Confucius Quotes

“You turn the handle the way it goes, not the way it ought to go”

“Don’t complain about the snow on your neighbor’s roof when your own doorstep is unclean.”

“Wisdom, compassion, and courage are the three universally recognized moral qualities of men.”

“As in the case of making a mound, if, before the very last basketful, I stop, then I shall have stopped. As in the case of leveling the ground, if, though tipping only one basketful, I am going forward, then I shall be making progress.”

“Worry not that no one knows you; seek to be worth knowing.”

“Return good for good; return evil with justice.”

“How should I know anything about another world when I know so little of this?”

“It is better to play than do nothing.”

“If there were an honorable way to get rich, I’d do it, even if it meant being a stooge standing around with a whip. But there isn’t an honorable way, so I just do what I like.”

“It is goodness that gives to a neighborhood its beauty. One who is free to choose, yet does not prefer to dwell among the good - how can he be accorded the name of wise?”

“If one learns from others, but does not think, one will be bewildered. If, on the other hand, one thinks but does not learn from others, one will be in peril.”

“Look closely into his aims, observe the means by which he pursues them, discover what brings him content - and can the man's real worth remain hidden from you?”

“At fifteen my mind was directed to study, and at thirty I knew where to stand.”

“Never contract friendship with a man that is not better than thyself.”

“If a man is respectful he will not be treated with insolence. If he is tolerant he will win the multitude. If he is trustworthy in word his fellow men will entrust him with responsibility. If he is quick he will achieve results.”

“The superior man is easy to serve, but difficult to please ... The inferior man is difficult to serve, but easy to please.”

“Let a man be stimulated by poetry, established by the rules of propriety, and perfected by music.”

“The superior man honors his virtuous nature, and maintains constant inquiry and study, seeking to carry it out to its breadth and greatness, so as to omit none of the more exquisite and minute points which it embraces, and to raise it to its greatest height and brilliancy.”

“Teachers open the door ... you enter by yourself.”

“Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses.”

“Big head, target for enemy; big heart, target for friend.”

“Every thoughtful pin on pinterest has beauty. But not everyone can see.”

“To become a leader, you must first become a human being”

“Virtue is not solitary; it is bound to have neighbors”

“The superior man is satisfied and composed; the mean man is always full of distress.”

“Sincerity and truth are the basis of every virtue.”

“A man of wisdom delights in water.”

“Therefore only through education does one come to be dissatisfied with his own knowledge, and only through teaching others does one come to realize the uncomfortable inadequacy of his knowledge. Being dissatisfied with his own knowledge, one then realizes that the trouble lies with himself, and realizing the uncomfortable inadequacy of his knowledger.”

“When music and courtesy are better understood and appreciated, there will be no war.”

“What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others.”

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”

“The superior man is distressed by his want (lack) of ability”

“If you would one day renovate yourself, do so from day to day.”

“There are some with whom we may study in common, but we shall find them unable to go along with us to principles. Perhaps we may go on with them to principles, but we shall find them unable to get established in those along with us. Or if we may get so established along with them, we shall find them unable to weigh occurring events along with us.”

“I followed my heart without breaking any rules.”

“There are three things which the superior man guards against. In youth ... lust. When he is strong ... quarrelsomeness. When he is old ... covetousness.”

“The failure to cultivate virtue, the failure to examine and analyze what I have learned, the inability to move toward righteousness after being shown the way, the inability to correct my faults-these are the causes of my grief.”

“Give a bowl of rice to a man and you will feed him for a day. Teach him how to grow his own rice and you will save his life.”

“Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance.”

“Be sincere and true to your word, serious and careful in your actions; and you will get along even among barbarians, But if you are not sincere and untrustworthy in your speech, frivolous and careless in your actions, how will you get along even among your own neighbors? When stand, see these principles in front of you; in your carriage see them on the yoke. Then you may be sure to get along.”

“To know, is to know that you know nothing. That is the meaning of true knowledge. When you say something, say what you know. When you don't know something, say you don't know. That is knowledge.”

“Excess weakens the spirits.”

“Women and people of low birth are very hard to deal with. If you are friendly to them, they get out of hand, and if you keep your distance, they resent it.”

“Study as if you have not reached your goal - hold it as if you were afraid of losing what you have.”

“The hardest thing of all is to find a black cat in a dark room, especially if there is no cat.”

“Yin and yang, male and female, strong and weak, rigid and tender, heaven and earth, light and darkness, thunder and lightning, cold and warmth, good and evil...the interplay of opposite principles constitutes the universe.”

“Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes.”

“Isn't it a pleasure to study and practice what you have learned?”

“Things being investigated, knowledge became complete. Their knowledge being complete, their thoughts were sincere. Their thoughts being sincere, their hearts were then rectified. Their hearts being rectified, their persons were cultivated. Their persons being cultivated, their families were regulated. Their families being regulated, their States were rightly governed. Their States being rightly governed, the whole kingdom was made tranquil and happy.”

“The man of perfect virtue, wishing to be established himself, seeks also to establish others; wishing to be enlarged himself, he seeks also to enlarge others.”