Confucius Quotes

page 3

“Settle one difficulty, and you keep a hundred away.”

“Knowledge is merely brilliance in organization of ideas and not wisdom. The truly wise person goes beyond knowledge.”

“If you look into your own heart, and you find nothing wrong there, what is there to worry about? What is there to fear?”

“He Who Knows And Knows That He Knows Is A Wise Man - Follow Him;
He Who Knows Not And Knows Not That He Knows Not Is A Fool - Shun Him”

“Ignorance is the night of the mind, but a night without moon or star.”

“When the wind blows, the grass bends.”

“Fix your mind on truth, hold firm to virtue, rely on loving kindness, and find your recreation in the Arts.”

“If one should desire to know whether a kingdom is well governed, if its morals are good or bad, the quality of its music will furnish the answer.”

“You will never know how sharp a sword is unless it's drawn from its sheath”

“The wise find pleasure in water; the virtuous find pleasure in hills. The wise are active; the virtuous are tranquil. The wise are joyful; the virtuous are long-lived.”

“One joy dispels a hundred cares.”

“Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes.”

“A youth is to be regarded with respect. How do we know that his future will not be equal to our present?”

“Faced with what is right, to leave it undone shows a lack of courage.”

“If you don't want to do something, don't impose on others”

“We take greater pains to persuade others that we are happy than in endeavoring to think so ourselves”

“To be able under all circumstances to practice five things constitutes perfect virtue; these five things are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness and kindness.”

“If there were one word that could act as a standard of conduct for one's entire life, perhaps it would be 'thoughtfulness.”

“The scholar does not consider gold and jade to be precious treasures, but loyalty and good faith.”

“The Essence of Knowledge is, having it, to use it.”

“The green reed which bends in the wind is stronger than the mighty oak which breaks in a storm.”

“They must often change who would remain constant in happiness and wisdom.”

“I want you to be everything that's you, deep at the center of your being.”
“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated”

“He who conquers himself is the mightiest warrior.”

“Ability will never catch up with the demand for it.”

“he who will not economize will have to agonize”

“We should keep the dead before our eyes, and honor them as though still living”

“A man of humanity is one who, in seeking to establish himself, finds a foothold for others and who, in desiring attaining himself, helps others to attain.”

“A man without a mustache is a man without a soul.”

“Be strict with yourself but least reproachful of others and complaint is kept afar.”

“I followed my heart without breaking any rules.”

“The superior man has a dignified ease without pride. The mean man has pride without a dignified ease.”

“When a person should be spoken with, and you don't speak with them, you lose them. When a person shouldn't be spoken with and you speak to them, you waste your breath. The wise do not lose people, nor do they waste their breath.”

“People with virtue must speak out; People who speak are not all virtuous.”

“When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them.”

“He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good.”

“Virtue (or the man of virtue) is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbors.”

“The demands that good people make are upon themselves;
Those that bad people make are upon others.”

“Never tire to study. And to teach to others”

“He who flatters a man is his enemy. he who tells him of his faults is his maker.”

“If there were an honorable way to get rich, I’d do it, even if it meant being a stooge standing around with a whip. But there isn’t an honorable way, so I just do what I like.”

“Humankind differs from the animals only by a little and most people throw that away.”

“Looking at small advantages prevents great affairs from being accomplished.”

“Not to discuss with a man worthy of conversation is to waste the man. To discuss with a man not worthy of conversation is to waste words. The wise waste neither men nor words.”

“The expectations of life depend upon diligence the mechanic that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools.”

“Act with kindness but do not expect gratitude.”

“The scholar who cherishes the love of comfort is not fit to be deemed a scholar.”

“If names be not correct, language is not in accordance with the truth of things.”

“Tsze-Kung asked, “Is there one word with which to act in accordance throughout a lifetime?” The Master said, “Is not reciprocity such a word? What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.”