"If names are not correct, then language..." - Quote by Confucius
If names are not correct, then language is not in accord with the truth of things. If language is not in accord with the truth of things, then affairs cannot be carried out successfully.
More by Confucius
“I hear, I know. I see, I remember. I do, I understand.”
“A man should demand much from himself, but little from others. When you meet a man of worth, think how you may attain to his excellence. When you meet an unworthy one, then look within and examine yourself.”
“If you would govern a state of a thousand chariots (a small-to-middle-size state), you must pay strict attention to business, be true to your word, be economical in expenditure and love the people.”
More on Language
“Words express neither objects nor ourselves.”
“2-in-1 is a stupid term, because 1 is not big enough to hold 2. That's why 2 was created.”
“There is immeasurably more left inside than what comes out in words. Your thought, even a bad one, while it is with you, is always more profound, but in words it is more ridiculous and dishonorable.”
More on Truth
“And, by the way, one of the most delightful things I find in America is meeting a people without prejudice -- everywhere open to the truth.”
“The true, prescriptive artist strives after artistic truth; the lawless artist, following blind instinct, after an appearance of naturalness. The one leads to the highest peaks of art, the other to its lowest depths.”
“Never can custom conquer nature, for she is ever unconquered.”