Man's nature is evil; goodness is the result of conscious activity.

The noble person uses things; the lesser man is used by things.

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

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.

Whether the gentleman is capable or not, he is loved all the same; conversely the petty man is loathed all the same.

When you concentrate on agriculture and industry and are frugal in expenditures, Heaven cannot impoverish your state.

Music is a fantastic peacekeeper of the world, it is integral to harmony, and it is a required fundamental of human emotion.