Confucius Quotes
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She who is born with beauty is born with a sorrow for many a man.
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Instead of being concerned that you have no office, be concerned to think how you may fit yourself for office. Instead of being concerned that you are not known, seek to be worthy of being known.
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To understand yourself is the key to wisdom.
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It is man that makes truth great, and not truth that makes man great.
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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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You cannot open a book without learning something.
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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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The Master said of Gong Yechang, “He is marriageable. Although he was once imprisoned and branded as a criminal, he was in fact innocent of any crime.” The Master gave him his daughter in marriage. (Analects 5.1)
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Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.
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The Master said, A gentleman, in his plans, thinks of the Way; he does not think how he is going to make a living. Even farming sometimes entails 5 times of shortage; and even learning may incidentally lead to high pay. But a gentleman's anxieties concern the progress of the Way; he has no anxiety concerning poverty.
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Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace.
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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 practice five things under all circumstances constitutes perfect virtue; these five are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness.
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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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Man shoot at nothing, sure to hit it.
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The virtuous will be sure to speak uprightly; but those whose speech is upright may not be virtuous.
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Our headstrong passions shut the door of our souls against God.
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Give a man a fish, feed home for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed for a lifetime.
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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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You judge yourself by what you think you can achieve, others judge you by what have achieved.
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To know and not do, is to not yet know.
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An image is better than one thousand words.
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Reviewing the day's lessons. Isn't it joyful? Friends come from far. Isn't it delightful? One has never been angry at other's misunderstanding. Isn't he a respectable man?
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A good man will certainly also possess courage; but a brave man is not necessarily good.