Confucius Quotes
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The whole end of speech is to be understood.
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If a man withdraws his mind from the love of beauty, and applies it as sincerely to the love of the virtuous; if, in serving his parents, he can exert his utmost strength; if, in serving his prince, he can devote his life; if in his intercourse with his friends, his words are sincere – although men say that he has not learned, I will certainly say that he has.
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The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.
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Gentlemen should not waste their time on trivial games -- they should play go.
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The path may not be left for an instant. If it could be left, it would not be the path.
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It is true that we shall not be able to reach perfection, but in our struggle toward it we shall strengthen our characters and give stability to our ideas, so that, whilst ever advancing calmly in the same direction, we shall be rendered capable of applying the faculties with which we have been gifted to the best possible account.
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Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace.
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Ignorance is the night of the mind, but a night without moon or star.
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Sir, in carrying on your government, why should you use killing at all? Let your evinced desires be for what is good, and the people will be good. The relation between superiors and inferiors is like that between the wind and the grass. The grass must bend, when the wind blows across it.
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If you don't know how to serve men, why worry about serving the gods?
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Tell people - and they may forget... show them - they may remember... but involve them and they will understand.
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Great as heaven and earth are, men still find some things in them with which to be dissatisfied. Thus it is that, were the superior man to speak of his way in all its greatness, nothing in the world would be found able to embrace it, and were he to speak of it in its minuteness, nothing in the world would be found able to split it.
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A youth is to be regarded with respect. How do we know that his future will not be equal to our present?
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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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With a heavy load and a long journey.
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The man of wisdom is never of two minds; the man of benevolence never worries; the man of courage is never afraid.
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If your desire is for good, the people will be good.
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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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There is nothing more visible than what is secret, and nothing more manifest than what is minute.
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You can successfully force people to follow a certain course, but you cannot force them to understand it.
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A gentleman wishes to be slow to speak and quick to act.
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Those who do not study are only cattle dressed up in men's clothes.
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To take what you know for what you know, and what you do not know for what you do not know, that is knowledge indeed.
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Of all that Heaven produces and nourishes, there is none so great as man.