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.

There is one single thread binding my way together...the way of the Master consists in doing one's best...that is all.

If I cannot get men who steer a middle course to associate with, I would far rather have the impetuous and hasty. For the impetuous at any rate assert themselves.

He is the truly courageous man who never desponds.

First and foremost, be faithful to your superiors, keep all promises, refuse the friendship of all who are not like you; and if you have made a mistake, do not be afraid of admitting the fact and amending your ways.

To know that one knows what one knows, and to know that one doesn't know what one doesn't know, there lies true wisdom.

Without that innate sense of human worth, a man cannot long endure adversity, nor can he long enjoy prosperity.