The rigid cause themselves to be broken; the pliable cause themselves to be bound.

Thus, that one can find no place to walk through the breadth of the earth is not because the earth is not tranquil but because the danger to every step of the traveler lies generally with words.

I once tried standing up on my toes to see far out in the distance, but I found that I could see much farther by climbing to a high place.

If the blood humor is too strong and robust, calm it with balance and harmony.

There are successful scholars, public-spirited scholars, upright scholars, cautious scholars, and those who are merely petty men.

The petty man is eager to make boasts, yet desires that others should believe in him. He enthusiastically engages in deception, yet wants others to have affection for him. He conducts himself like an animal, yet wants others to think well of him.

Men of all social stations live together: they are equal in their desires, yet vary in their methods; they are equal in their passions, yet different in their intelligence; that is their nature-given vitality.