Quotes from Confucius

Coarse rice to eat, water to drink, my bended arm for a pillow - therein is happiness. Wealth and rank attained through immoral means are nothing but drifting clouds.

The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large.

Faithfulness and sincerity are the highest things.

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

Where words lose their meaning, people lose their lives.

Those who cannot forgive others break the bridge over which they themselves must pass.

If I understand Change, I shall make no great mistake in Life

If your desire is for good, the people will be good.

On a deux vies et la deuxième commence le jour ou l'on se rend compte qu'on n'en a qu'une.

Return good for good; return evil with justice.

If I am walking with two other men, each of them will serve as my teacher. I will pick out the good points of the one and imitate them, and the bad points of the other and correct them in myself.

Things have their roots and branches. Affairs have their beginnings and their ends. To know what is first and what is last will lead one near the Way.

Tell me and I will forget, show me and I may remember; involve me and I will understand.

If either wealth or poverty are come by honesty, there is no shame.

I am not an originator but a transmitter.

Care not for want of place; care for thy readiness to fill one. Care not for being unknown, but seek to be worthy of note.

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

When everyone hates a person, you should investigate thoroughly, and when everyone loves a person, you should also investigate thoroughly.

A youth is to be regarded with respect. How do we know that his future will not be equal to our present? If he reach the age of forty or fifty, and has not made himself heard of, then indeed he will not be worth being regarded with respect.

To study and constantly, is this not a pleasure? To have friends come from far away places, is this not a joy? If people do not recognize your worth, but this does not worry you, are you not a true gentleman?

The Master said, "To study, and then in a timely fashion to practice what you have learned—is this not satisfying? To have companions arrive from afar—is this not a joy? To remain unrecognized by others and yet remain free of resentment—is this not the mark of the gentleman?" (Analects 1.1)

The man who chases two rabbits, catches neither.

I want you to be everything that's you, deep at the center of your being.

What can a man do with music who is not benevolent?