There is good government when those who are near are made happy, and when those who are afar are attracted.

The firm, the enduring, the simple, and the modest are near to virtue.

Let every man consider virtue as what devolves on himself. He may not yield the performance of it even to his teacher.

If a man keeps cherishing his old knowledge so as continually to be acquiring new, he may be a teacher of others.

The superior man honors his virtuous nature, and maintains constant inquiry and study, seeking to carry it out to its breadth and greatness, so as to omit none of the more exquisite and minute points which it embraces, and to raise it to its greatest height and brilliancy.

Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.

If the gentleman is not serious, he will not be respected, and his learning will not be on a firm foundation. He considers loyalty and faithfulness to be fundamental, has no friends who are not like him, and when he has made mistakes, he is not afraid of correcting them.