Confucius Quotes
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Those who do not study are only cattle dressed up in men's clothes.
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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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If your desire is for good, the people will be good.
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Look at the means which a man employs, consider his motives, observe his pleasures. A man simply cannot conceal himself!
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Wisdom, humanity & courage, these three are universal virtues. The way by which they are practiced are one.
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Know what you know and know that you don't know what you don't know — that is the characteristic of one who knows.
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Without Goodness one cannot enjoy enduring happiness.
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Heaven begat Virtue in me; what can man do unto me?
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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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The superior man accords with the course of the Mean. Though he may be all unknown, unregarded by the world, he feels no regret - It is only the sage who is able for this.
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Man shoot at nothing, sure to hit it.
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Is any one able for one day to apply his strength to virtue? I have not seen the case in which his strength would be sufficient.
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He who is harmony with Nature hits the mark without effort and apprehends the truth without thinking.
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To prefer it is better than to only know it. To delight in it is better than merely to prefer it.
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Not too isolated, not too many relationships, the middle, that's wisdom.
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To be fond of learning is near to wisdom; to practice with vigor is near to benevolence; and to be conscious of shame is near to fortitude.
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If the search for riches were sure to be successful, though I should become a groom with a whip in my hand to get them, I will do so. As the search may not be successful, I will follow after that which I love.
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Clever talk can confound the workings of virtue, just as small impatiences can confound great projects.
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Respect the gods and the devils but keep them at a distance.
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The superior person is in harmony, but does not follow the crowd. The lesser person follows the crowd, but is not in harmony.
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You turn the handle the way it goes, not the way it ought to go.
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The Master said, “What a worthy man was Yan Hui! Living in a narrow alley, subsisting upon meager bits of rice and water—other people could not have borne such hardship, and yet it never spoiled Hui’s joy. What a worthy man was Hui!” (Analects 6.11)
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Wisdom is rooted in watching with affection the way people grow.
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Our headstrong passions shut the door of our souls against God.