Memorable Quotes and quotations from ConfuciusConfucius Chinese philosopher & reformer (551 BC - 479 BC)Confucius - The Confucian Analects - If a man takes no thought about what is distant, he will find sorrow near at hand. Confucius - - If language is not correct, then what is said is not what is meant; if what is said is not what is meant, then what must be done remains undone; if this remains undone, morals and art will deteriorate; if justice goes astray, the people will stand about in helpless confusion. Hence there must be no arbitrariness in what is said. This matters above everything. Confucius - - He who will not economize will have to agonize. Confucius - - It is not possible for one to teach others who cannot teach his own family. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - When we see men of worth, we should think of equaling them; when we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves. Confucius - - Study the past if you would define the future. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - The superior man is satisfied and composed; the mean man is always full of distress. Confucius - - The superior man is modest in his speech, but excels in his actions. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - There are three things which the superior man guards against. In youth...lust. When he is strong...quarrelsomeness. When he is old...covetousness. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - [The superior man] acts before he speaks, and afterwards speaks according to his actions. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - The cautious seldom err. Confucius - - To govern is to correct. If you set an example by being correct, who would dare remain incorrect? Confucius - - The essence of knowledge is, having it, to apply it; not having it, to confess your ignorance. Confucius - Analects, XIV.12 - If a man remembers what is right at the sign of profit, is ready to lay down his life in the face of danger, and does not forget sentiments he has repeated all his life when he has been in straitened circumstances for a long time, he may be said to be a complete man. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - What the superior man seeks is in himself. What the mean man seeks is in others. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - With coarse rice to eat, with water to drink, and my bended arm for a pillow - I have still joy in the midst of these things. Riches and honors acquired by unrighteousness are to me as a floating cloud. Confucius - - Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. Confucius - - I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand. Confucius - - When we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves. Confucius - - The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones. Confucius - - Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous. Confucius - - By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest. Confucius - - Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes. Confucius - - It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop. Confucius - - I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - Is virtue a thing remote? I wish to be virtuous, and lo! Virtue is at hand. Confucius - The Confucian Analects, bk. 11:11 - While you are not able to serve men, how can you serve spirits [of the dead]?...While you do not know life, how can you know about death? Confucius - The Confucian Analects - I have not seen a person who loved virtue, or one who hated what was not virtuous. He who loved virtue would esteem nothing above it. Confucius - - If a man take no thought about what is distant, he will find sorrow near at hand Confucius - The Confucian Analects - Without an acquaintance with the rules of propriety, it is impossible for the character to be established. Confucius - Analects - Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - If a man withdraws his mind from the love of beauty, and applies it as sincerely to the love of the virtuous; if, in serving his parents, he can exert his utmost strength; if, in serving his prince, he can devote his life; if in his intercourse with his friends, his words are sincere - although men say that he has not learned, I will certainly say that he has. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - Things that are done, it is needless to speak about...things that are past, it is needless to blame. Confucius - - When anger rises, think of the consequences. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - The superior man cannot be known in little matters, but he may be entrusted with great concerns. The small man may not be entrusted with great concerns, but he may be known in little matters. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - While you are not able to serve men, how can you serve spirits [of the dead]?...While you do not know life, how can you know about death? Confucius - - To be able under all circumstances to practice five things constitutes perfect virtue; these five things are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness and kindness. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - The man of virtue makes the difficulty to be overcome his first business, and success only a subsequent consideration. Confucius - - Do not be desirous of having things done quickly. Do not look at small advantages. Desire to have things done quickly prevents their being done thoroughly. Looking at small advantages prevents great affairs from being accomplished. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - The superior man...does not set his mind either for anything, or against anything; what is right he will follow. Confucius - - What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - Recompense injury with justice, and recompense kindness with kindness. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - Have no friends not equal to yourself. Confucius - nalects, IV.11 - While the gentleman cherishes benign rule, the small man cherishes his native land. While the gentleman cherishes a respect for the law, the small man cherishes generous treatment. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - To be able to practice five things everywhere under heaven constitutes perfect virtue...[They are] gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness. Confucius - - Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - The firm, the enduring, the simple, and the modest are near to virtue. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - 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. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - Virtue is more to man than either water or fire. I have seen men die from treading on water and fire, but I have never seen a man die from treading the course of virtue. Confucius - Roots of Wisdom 4th edition - Humankind differs from the animals only by a little, and most people throw that away. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles. Confucius - - He who merely knows right principles is not equal to him who loves them. Confucius - - Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart. Confucius - - To see what is right, and not to do it, is want of courage or of principle. Confucius - Analects - They must often change who would be constant in happiness or wisdom. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbors. Confucius - - He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short. Confucius - - Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses. Confucius - Analects, IV.3 - It is only the benevolent man who is capable of liking or disliking other men. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - The determined scholar and the man of virtue will not seek to live at the expense of injuring their virtue. They will even sacrifice their lives to preserve their virtue complete. Confucius - - It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop. Confucius - - Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes. Confucius - Analects, IV.7 - In his errors a man is true to type. Observe the errors and you will know the man. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - The man who in view of gain thinks of righteousness; who in the view of danger is prepared to give up his life; and who does not forget an old agreement however far back it extends - such a man may be reckoned a complete man. Confucius - Analects, XV.24 - Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire. Confucius - - The superior man is modest in his speech but exceeds in his actions. Confucius - - The superior man acts before he speaks, and afterwards speaks according to his action. Confucius - - Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - The people may be made to follow a path of action, but they may not be made to understand it. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom associated with true virtue. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - I am not one who was born in the possession of knowledge; I am one who is fond of antiquity, and earnest in seeking it there. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - 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. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - The scholar who cherishes the love of comfort is not fit to be deemed a scholar. Confucius - The Confucian Analects - He with whom neither slander that gradually soaks into the mind, nor statements that startle like a wound in the flesh, are successful may be called intelligent indeed. Confucius - - I hear and I forget. I see and I believe. I do and I understand. Confucius - Analects - A youth is to be regarded with respect. How do you know that his future will not be equal to our present? Confucius - - The superior man, when resting in safety, does not forget that danger may come. When in a state of security he does not forget the possibility of ruin. When all is orderly, he does not forget that disorder may come. Thus his person is not endangered, and his States and all their clans are preserved. Confucius - - Respect yourself and others will respect you. Confucius - - Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it. Confucius - - Ignorance is the night of the mind, but a night without moon and star. |
|