Confucius Quotes
-
We should not be too familiar with the lower orders or with women.
-
When you serve your mother and father it is okay to try to correct them once in a while. But if you see that they are not going to listen to you, keep your respect for them and don't distance yourself from them. Work without complaining.
-
If I give a student one-fourth of what he should know, I expect him to get the other three-fourths himself, otherwise I do not want him as a student.
-
The only people who cannot change are the most wise and the most stupid.
-
There is one word which may serve as a rule of practice for all one's life -reciprocity.
-
Eat at your own as you would the table of a king.
-
When wealth is centralized, the people are dispersed. When wealth is distributed, the people are brought together.
-
He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it.
-
Keep it simple and focus on what matters. Don't let yourself be overwhelmed.
-
The superior man sets his person at rest before he moves; he composes his mind before he speaks.
-
I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.
-
The more you know yourself, the more you forgive yourself.
-
Wouldst thou know if a people be well governed, or if its laws be good or bad, examine the music it practices.
-
I have not seen one who loves virtue as he loves beauty.
-
I will not be concerned at other men's not knowing me;I will be concerned at my own want of ability.
-
At fifteen, my mind was bent on learning. At thirty, I stood firm. At forty, I had no doubts. At fifty, I knew the decrees of Heaven. At sixty, my ear was receptive to truth. At seventy, I could follow my heart's desires without sin
-
Words are the voice of the heart.
-
The way of Heaven and Earth may be completely declared in one sentence: They are without any doubleness, and so they produce things in a manner that is unfathomable.
-
If you reflect within yourself and find nothing to be ashamed of, how could you have anxiety or fear.
-
To be fond of learning is to draw close to wisdom. To practice with vigor is to draw close to benevolence. To know the sense of shame is to draw close to courage. He who knows these three things knows how to cultivate his own character. Knowing how to cultivate his own character, he knows how to govern other men. Knowing how to govern other men, he knows how to govern the world, its states, and its families.
-
Possessed of courage but devoid of morality, a superior man will make trouble while a small man will be a brigand.
-
I do not want a friend who smiles when I smile, who weeps when I weep; for my shadow in the pool can do better than that.
-
Those whose courses are different cannot lay plans for one another.
-
Do not worry if others do not understand you. Instead worry if you do not understand others.