Confucius Quotes

236 Sourced Quotes

He who works for his own interests will arouse much animosity

Confucius
The superior man... does not set his mind either for anything, or against anything; what is right he will follow.

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

Confucius
In vain I have looked for a single man capable of seeing his own faults and bringing the charge home against himself.

Confucius
By nature men are alike. Through practice they have become far apart.

Confucius
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.

Confucius
Love makes a spot beautiful: who chooses not to dwell in love, has he got wisdom?

Confucius
If a man sets his heart on benevolence he will be free from evil.

Confucius
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.

Confucius
The Path is not far from man. When men try to pursue a course, which is far from the common indications of consciousness, this course cannot be considered The Path.

Confucius
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.

Confucius
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
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
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.

Confucius
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
Sincerity becomes apparent. From being apparent, it becomes manifest. From being manifest, it becomes brilliant. Brilliant, it affects others. Affecting others, they are changed by it. Changed by it, they are transformed. It is only he who is possessed of the most complete sincerity that can exist under heaven, who can transform.

Confucius
The superior man does what is proper to the station in which he is; he does not desire to go beyond this. In a position of wealth and honor, he does what is proper to a position of wealth and honor. In a poor and low position, he does what is proper to a poor and low position.

Confucius
Without recognizing the ordinances of Heaven, it is impossible to be a superior man.

Confucius
I have never yet seen anyone whose desire to build up his moral power was as strong as sexual desire.

Confucius
Those whose courses are different cannot lay plans for one another.

Confucius