Confucius Quotes
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Cultivated people foster what is good in others, not what is bad. Petty people do the opposite.
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A man who does not think and plan long ahead will find trouble right at his door.
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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.
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He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good.
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The superior man does what is proper to the station in which he is; he does not desire to go beyond this. In a position of wealth and honor, he does what is proper to a position of wealth and honor. In a poor and low position, he does what is proper to a poor and low position.
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Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.
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If you yourself desire establishment, then help others to get establishment; if you yourself want success, then help others to attain success.
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How great is the path proper to the Sage! Like overflowing water, it sends forth and nourishes all things, and rises up to the height of heaven. All-complete is its greatness! It embraces the three hundred rules of ceremony, and the three thousand rules of demeanor. It waits for the proper man, and then it is trodden. Hence it is said, 'Only by perfect virtue can the perfect path, in all its courses, be made a fact.'
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A man is great not because he hasn't failed; a man is great because failure hasn't stopped him.
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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.
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A picture is poem without words.
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Though Confucius served the Duke of Lu, a Chinese state, he made many enemies with the nobles of the land. His views antagonized the powerful nobles, who wanted the Duke to be a puppet in their hands. Confucius was exiled from the State of Lu for more than two decades. He lived in the countryside, spreading his teachings.
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The master said, 'Quietly to store up knowledge in my mind, to learn without flagging, to teach without growing weary, these present me with no difficulties.'
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Better than the one who knows what is right is the one who loves what is right.
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Not too isolated, not too many relationships, the middle, that's wisdom.
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If you want to change the world, first change your heart.
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In dealing with the dead, if we treat them as if they were entirely dead, that would show a want of affection and should not be done; or, if we treat them as if they were entirely alive, that would show a want of wisdom and should not be done.
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Words are the voice of the heart.
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All the darkness in the world can't put out the light of one candle.
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There has never been a man mean and at the same time virtuous.
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The silent treasuring up of knowledge; learning without satiety; and instructing others without being wearied: which one of these things belongs to me?
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The gentleman is calm and at ease. The gentleman is dignified but not proud; the small man is proud but not dignified.
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Those who make virtue their profession are the ruin of virtue.
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Heaven begat Virtue in me; what can man do unto me?