Confúcio

If we are not yet able to serve man, how can we serve spiritual beings? . . . If we do not yet know about life how can we know about death?

To go too far is the same as not to go far enough.

The Way of our Master is none other than conscientiousness of altruism.

Man is born with uprightness. If one loses it he will be lucky if he escapes with his life.

A superior man in dealing with the world is not for anything or against anything. He follows righteousness as the standard.

A ruler who governs his state by virtue is like the north polar star, which remains in its place while all the other stars revolve around it.

Is it not a pleasure to learn and to repeat or practice from time to time what has been learned? Is it not delightful to have friends coming from afar? Is one not a superior man if he does not feel hurt even though he does not feel recognized?

To be poor without murmuring is difficult. To be rich without being proud is easy.

If a superior man abandon virtue, how can he fulfil the requirements of that name?

Grieve not that men do not know you; grieve that you do not know men.

The superior man is anxious lest he should not get truth; he is not anxious lest poverty should come upon him.

They who know the truth are not equal to those who love it, and they who love it are not equal to those who delight in it.

If a man keeps cherishing his old knowledge, so as continually to be acquiring new, he may be a teacher of others.

Everyone calls his son his son, whether he has talents or has not talents.

When nature exceeds culture, we have the rustic. When culture exceeds nature, we have the pedant.

Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men from beasts?

When the multitude detests a man, inquiry is necessary; when the multitude likes a man, inquiry is equally necessary.

Men of principle are sure to be bold, but those who are bold may not always be men of principle.

Let mourning stop when one’s grief is fully expressed.

A man may not transgress the bounds of major morals, but may make errors in minor morals.

To love a thing means wanting it to live.

Learn as though you would never be able to master it; hold it as though you would be in fear of losing it.

The superior man is easy to serve and difficult to please.

If language be not in accordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot be carried on to success.

A superior man may be made to go to the well, but he cannot be made to go down into it. He may be imposed upon, but he cannot be fooled.

There are cases in which the blade springs, but the plant does not go on to flower. There are cases where it flowers, but no fruit is subsequently produced.

If I am virtuous and worthy, for whom should I not maintain a proper concern?

A man of humanity is one who, in seeking to establish himself, finds a foothold for others and who, desiring attainment for himself, helps others to attain.

Desire to have things done quickly prevents their being done thoroughly.

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 real fault is to have faults and not to amend them.

The parents’ age must be remembered, both for joy and anxiety.

He who requires much from himself and little from others, will keep himself from being the object of resentment.

When a man feels the difficulty of doing, can he be other than cautious and slow in speaking?

Boldness, without the rules of propriety, becomes insubordination.

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.