Confucius Quotes
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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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Clever talk can confound the workings of virtue, just as small impatiences can confound great projects.
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A good man will certainly also possess courage; but a brave man is not necessarily good.
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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, '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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Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.
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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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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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The way of the superior man may be compared to what takes place in traveling, when to go to a distance we must first traverse the space that is near, and in ascending a height, when we must begin from the lower ground.
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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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At fifteen my mind was directed to study, and at thirty I knew where to stand.
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Transport a handful of earth everyday and you will make a mountain.
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To err and not reform, this may indeed be called error.
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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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Our headstrong passions shut the door of our souls against God.
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What the wise seek is in themselves.
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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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Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.
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Writing cannot express all words, words cannot encompass all ideas.
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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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An image is better than one thousand words.
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To know and not do, is to not yet know.
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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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The faults of a superior person are like the sun and moon. They have their faults, and everyone sees them; they change and everyone looks up to them.