The Superior Man is all-embracing and not partial. The inferior man is partial and not all-embracing.

If the people are governed by laws and punishment is used to maintain order, they will try to avoid the punishment but have no sense of shame. If they are governed by virtue and rules of propriety are used to maintain order, they will have a sense of shame and will become good as well.

A man who has committed a mistake and does not correct it is committing another mistake.

If I am building a mountain and stop before the last basketful of earth is placed on the summit, I have failed.

She who is born with beauty is born with a sorrow for many a man.

When a man is guided by the principles of reciprocity and consciousness, he is not far from the moral law. Whatever you don't wish for yourself don't do unto others.

Lead the people with administrative injunctions and put them in their place with penal law, and they will avoid punishments but will be without a sense of shame. Lead them with excellence and put them in their place through roles and ritual practices, and in addition to developing a sense of shame, they will order themselves harmoniously