Quotes by Confucius
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In a hamlet of ten households, there are bound to be those who are my equal in doing their best for others and in being trustworthy in what they say, but they are unlikely to be as eager to learn as I am.

A gentleman considers what is right; the vulgar consider what will pay.

You can force the people to obey; you cannot force them to understand.

The whole end of speech is to be understood.

When a nation or family is about to flourish, there are sure to be happy omens; and when it is about to perish, there are sure to be unlucky omens.

As the water shapes itself to the vessel that contains it, so a wise man adapts himself to circumstances.

There is good government when those who are near are made happy, and when those who are afar are attracted.

Keep it simple and focus on what matters. Don't let yourself be overwhelmed.

Let every man consider virtue as what devolves on himself. He may not yield the performance of it even to his teacher.

There are not the weeds the ones that drown the good seed, but the negligence of the peasant.

An angry person is always full of poison.

The Three Armies can be deprived of their commanding officer, but even a common man cannot be deprived of his purpose.

It was by music that the ancient kings gave elegant expression to their joy. By their armies and axes they gave the same to their anger.

To learn without thinking is labour in vain, to think without learning is desolation.

Girl who sit on Judge's lap get honorable discharge.

When you see a good man, try to emulate his example, and when you see a bad man, search yourself for his faults.

He who needs only coarse food, water and drink, and as pillow his folded arms will find happiness without further search.

When prosperity comes, do not use all of it.

From the Son of Heaven down to the mass of the people, all must consider the cultivation of the person the root of everything besides.

A man exercising no forethought will soon experience present sorrow.

Heaven, in the production of things, is sure to be bountiful to them, according to their qualities. Hence the tree that is flourishing, it nourishes, while that which is ready to fall, it overthrows.

Character is the backbone of our human culture. Music is the flowering of character.

The nobler sort of man emphasizes the good qualities in others, and does not accentuate the bad. The inferior does.

A gentleman is calm and spacious: the vulgar are always fretting.

The superior person tries to promote music as a means to the perfection of human culture. When such music prevails, and people's minds are led towards the right ideals and aspirations, we may see the appearance of a great nation.

Because the newer methods of treatment are good, it does not follow that the old ones were bad: for if our honorable and worshipful ancestors had not recovered from their ailments, you and I would not be here today.

The archer who misses his mark does not blame the target. He stops, corrects himself and shoots again.

For one word a man is often deemed to be wise, and for one word he is often deemed to be foolish. We should be careful indeed what we say.

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.

The wise find pleasure in water; the virtuous find pleasure in hills. The wise are active; the virtuous are tranquil. The wise are joyful; the virtuous are long-lived.

I do not enlighten those who are not eager to learn, nor arouse those who are not anxious to give an explanation themselves. If I have presented one corner of the square and they cannot come back to me with the other three, I should not go over the points again.

Only one who bursts with enthusiasm do I instruct; Only one who bubbles with excitement do I enlighten. If I hold up one corner and you do not come back to me with the other three, I do not continue the lesson.

When three persons work together, each can be the teacher in some aspects.

The people may be made to follow a path of action but they may not be made to understand it.

In his dealings with the world, the gentleman is not invariably for or against anything. He is on the side of what is moral.

When admins have faults, they do not fear to ignore them.

To know everything is to know nothing, but to know nothing is to know everything.

Men's natures are alike; it is their habits that separate them.

A good man regards the root; he fixes the root, and ail else flows out of it. The root is filial piety; the fruit brotherly love.

It's only in winter that the pine and cypress are known to be evergreens.

Can there be a love which does not make demands on its object?

Being strong does not mean that you never fall down, but that whenever you fall, you get up again.

Happiness does not consist in having what you want, but in wanting what you have.

Seek Not Every Quality In One Individual.

At fifteen, my mind was bent on learning.

At thirty, I stood firm.

At forty, I had no doubts.

At fifty, I knew the decrees of Heaven.

At sixty, my ear was receptive to truth.

At seventy, I could follow my heart's desires without sin.

Does Heaven ever speak? The four seasons come and go, and all creatures thrive and grow. Does Heaven ever speak!

The shortest distance between any two points on a golf course is a straight line that passes directly through the center of a very large tree.

From a grain of sand in the Pearl comes.

A hammer shatters glass but it also forges steel.

The master said, 'Quietly to store up knowledge in my mind, to learn without flagging, to teach without growing weary, these present me with no difficulties.'

A happy union with wife and child is like the music of lutes and harps.

The really faithful lover of learning holds fast to the Good Way till death.

If one is guided by profit in one's actions, one will incur much ill will.

Where words lose their meaning, people lose their lives.

Even in killing men, observe the rules of propriety.

Knowing something is not as good as liking it. Liking something is not as good as rejoicing in it.

He who remembers from day to day what he has yet to learn, and from month to month what he has learned already, may be said to have a love of learning.

Is there any one maxim which ought to be acted upon throughout one's whole life? Surely the maxim of loving kindness is such: Do not unto others what you would not they should do unto you.

Fix your mind on truth, hold firm to virtue, rely on loving kindness, and find your recreation in the Arts.

Do not use a cannon to kill a mosquito.

There is one single thread binding my way together...the way of the Master consists in doing one's best...that is all.

The perfecting of one's self is the fundamental base of all progress and all moral development.

One who can move mountains start with the little stones.

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

Learn, as if never overtaking your object, and yet as if apprehensive of losing it.

The way of Heaven and Earth may be completely declared in one sentence: They are without any doubleness, and so they produce things in a manner that is unfathomable.

There is never a case when the root is in order and yet the branches are in order.

I am not bothered by the fact that I am not understood. I am bothered when I do not know others.

Wisdom delights in water; love delights in hills. Wisdom is stirring; love is quiet. Wisdom is merry; love grows old.

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

From the loving example of one family a whole State may become loving, and from its courtesies, courteous; while from the ambition and perverseness of the one man the whole State may be thrown into rebellious disorder. Such is the nature of influence.

Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know more.

I saw some piglets suckling their dead mother. After a short while they shuddered and went away. They had sensed that she could no longer see them and that she wasn't like them any more. What they loved in their mother wasn't her body, but whatever it was that made her body live.

First there must be order and harmony within your own mind. Then this order will spread to your family, then to the community, and finally to your entire kingdom. Only then can you have peace and harmony.

If one should desire to know whether a kingdom is well governed, if its morals are good or bad, the quality of its music will furnish the answer.

Know what you know and know that you don't know what you don't know -- that is the characteristic of one who knows.

Learn as if you were not reaching your goal and as though you were scared of missing it.

The silent treasuring up of knowledge; learning without satiety; and instructing others without being wearied: which one of these things belongs to me?

Every journey starts with a single step.

Waste begets self-will; thrift begets meanness: but better be mean than self-willed.

Excess and deficiency are equally at fault.

A picture is poem without words.

The gentleman sees what is right while the small man sees what is profitable.

The proper man understands equity, the small man profits.

The gentleman calls attention to the good points in others; he does not call attention to their defects. The small man does just the reverse of this.

The gentleman is calm and at ease. The gentleman is dignified but not proud; the small man is proud but not dignified.

A gentleman can see a question from all sides without bias. The small man is biased and can see a question only from one side.

I'd rather die for speaking out, than to live and be silent.

People with virtue must speak out; People who speak are not all virtuous.

The requisites of government are that there be sufficiency of food, sufficiency of military equipment, and the confidence of the people in their ruler.

The person who is not strong enough gives up at the halfway point -- but you are limiting yourself before even starting.

But if you do not have the Tao yourself, what business have you spending your time in vain efforts to bring corrupt politicians into the right path?