of his faults is his maker.
-
Those whose courses are different cannot lay plans for one another.
-
Ability will never catch up with the demand for it.
-
First there must be order and harmony within your own mind.
-
The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.
-
Excess weakens the spirits.
-
If a man be under the influence of anger his conduct will not be correct.
-
The Gods cannot help those who do not seize opportunities.
-
Even if I could, I would not exahnge their virtues for my own. And that is why they are intent on learning from me.
-
We should not be too familiar with the lower orders or with women.
-
If a man has no humaneness what can his propriety be like? If a man has no humaneness what can his happiness be like?
-
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."
-
Heaven means to be one with God.
-
Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know more.
-
If what one has to say is not better than silence, then one should keep silent.
-
Not to mend one's ways when one has erred is to err indeed.
-
There is one word which may serve as a rule of practice for all one's life -reciprocity.
-
There is nothing more visible than what is secret, and nothing more manifest than what is minute.
-
I am not concerned that I am not known, I seek to be worthy to be known.
-
All wisdom is rooted in learning to call things by the right name. When things are properly identified, they fall into natural categories and understanding becomes orderly.
-
Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner.
-
When nature exceeds culture, we have the rustic. When culture exceeds nature, we have the pedant.
-
The journey with a 1000 miles begins with one step.
-
Wisdom is worried for being slow in its speech and expeditious in its actions.