Confucius Short Quotes

25 Sourced Quotes

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To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.

Confucius
When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them.

Confucius
Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles.

Confucius
The superior man is distressed by his want of ability.

Confucius
To rank the effort above the prize may be called love.

Confucius
No state can exist without the confidence of the people.

Confucius
Only the most intelligent and the most stupid do not change.

Confucius
He who works for his own interests will arouse much animosity

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

Confucius
You do not understand even life. How can you understand death?

Confucius
Between friends, frequent reproofs make the friendship distant.

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

Confucius
Men of practical knowledge find their gratification among rivers.

Confucius
I transmit but do not create. I believe in and love the ancients.

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

Confucius
Boldness, without the rules of propriety, becomes insubordination.

Confucius
The gentleman desires to be halting in speech but quick in action.

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

Confucius
They must often change who would be constant in happiness or wisdom.

Confucius
It is only the very wisest and the very stupidest who cannot change.

Confucius
The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.

Confucius
Faced with what is right, to leave it undone shows a lack of courage.

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

Confucius
A workman who wants to do his work well must first prepare his tools.

Confucius
The firm, the enduring, the simple, and the modest are near to virtue.

Confucius
Recompense injury with justice, and recompense kindness with kindness.

Confucius
Therefore the superior man is watchful over himself, when he is alone.

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

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

Confucius
By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart.

Confucius