Confucius Quotes

The Master said, "To study, and then in a timely fashion to practice what you have learned - is this not satisfying? To have companions arrive from afar - is this not a joy? To remain unrecognized by others and yet remain free of resentment - is this not the mark of the gentleman?"

The Master said, "Wealth and honor are things that all people desire, and yet unless they are acquired in the proper way I will not abide them. Poverty and disgrace are things that all people hate, and yet unless they are avoided in the proper way I will not despise them. If the gentleman abandons ren, how can he be worthy of that name? The gentleman does not violate ren even for the amount of time required to eat a meal. Even in times of urgency or distress, he does not depart from it."

Writing cannot express all words, words cannot encompass all ideas.

The superior man makes the difficulty to be overcome his first interest; success only comes later.

To be wealthy and honored in an unjust society is a disgrace.

Study the past if you want to define the future.

Humility is the solid foundation of all virtues.

First there must be order and harmony within your own mind.

When the multitude detests a man, inquiry is necessary; when the multitude likes a man, inquiry is equally necessary.

In vain I have looked for a single man capable of seeing his own faults and bringing the charge home against himself.

Ceremonies are the first thing to be attended to in the practice of government.

Go before the people with your example, and be laborious in their affairs.

All things are already complete in oneself.

Knowing what's correct and not doing it, it's the worst cowardice.

There are cases in which the blade springs, but the plant does not go on to flower. There are cases where it flowers, but no fruit is subsequently produced.

If I give a student one-fourth of what he should know, I expect him to get the other three-fourths himself, otherwise I do not want him as a student.

The Master said, “What a worthy man was Yan Hui! Living in a narrow alley, subsisting upon meager bits of rice and water—other people could not have borne such hardship, and yet it never spoiled Hui’s joy. What a worthy man was Hui!” (Analects 6.11)

Please stop waiting for a better and more appropriate time to become happy and focus on the moment you live in. Happiness is not an arrival, it is the journey itself. Many people seek for happiness above the height of human beings, some below. Yet, happiness is exactly at the exact height of human beings.

Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know more.

Don’t complain about the snow on your neighbor’s roof when your own doorstep is unclean.

Transport a handful of earth everyday and you will make a mountain.

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.

When superiors are fond of showing their humanity, inferiors try to outstrip one another in their practice of it.

Gentlemen should not waste their time on trivial games -- they should play go[3]

A wise man seeks by music to strengthen his soul: the thoughtless one uses it to stifle his fears.

The nobler sort of man emphasizes the good qualities in others, and does not accentuate the bad. The inferior does.

If a man be under the influence of anger his conduct will not be correct.

He who is really good can never be unhappy. He who is really wise can never be perplexed. He who is really brave is never afraid.

Time flows away like the water in the river.

If you look into your own heart, and you find nothing wrong there, what is there to worry about? What is there to fear?

Which demands a lot of himself and some others, will be free from hatred.

Isn't it a pleasure to study and practice what you have learned? Isn't it also great when friends visit from distant places? If one remains not annoyed when he is not understood by people around him, isn't he a sage?

The determined scholar and the man of virtue will not seek to live at the expense of injuring their virtue. They will even sacrifice their lives to preserve their virtue complete.

There is good government when those who are near are made happy, and when those who are afar are attracted.

A man who lacks reliability is utterly useless.

Settle one difficulty, and you keep a hundred away.

Behave when away from home as though you were in the presence of an honored guest. Employ the people as though you were assisting at an important sacrifice. Do not do to others what you would not like yourself. Then there will be no feelings of opposition to you, whether it is the affairs of a state that you are handling or the affairs of a family.

Your eyes are always bigger than your stomach.

Study without reflection is a waste of time; reflection without study is dangerous.

To become a leader, you must first become a human being

Yin and yang, male and female, strong and weak, rigid and tender, heaven and earth, light and darkness, thunder and lightning, cold and warmth, good and evil...the interplay of opposite principles constitutes the universe.

Learn as if you were not reaching your goal and as though you were scared of missing it

It is goodness that gives to a neighborhood its beauty. One who is free to choose, yet does not prefer to dwell among the good - how can he be accorded the name of wise?

If I hold up one corner of a square and the student cannot workout the other three for himself, I won't go any further.

To learn without thinking is labour in vain, to think without learning is desolation.

The Master said of Gong Yechang, “He is marriageable. Although he was once imprisoned and branded as a criminal, he was in fact innocent of any crime.” The Master gave him his daughter in marriage. (Analects 5.1)

Slater soaks into the mind as water into low and marshy places, where it becomes stagnant and offensive.

The wise man admires water, the kind man admires mountains. The wise man moves, the kind man rests. The wise man is happy, the kind man is firm.