If the gentleman has ability, he is magnanimous, generous, tolerant, and straightforward, through which he opens the way to instruct others.

If the quickness of the mind and the fluency of the tongue are too punctilious and sharp, moderate them in your activity and rest.

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.

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.

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.

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

If what the heart approves conforms to proper patterns, then even if one's desires are many, what harm would they be to good order?