Quotes from Confucius

There are three things against which the wise man guards: lust when young, quarrels when strong, and covetousness when old.

Virtue is more to man than either water or fire. I have seen men die from treading on water and fire, but I have never seen a man die from treading the course of virtue.

The superior man governs men, according to their nature, with what is proper to them, and as soon as they change what is wrong, he stops.

The superior man sets his person at rest before he moves; he composes his mind before he speaks.

I have yet to meet a man as fond of high moral conduct as he is of outward appearances.

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

The superior man is firm in the right way and not merely firm.

Of neighborhoods, benevolence is the most beautiful. How can the man be considered wise who when he had the choice does not settle in benevolence.

If a man be under the influence of anger his conduct will not be correct.

The superior man does what is proper to the station in which he is; he does not desire to go beyond this.

When a man's knowledge is sufficient to attain, and his virtue is not sufficient to enable him to hold, whatever he may have gained, he will lose again.

He who flatters a man is his enemy. he who tells him of his faults is his maker.

The superior man has a dignified ease without pride. The mean man has pride without a dignified ease.

A person of character takes as much trouble to discover what is right as the lesser men take to discover what will pay.

The wise man delights in water, the Good man delights in mountains. For the wise move; but the Good stay still. The wise are happy; but the good secure.

Many seek happiness higher than men; others beneath him. But happiness is the same height as man.

Even in killing men, observe the rules of propriety.

Possessed of courage but devoid of morality, a superior man will make trouble while a small man will be a brigand.

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

Sincerity is that whereby self-completion is effected, and its way is that by which man must direct himself.

The man of upright life is obeyed before he speaks.

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

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

There may be men who act without understanding why. I do not. To listen much, pick out the good and follow it; to see much and ponder it: this comes next to understanding.