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

To see and listen to the wicked is already the beginning of wickedness.

The Master said, At fifteen I set my heart upon learning. At thirty, I had planted my feet firm upon the ground. At forty, I no longer suffered from perplexities. At fifty, I knew what were the biddings of Heaven. At sixty, I heard them with docile ear. At seventy, I could follow the dictates of my own heart; for what I desired no longer overstepped the boundaries of righ.

An oppressive government is more to be feared than a tiger.

One hundred women are not worth a single testicle.

It is better to light one small candle of gratitude than to curse the darkness.

The commander of the forces of a large State may be carried off, but the will of even a common man cannot be taken from him.