Confucius
Chinese philosopher, 551-479 BC
73 quotes.
Quotes by Confucius
- A blemish may be taken out of a diamond by careful polishing, but if your words have the least blemish there is no way to efface it.
- A fool resents good counsel, but a wise man lays it to heart.
- A great man is hard on himself; a small man is hard on others.
- A man who has committed a mistake and doesn’t correct it is committing another mistake.
- A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.
- Act with kindness, but do not expect gratitude.
- Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.
- Be not sorry that men do not know you, but be sorry that you are ignorant of men.
- By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart.
- By three methods we may learn wisdom: first, by reflection, which is the noblest; second, by imitation, which is the easiest; and third, by experience, which is the bitterest.
- Desire to have things done quickly prevents their being done thoroughly. Looking at small advantages prevents great affairs from being accomplished.
- Do not worry if others do not understand you. Instead worry if you do not understand others.
- Don’t worry that no one knows you, but seek to be worthy of being known.
- Faced with what is right, to leave it undone shows a lack of courage.
- For one word a man is often deemed wise, and for one word he is often deemed foolish.
- Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses.
- He who cherishes his old knowledge, so as continually to acquire new, he may be a teacher of others.
- He who knows right principles is not equal to him who loves them.
- He who learns but does not think, is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.
- He who requires much from himself and little from others, will keep himself from being the object of resentment.
- He who wishes to secure the good of others has already secured his own.
- Humility is the solid foundation of all the virtues.
- I am not concerned that I have no place; I am concerned how I may fit myself for one. I am not concerned that I am not known; I seek to be worthy to be known.
- I will not be concerned at other men's not knowing me; I will be concerned at my own want of ability.
- If a man takes no thought about what is distant, he will find sorrow near at hand.
- If one has made a mistake, and fails to correct it, one has made a greater mistake.
- If what one has to say is not better than silence, then one should keep silent.
- If you make a mistake and do not correct it, this is called a mistake.
- If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help someone else.
- If your plan is for one year plant rice. If your plan is for ten years plant trees. If your plan is for one hundred years educate children.
- It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.
- It is not the failure of others to appreciate your abilities that should trouble you, but rather your failure to appreciate theirs.
- Knowledge without practice is useless. Practice without knowledge is dangerous.
- Learning without thought is labour lost; thought without learning is perilous.
- Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.
- Men's natures are alike, it is their habits that carry them far apart.
- Never contract friendship with a man that is not better than thyself.
- No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.
- Now the man of perfect virtue, wishing to be established himself, seeks also to establish others; wishing to be enlarged himself, he seeks also to enlarge others.
- Only after Winter comes do we know that the pine and the cypress are the last to fade.