Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles.

The man who is master of himself drinks gravely and wisely.

A good man is not mine to see. Could I see a man possessed of constancy, that would satisfy me.

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

Exemplary persons are steadfast in the face of adversity, while petty persons are engulfed by it.

The superior man sets his person at rest before he moves; he composes his mind before he speaks.

The way of the superior man may be compared to what takes place in traveling, when to go to a distance we must first traverse the space that is near, and in ascending a height, when we must begin from the lower ground.