Even if I could, I would not exahnge their virtues for my own. And that is why they are intent on learning from me.

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.

Only after Winter comes do we know that the pine and the cypress are the last to fade.

He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger... Men of superior mind busy themselves first getting at the root of things; when they succeed, the right course is open to them.

If you make a mistake and do not correct it, this is called a mistake.

The Master said, “The gentleman understands what is right, whereas the petty man understands profit.” (Analects 4.16)

The superior man is anxious lest he should not get the truth; he is not anxious lest poverty should come upon him.