The only people who cannot change are the most wise and the most stupid.

The superior man is firm in the right way and not merely firm.

Heaven begat Virtue in me; what can man do unto me?

I have yet to meet a man as fond of high moral conduct as he is of outward appearances.

To study and at times practice what one has learned, is this not a pleasure?

Every piece of marble has a statue in it waiting to be released by a person of sufficient skill to chip away the unnecessary parts. Just as the sculptor is to the marble, so is education to the soul. It releases it. For only educated people are free people. You cannot create a statue by smashing the marble with a hammer, and you cannot by the force of arms release the spirit or the soul of people.

When the Superior Man eats he does not try to stuff himself; at rest he does not seek perfect comfort; he is diligent in his work and careful in speech. He avails himself to people of the Tao and thereby corrects himself. This is the kind of person of whom you can say, "he loves learning."