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Success, Failure
Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes.
A man who has committed a mistake and doesn't correct it,
is committing another mistake.
When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them.
What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small
man seeks is in others.
Study the past if you would define the future.
If a man take no thought about what is distant, he will
find sorrow near at hand
The cautious seldom err.
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.
Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it.
He who will not economize will have to agonize.
Men's natures are alike, it is their habits that carry
them far apart.
Relationships
Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses.
Respect yourself and others will respect you.
It is not the failure of others to appreciate your
abilities that should trouble you, but rather your failure to appreciate
theirs.
When anger rises, think of the consequences.
Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.
Tsze-Kung asked, saying, 'Is there one word which may
serve as a rule of practice for all one's life?" The Master said, "Is
not Reciprocity such a word? What you do not want done to yourself, do
not do to others."
Recompense injury with justice, and recompense kindness
with kindness.
It is not possible for one to teach others who cannot
teach his own family.
Have no friends not equal to yourself.
In his errors a man is true to type. Observe the errors
and you will know the man.
It is only the benevolent man who is capable of liking or
disliking other men.
A youth is to be regarded with respect. How do you know
that his future will not be equal to our present?
While you are not able to serve men, how can you serve
spirits [of the dead]?...While you do not know life, how can you know
about death?
To see what is right, and not to do it, is want of
courage or of principle.
They must often change who would be constant in happiness
or wisdom.
By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to
be wide apart.
Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom
associated with true virtue.
He with whom neither slander that gradually soaks into
the mind, nor statements that startle like a wound in the flesh, are
successful may be called intelligent indeed.
Virtue
To be able to practice five things everywhere under
heaven constitutes perfect virtue...[They are] gravity, generosity of
soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness.
He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be
compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the
stars turn towards it.
Is virtue a thing remote? I wish to be virtuous, and lo!
Virtue is at hand.
Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles.
If a man remembers what is right at the sign of profit,
is ready to lay down his life in the face of danger, and does not forget
sentiments he has repeated all his life when he has been in straitened
circumstances for a long time, he may be said to be a complete man.
The firm, the enduring, the simple, and the modest are
near to virtue.
The man of virtue makes the difficulty to be overcome his
first business, and success only a subsequent consideration.
I have not seen a person who loved virtue, or one who
hated what was not virtuous. He who loved virtue would esteem nothing
above it.
If a man takes no thought about what is distant, he will
find sorrow near at hand.
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.
Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it
will have neighbors.
If a man withdraws his mind from the love of beauty, and
applies it as sincerely to the love of the virtuous; if, in serving his
parents, he can exert his utmost strength; if, in serving his prince, he
can devote his life; if in his intercourse with his friends, his words
are sincere - although men say that he has not learned, I will certainly
say that he has.
Knowledge,
Learning
I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I
understand.
Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance.
When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when
you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it - this is
knowledge.
I am not one who was born in the possession of knowledge;
I am one who is fond of antiquity, and earnest in seeking it there.
In a hamlet of ten households, there are bound to be
those who are my equal in doing their best for others and in being
trustworthy in what they say, but they are unlikely to be as eager to
learn as I am.
He who merely knows right principles is not equal to him
who loves them.
Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without
learning is perilous.
Ignorance is the night of the mind, but a night without
moon and star.
By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by
reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest;
and third by experience, which is the bitterest.
He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks
but does not learn is in great danger.
The essence of knowledge is, having it, to apply it; not
having it, to confess your ignorance.
Even when walking in the company of two other men, I am
bound to be able to learn from them. The good points of the one I copy;
the bad points of the other I correct in myself.
When we see men of a contrary character, we should turn
inwards and examine ourselves.
The scholar who cherishes the love of comfort is not fit
to be deemed a scholar.
Those who do not study are only cattle dressed up in
men’s clothes.
The determined scholar and the man of virtue will not
seek to live at the expense of injuring their virtue. They will even
sacrifice their lives to preserve their virtue complete.
The man who in view of gain thinks of righteousness; who
in the view of danger is prepared to give up his life; and who does not
forget an old agreement however far back it extends - such a man may be
reckoned a complete man.
The people may be made to follow a path of action, but
they may not be made to understand it.
To be able under all circumstances to practice five
things constitutes perfect virtue; these five things are gravity,
generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness and kindness.
The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in
his actions.
The superior man is satisfied and composed; the mean man
is always full of distress.
The superior man...does not set his mind either for
anything, or against anything; what is right he will follow.
There are three things which the superior man guards
against. In youth...lust. When he is strong...quarrelsomeness. When he
is old...covetousness.
Things that are done, it is needless to speak
about...things that are past, it is needless to blame.
To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.
Without an acquaintance with the rules of propriety, it
is impossible for the character to be established.
Communication
If language is not correct, then what is said is not what
is meant; if what is said is not what is meant, then what must be done
remains undone; if this remains undone, morals and art will deteriorate;
if justice goes astray, the people will stand about in helpless
confusion. Hence there must be no arbitrariness in what is said. This
matters above everything.
He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to
make his words good.
[The superior man] acts before he speaks, and afterwards
speaks according to his actions.
The superior man is modest in his speech, but excels in
his actions.
When we see men of worth, we should think of equaling
them; when we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards
and examine ourselves.
With coarse rice to eat, with water to drink, and my
bended arm for a pillow - I have still joy in the midst of these things.
Riches and honors acquired by unrighteousness are to me as a floating
cloud.
Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.
To govern is to be correct. If you set an example by
being correct, who would dare remain incorrect?
Achievement
Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.
The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away
small stones.
It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do
not stop.
Life is really simple, but men insist on making it
complicated.
The man of wisdom is never in two minds about right and
wrong; the man of benevolence never worries about the future; the man of
courage is never afraid.
The superior man is distressed by the limitations of his
ability; he is not distressed by the fact that men do not recognize the
ability that he has.
The Three Armies can be deprived of their commanding
officer, but even a common man cannot be deprived of his purpose.
The superior man, when resting in safety, does not forget
that danger may come. When in a state of security he does not forget the
possibility of ruin. When all is orderly, he does not forget that
disorder may come. Thus his person is not endangered, and his States and
all their clans are preserved.
The superior man cannot be known in little matters, but
he may be entrusted with great concerns. The small man may not be
entrusted with great concerns, but he may be known in little matters.
There is one single thread binding my way together...the
way of the Master consists in doing one’s best...that is all. |
