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

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.

When a man sees something desirable, he must reflect on the fact that with time it could come to involve what is detestable. When he sees something that is beneficial, he should reflect that sooner or later it, too, could come to involve harm.

You look upon the seasons with expectation and await them: wy not seize the seasonal opportunities and exploit them?

Human nature refers to what is in people but which they cannot study or work at achieving.

Human nature is evil, and goodness is caused by intentional activity.

Misery is evil; quarreling, a misfortune. There is only one possibility of avoiding both: a clear division of society. [Otherwise] the strong tyrannize the weak, the intelligent frighten the stupid, the inferior resist the superior, and the young mock the old.