Confucius quotes: wise famous quotes, sayings and quotations by Confucius

Confucius Famous Quotes & Sayings

Discover top inspirational quotes from Confucius on Wise Famous Quotes.

Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it.

When you see a good man, think of emulating him; when you see a bad man, examine your own heart.

Base yourself in loyalty and trust. Don't be companion with those who are not your moral equal. When you make a mistake, don't hesitate to correct it.

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

Excessive (population) growth may reduce output per worker, repress levels of living for the masses and engender strife

Bird in hand makes it harder to blow nose.

To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.

Have no friends not equal to yourself.

Thought, unassisted by learning, is dangerous.

Gentlemen should not waste their time on trivial games
they should play go[3]

To love a thing means wanting it to live.

Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself.

The way you cut your meat reflects the way you live.

Every house guest brings you happiness. Some when they arrive, and some when they are leaving

The superior man loves his soul; the inferior man loves his property.

Be aroused by poetry; structure yourself with propriety, refine yourself with music.

The superior man is slow in his words and earnest in his conduct.

To know what is first and what is last will lead near to what is taught in the Great Learning.

If there were one word that could act as a standard of conduct for one's entire life, perhaps it would be 'thoughtfulness.

Heaven begat Virtue in me; what can man do unto me?

A man is great not because he hasn't failed; a man is great because failure hasn't stopped him.

The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.

The Master said, I set my heart on the Way, base myself on virtue, lean upon benevolence for support and take my recreation in the arts.

If a man is not good, what has he to do with the rules of propriety? If he is not good, what has he to do with music?

If things far away don't concern you, you'll soon mourn things close at hand.

Nothing is more visible than things hidden; Nothing is more manifest than things minute; Therefore, the superior man should be aware of his aloneness

A man should practice what he preaches, but a man should also preach what he practices.

You turn the handle the way it goes, not the way it ought to go

Table your mistakes, learn from them, then move on.

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

Signs and symbols rule the world, not words nor laws.

The contrived language and the flattering attitude rarely come with the virtue.

A disciple having asked for a definition of charity, the Master said LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

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

If I hold up one corner of a square and the student cannot workout the other three for himself, I won't go any further.

It is man that makes truth great, not truth that makes man great.

One who can move mountains start with the little stones.

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.

A man whose strength gives out collapses along the course. In your case you set the limits beforehand.

The true gentleman does not preach what he practices till he has practiced what he preaches.

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

Think no vice so small that you may commit it, and no virtue so small that you may over look it.

A knight whose heart is set upon the Way, but who is ashamed of wearing shabby clothes and eating coarse food, is not worth calling into counsel.

If an urn lacks the characteristics of an urn, how can we call it an urn?

The green reed which bends in the wind is stronger than the mighty oak which breaks in a storm.

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

To know that one knows what one knows, and to know that one doesn't know what one doesn't know, there lies true wisdom.

He who searches for evil, must first look at his own reflection.

When a wise man points at the moon the imbecile examines the finger.

To study and not think is a waste. To think and not study is dangerous.

The Master said, "A true teacher is one who, keeping the past alive, is also able to understand the present."
(Analects 2.11)

The object of the superior man is truth.

Man shoot at nothing, sure to hit it.

Never give a sword to a man who can't dance.

Not feeling compassion for a stranger is like not feeling when one's foot has caught fire

Every journey starts with a single step.

If you reflect within yourself and find nothing to be ashamed of, how could you have anxiety or fear.

With a heavy load and a long journey

By gaining the people, the kingdom is gained; by losing the people, the kingdom is lost.

A man who reviews the old so as to find out the new is qualified to teach others.

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

A gentleman is ashamed to let his words outrun his deeds.

A man exercising no forethought will soon experience present sorrow.

The man of upright life is obeyed before he speaks.

To become a leader, you must first become a human being

Do not treat others as you yourself would not be treated.

There is the love of knowing without the love of learning; the beclouding here leads to dissipation of mind.

It's only in winter that the pine and cypress are known to be evergreens.

Better than the one who knows what is right is the one who loves what is right.

The noble-minded encourage what is beautiful in people and discourage what is ugly in them. Little people do just the opposite.

In antiquity men studied for their own sake; nowadays men study for the sake of impressing others.

I am not an originator but a transmitter.

Some may study side by side, and yet be asunder when they come to the logic of things.

To be in one's own heart in kindly sympathy with all things; this is the nature of righteousness

Remember even when alone, that the divine is everywhere.

A good man does not worry about not being known by others, but rather is concerned about not knowing them.

The scholar does not consider gold and jade to be precious treasures, but loyalty and good faith.

The more you know yourself, the more you forgive yourself.

Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.

Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles.

If language is not rectified, words do not correspond to meaning, and if words do not correspond to meaning, our deeds cannot be accomplished.

Every man knows the smell of his own fart.

A hammer shatters glass but it also forges steel.

You judge yourself by what you think you can achieve, others judge you by what have achieved.

To throw oneself into strange teachings is quite dangerous.

Study the past, if you would divine the future.

Is virtue a thing remote? I wish to be virtuous, and lo! Virtue is at hand.

There has never been a man mean and at the same time virtuous.

There are three unfilial acts: the greatest of these is the failure to produce sons.

A good man regards the root; he fixes the root, and ail else flows out of it. The root is filial piety; the fruit brotherly love.

There is one single thread binding my way together ... the way of the Master consists in doing one's best ... that is all.

The superior man thinks always of virtue; the common man thinks of comfort.

The superior man makes the difficulty to be overcome his first interest; success only comes later.

Among the appliances to transform the people, sound and appearances are but trivial influences.

Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.

There is no body but eats and drinks. But they are few who can distinguish flavors.

Knowledge is merely brilliance in organization of ideas and not wisdom. The truly wise person goes beyond knowledge.

Don't look for a black cat in a dark room, especially if it is not there ...

Tsze-kung wished to dispense with the sacrifice of a sheep for the New Moon ceremony. The Master said, "You love the sheep; I love the ceremony.

Happiness is not at the top of the mountain, but in how to climb.