Confucius
Confucius (551–479 BCE) was a Chinese philosopher and teacher whose ideas on ethics, family, and good governance shaped East Asian thought for over two millennia. His sayings, compiled by his students as the Analects, emphasize self-cultivation, propriety, and lifelong learning.
Quotes
- When you know a thing, to hold that...
- To study without thinking is...
- When I walk along with two others,...
- The superior man thinks always of...
- If a man be without the virtues...
- Filial piety and brotherly...
- If you set an example by being...
- The superior man seeks within...
- The strength of a nation derives...
- The superior man is anxious lest he...
- The superior man is slow in his...
- Music produces a kind of pleasure...
- At fifteen, I set my heart on...
- The superior man seeks to...
- Let the ruler be a ruler, the...
- When you know a thing, to hold that...
- Do not do to others what you would...
- The strength of a nation derives...
- I am not one who was born with...
- When the wise are at fault, it is...
- The rules of propriety are...
- The superior man makes demands on...
- The superior man makes certain that...
- There are three things which the...
- The superior man is to the people...
- If a man takes no thought about...
- When you make a mistake, do not be...
- Respect the spirits and gods, but...
- To put the world in order, we must...
- Learning without thought is futile;...
- Promote the worthy and place them...
- He who moves a mountain begins by...
- It is shameful to call a sword what...
- The strength of a nation derives...
- The superior man extends his...
- The man of principle is slow to...
- When one's father is alive, look at...
- The superior man understands what...
- By nature, men are nearly alike; by...
- When the ruler is benevolent, all...
- A man who has committed a mistake...
- The firm, the enduring, the simple,...
- The superior man harmonizes but...