The Analects Quotes
"Is it not a pleasure to learn and, when it is timely, to practice what you have learned?"
"A man of clever words and of a pleasing countenance is bound to be short on humanity."
"At fifteen, I set my heart on learning. At thirty, I found my balance through the rites."
"To rule by virtue is like the way the North Star rules, standing in its place with all the other stars revolving around it."
"If you learn but do not think, you will be dazed. If you think but do not learn, you will be in danger."
"Do not worry that other people do not know you. But be concerned that you do not know them."
"If a person does not have the trust of others, I don’t see how he can get anywhere."
"A person is worthy of being a teacher if he is able to gain new insights from chewing over what he already knew."
"The gentleman is fair-minded and generous; he is not partisan or divisive."
"To pursue strange theories or to get sidetracked in your studies can only bring harm."
"Being human and yet lacking humaneness—what can such a man do with the rites?"
"With regard to the rites as a whole, it is better to err on the side of being frugal than on that of being extravagant."
"Even though the Yi and Di tribes have their rulers, their conduct is not guided by the rites and they have no sense of rightness."
"Gentlemen have no reason to contend. But, of course, there is the archery contest."
"White is applied after the colors are put in."
"The gentleman should treat his ministers in accordance with the rites."
"When you have offended Heaven, there is no spirit you can pray to."
"Zhou took stock of the two previous dynasties. Splendid is her culture! I follow the Zhou."
"Asking questions is the correct practice of the rites."
"It is stated, ‘In ritualistic archery, the object is not hitting the hide because men do not have equal strength.’"
"I don’t want to waste a lamb, whereas I don’t want to see the rite disappear."
"If in serving your ruler you try to do everything correctly by the rites, others will look upon you as being obsequious."
"The ruler should treat his ministers in accordance with the rites."
"In the guanju poem, there is joy but no immodest thoughts; sorrow but no self-injury."
"Don’t try to explain what is already done. Don’t attempt to remonstrate about what is finished."
"This much can be known about music. It begins with vigorous playing."
"Why should you worry about not having an official position? The world has been without the Way for a long time now."
"Of the shao music, the Master said, it was perfectly beautiful and perfectly good."
"To be without tolerance when in a high position, without respect when performing the rites, without sorrow when in mourning—what is the point of witnessing such things?"
"A neighborhood suffused with a humane spirit is beautiful."
"A person who is not humane cannot remain for long either in hard or in easy circumstances."
"Only a humane person is able to like and dislike others."
"If you truly set your mind on being humane, you are not morally culpable."
"The gentleman does not abandon humaneness, not even for the duration of a meal."
"I have never seen a person who truly loved humaneness or a person who was truly repelled by the lack of humaneness."
"The gentleman worries about the condition of his moral character, while the common man worries about his land."
"If in your action you think only of profit, then you will incur much unhappiness."
"If a person is able to govern a state by means of the rites and with fostering a deferential attitude as his goal, what difficulty will he have?"
"Do not worry that you have no official position."
"Can, my way has a thread running through it."
"The gentleman understands what is morally right. The petty man understands what is profitable."
"When you meet a worthy person, think how you could become his equal."
"In serving your parents, be gentle when trying to dissuade them from wrongdoing."
"While your parents are alive, do not travel to distant places."
"If for three years you refrained from altering your father’s ways, you can be called filial."
"You must always be mindful of your parents’ age."
"People in ancient times did not speak carelessly."
"Few are those who make mistakes by knowing to hold back."
"The gentleman tends to be hesitant about speaking but quick to act."
"Virtue does not stand alone. It is bound to have neighbors."
"One can get to learn about the Master’s accomplishments in literature and the cultural tradition but not his views on human nature and the way of Heaven."
"Before Zilu was able to put into practice what he had heard, he only feared that he might hear something else."
"I do not wish others to impose what is unreasonable on me."
"Why was Kong Wenzi given the posthumous name wen?"
"He was respectful in the manner in which he conducted himself, reverent in the service of his lord, generous in caring for the common people, and just in the way he employed them."
"Yan Pingzhong is good at handling social relationships."
"Zang Wenzhong housed the great tortoise in a hall where the capitals of the pillars were carved in the shape of mountains."
"If I cannot practice a proper way here in this world, then I shall take to the open sea and drift around on a bamboo raft."
"Ji Wenzi always thought three times before taking action."
"Ning Wuzi was wise when the moral way prevailed in his state and acted like a fool when the moral way did not prevail in his state."
"Let's go home. Let's go home! Our young men back home are wildly spirited and unhewn."
"Bo Yi and Shu Qi did not dwell on old wrongs."
"Clever words, a pleasing countenance, nervous shuffling—Zuoqiu Ming regarded such things as shameful."
"I would like to share my carriages and horses, my clothes and furs with my friends, and, even if these things became worn, to have no regrets."
"I would like never to boast of any good points I might have and never to claim credit for work I might have done for others."
"To give comfort to the old, to have the trust of my friends, and to have the young seeking to be near me."
"I have yet to see anyone who could recognize his mistakes and take himself to task privately."
"I will not give a person a boost or a start if he does not know the frustration of trying to solve a difficult problem."
"If it is possible to seek wealth, I would be willing to be a guard holding a whip at the marketplace."
"I must have been slipping fast! It has been so long since I dreamt of the Duke of Zhou."
"The gentleman is large of spirit and mind, while the petty man is always nervous about something."
"To retain knowledge quietly in my mind, to learn without ever feeling sated, not to weary of teaching—these things are not a problem for me."
"Is humaneness far away? As soon as I desire humaneness, it is here."
"Being extravagant often means that you lack humility. Being frugal often means that you are shabby. I would rather be shabby than lacking in humility."
"I was not born with knowledge, but I love antiquity, and I work hard in pursuing it."
"Wealth and power unrightfully gained mean as much to me as drifting clouds."
"The wise delight in water; the humane delight in mountains."
"A child receives from his parents a body that is intact when he is born, and if he keeps it intact when he dies, this is called filiality."
"When a bird is about to die, its cries are sorrowful. When a man is about to die, his words carry weight."
"To be trespassed against yet to be content to lay aside any need for reprisal—in the past, a friend of mine devoted his effort to realizing this."
"A man who can be entrusted with the care of an orphan and charged with the command of a state, who will not waver in a serious crisis, is he not a gentleman?"
"He takes humaneness as his burden. Is it not heavy? And his road ends only with death. Is it not long?"
"The common people can be made to follow a course of action, but they cannot be made to understand the reasons for doing it."
"If the people love bravery and are angry about their poverty, this is a formula for chaos."
"Although a person may have talents as outstanding as those of the Duke of Zhou, if he is arrogant and ungenerous, none of his other qualities are worth admiring."
"It is hard to find a person who, after three years of studying, has not yet turned his thoughts to earning a salary."
"Have unshakable trust in the moral path you pursue. Love learning. Hold on to the way of the good until you die."
"If you don’t have a particular position, then don’t meddle with any of its business."
"Learn as if you will never catch up, as though you are afraid of losing whatever you have already understood."
"Sublime was the way Shun and Yu held possession of the empire—they got it without seeking it, and once they had it, they took no part in it."
"Great was Yao as a ruler! Sublime was he! Heaven alone was great, and only Yao took it as his model."
"I could use the example of building a mountain. If with just one more basketful of dirt to go I stopped, then I was the one who stopped."
"The wise are never perplexed. The humane never suffer from vexation. The brave are never afraid."
"Standing by the river, the Master declaimed, 'How it flows on like this, never ceasing day and night!'"
"Only in the deepest winter do we realize that the pine and cypress are the last to shed their leaves."
"The young should have our respect. How do we know that the coming generation may not prove to be the equal of the present one?"
"How can one not agree with exemplary words? But what is important is that they will lead you to self-reform."
"It is Confucius himself who can best clear the air."
"You can’t even serve men properly, how can you serve the spirits?"
"If one reveres life, one has respect for death."