Confucius Quotes

If I cannot get men who steer a middle course to associate with, I would far rather have the impetuous and hasty. For the impetuous at any rate assert themselves.

A fool despises good counsel, but a wise man takes it to heart.

True wisdom is knowing what you don't know

A knight whose heart is set upon the Way, but who is ashamed of wearing shabby clothes and eating coarse food, is not worth calling into counsel.

Teachers open the door ... you enter by yourself.

Waste begets self-will; thrift begets meanness: but better be mean than self-willed.

Who keeps the old akindle and adds new knowledge is fitted to be a teacher.

We should feel sorrow, but not sink under its oppression; the heart of a wise man should resemble a mirror, which reflects every object without being sullied by any

The Essence of Knowledge is, having it, to use it.

Every piece of marble has a statue in it waiting to be released by a person of sufficient skill to chip away the unnecessary parts. Just as the sculptor is to the marble, so is education to the soul. It releases it. For only educated people are free people. You cannot create a statue by smashing the marble with a hammer, and you cannot by the force of arms release the spirit or the soul of people.

Not to mend one's ways when one has erred is to err indeed.

All people are the same; only their habits differ.

Clever talk can confound the workings of virtue, just as small impatiences can confound great projects.

He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it.

To be fond of learning is to draw close to wisdom. To practice with vigor is to draw close to benevolence. To know the sense of shame is to draw close to courage. He who knows these three things knows how to cultivate his own character. Knowing how to cultivate his own character, he knows how to govern other men. Knowing how to govern other men, he knows how to govern the world, its states, and its families.

A youth is to be regarded with respect.

Coarse rice to eat, water to drink, my bended arm for a pillow - therein is happiness. Wealth and rank attained through immoral means are nothing but drifting clouds.

If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help someone else.

What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others.

An orchid in a deep forest sends out its fragrance even if no one is around to appreciate it.

If you don't know how to serve men, why worry about serving the gods?

If an urn lacks the characteristics of an urn, how can we call it an urn?

Every man knows the smell of his own fart.

When you see a good person, think of becoming like her/him. When you see someone not so good, reflect on your own weak points.

Sincerity is that whereby self-completion is effected, and its way is that by which man must direct himself.

The gentleman has nine cares. In seeing he is careful to see clearly; in hearing he is careful to hear distinctly; in his looks he is careful to be kind, in his manner to be respectful, in his words to be sincere, in his work to be diligent. When in doubt he is careful to ask for information; when angry he has a care for the consequences; and when he sees a chance for gain, he thinks carefully whether the pursuits of it would be right.

What the great learning teaches, is to illustrate illustrious virtue; to renovate the people; and to rest in the highest excellence.

I'd rather die for speaking out, than to live and be silent.

Give a bowl of rice to a man and you will feed him for a day. Teach him how to grow his own rice and you will save his life.

From the Son of Heaven down to the mass of the people, all must consider the cultivation of the person the root of everything besides.

The chase of gain is rich in hate

It is better not to proceed at all than to proceed without purpose.

Heaven is author of the virtue that is in me

Don't be concerned about others not appreciating you. Be concerned about your not appreciating others.

Humankind differs from the animals only by a little and most people throw that away.

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.

To know is to know that you know nothing. That is the meaning of true knowledge.

Some are born with knowledge, some derive it from study, and some acquire it only after a painful realization of their ignorance. But the knowledge being possessed, it comes to the same thing. Some study with a natural ease, some from a desire for advantages, and some by strenuous effort. But the achievement being made, it comes to the same thing.

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

When you know a thing, to hold that you know it, and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it - this is knowledge.

The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large.

The virtuous will be sure to speak uprightly; but those whose speech is upright may not be virtuous.

roads were made for journeys not destinations

Knowing something is not as good as liking it. Liking something is not as good as rejoicing in it.

Men's natures are alike; it is their habits that separate them.

The Master was entirely free from four things: prejudice, foregone conclusions, obstinacy, and egoism.

He who take cookie to bed have crummy night ahead.

One who will study for three years. Without thought of reward. Would be hard indeed to find.