Confucius Quotes
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Who contains himself goes seldom wrong.
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When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them.
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We should worship as though the deity were present.
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He who will not economize will agonize.
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To put the world in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order; we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right.
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Of neighborhoods, benevolence is the most beautiful. How can the man be considered wise who when he had the choice does not settle in benevolence.
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Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
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If you know, say you know. If you don't know, say you don't know.
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Love of goodness without love of learning degenerates into simple-mindedness. Love of knowledge without love of learning degenerates into utter lack of principle. Love of faithfulness without love of learning degenerates into injurious disregard of consequences. Love of uprightness without love of learning degenerates into harshness. Love of courage without love of learning degenerates into insubordination. Love of strong character without love of learning degenerates into mere recklessness.
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Make fair agreements and stick to them.
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Kong Qiu, or Master Kong as he was known, did not live to see his days of glory. During his lifetime, his views were received with scorn. But that was about two thousand five hundred years ago. A handful of his dedicated followers passed on Confucius' teachings to future generations. After Confucius' death, his followers published his teachings in the book, The Analects of Confucius.
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Settle one difficulty, and you keep a hundred away.
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Every house guest brings you happiness. Some when they arrive, and some when they are leaving.
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Therefore the superior man is watchful over himself, when he is alone.
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Exemplary persons are steadfast in the face of adversity, while petty persons are engulfed by it.
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It's only in winter that the pine and cypress are known to be evergreens.
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To know everything is to know nothing, but to know nothing is to know everything.
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He who rules by moral force is like the pole star, which remains in place while all the lesser stars do homage to it.
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Things being investigated, knowledge became complete. Their knowledge being complete, their thoughts were sincere. Their thoughts being sincere, their hearts were then rectified. Their hearts being rectified, their persons were cultivated. Their persons being cultivated, their families were regulated. Their families being regulated, their States were rightly governed. Their States being rightly governed, the whole kingdom was made tranquil and happy.
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The superior man undergoes three changes. Looked at from a distance, he appears stern; when approached, he is mild; when he is heard to speak, his language is firm and decided.
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The mirror reflects all objects without being sullied.
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There are 1,000 lessons in defeat. But only one in victory.
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Wealth and rank are what men desire, but unless they be obtained in the right way they may not be possessed. Poverty and obscurity are what men detest; but unless prosperity be brought about in the right way, they are not to be abandoned.
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Tea tempers the spirits and harmonizes the mind, dispels lassitude and relieves fatigue, awakens thought and prevents drowsiness, lightens or refreshes the body, and clears the perceptive faculties.