When there are duties to perform [true] servants and sons serve their labors.

If language is not correct, then what is said is not what is meant; if what is said is not what is meant, then what must be done remains undone; if this remains undone, morals and art will deteriorate; if justice goes astray, the people will stand about in helpless confusion. Hence there must be no arbitrariness in what is said. This matters above everything.

Humanity is the equity of the heart.

The superior man acts before he speaks, and afterwards speaks according to his action.

roads were made for journeys not destinations

As in the case of making a mound, if, before the very last basketful, I stop, then I shall have stopped. As in the case of leveling the ground, if, though tipping only one basketful, I am going forward, then I shall be making progress.

A father's and a mother's age must be borne in mind; with joy on the one hand, fear on the other.