My Favorite Confucius Quotes

Confucius is my favorite philosopher, therefore I would like to have a section and list every quote that I cherish dearly found throughout the “Analects.” The reason being is because my moral philosophies and Confucius’s philosophies are very similar to each other. However, his writings are a guide to be the superior man for heaven and mine for the reform of social mentality. When reading these passages, be sure to bear in mind they are translated from old Chinese and reflect their ancient way of life. 

• Book 1 IV. The philosopher Tsang said, ‘I daily examine myself on three points: -whether, in intercourse with friends, I may have been not sincere; -whether I may have not mastered and practiced the instructions of my teacher.’
• Book 1 VI. The master said, ‘A youth, when at home, should be filial, and abroad, respectful to his elders. He should be earnest and truthful. He should overflow in love to all, and cultivate the friendship of the good. When he has time and opportunity, after the performance of these things, he should employ them in polite studies.’
• Book 2 III. The master said, ‘If the people be led by laws, and uniformity sought to be given them by punishment, they will try to avoid the punishment, but have no sense of shame.
• If they be led by virtue, and uniformity sought to be given them by the rules of propriety, they will have the sense of shame, and moreover will become good.’
• Book 2 IV. The master said, ‘At fifteen, I had my mind bent on learning. At thirty, I stood firm. At forty, I had no doubts. At fifty, I knew the decrees of Heaven. At sixty, my ear was an obedient organ for the reception of truth. At seventy, I could follow what my heart desired, without transgressing what was right.’
• Book 2 V. Mang I asked what filial piety was. The master said, ‘It is not being disobedient.’
• Soon after, as Fan Ch’ih was driving him, the Master told him, saying, ‘Mang-sun asked me what filial was, and I answered him, -“not being disobedient.”’
• Fan ch’ih said ‘What did you mean?’ The Master replied, ‘That parents, when alive, should be served according to propriety; that, when dead, they should be buried according to propriety; and that they should be sacrificed to according to propriety.’
• Book 2 XI. The Master said, ‘If a man keeps cherishing his old knowledge, so as continually to be acquiring new, he may be a teacher of others.’
• Book 2 XIII. Tsze-kung asked what constituted the superior man. The Master said, ‘He acts before he speaks, and afterwards speaks according to his actions.’
• Book 2 XIV. The Master said, ‘The superior man is catholic and no partisan. The mean man is a partisan and not catholic.’
• Book 2 XV. The Master said, ‘Learning without thought is labour lost; thought without learning is perilous.’
• Book 2 XIX. The duke Ai asked, saying, ‘What should be done in order to secure the submission of the people?’ Confucius replied, ‘Advance the upright and set aside the upright, then the people will not submit.’
• Book 4 II. The Master said, ‘Those who are without virtue cannot abide long either in a condition of poverty and hardship, or in a condition of enjoyment. The virtuous rest in virtue; the wise desire virtue.’
• Book 4 III. The Master said, ‘It is only the (truly) virtuous man, who can love, or who can hate, others.’
• Book 4 IV. The Master said, ‘If the will be set on virtue, there will be no practice of wickedness.’
• Book 4 VII. The Master said, ‘The faults of men are characteristic of the class to which they belong. By observing a man’s faults, it may be known that he is virtuous.’
• Book 4 X. The Master said, ‘The superior man, in the world, does not set his mind either for anything, or against anything; what is right he will follow.’
• Book 4 XI. The Master said, ‘The superior man thinks of virtue; the small man thinks of comfort. The superior man thinks of the sanctions of law; the small man thinks of favours which he may receive.’
• Book 4 XIV. The Master said, ‘A man should say, 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 worthy to be known.’
• Book 4 XVI. The Master said, ‘The mind of the superior man is conversant with righteousness; the mind of the mean man is conversant with gain.’
• Book 4 XVII. The Master said, ‘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.’
• Book 4 XVIII. The Master said, ‘In serving his parents, a son may remonstrate with them, but gently; when he sees that they do not incline to follow his advice, he shows an increase degree of reverence, but does not abandon his purpose; and should they punish him, he does not allow himself to murmur.’
• Book 4 XXIV. The Master said. ‘The superior man wishes to be slow in his speech and earnest in his conduct.’
• Book 4 XXV. The Master said, ‘Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbours.’
• Book 5 XI. Tsz-kung said, ‘What I do not wish men to do to me , I also wish not to do to men.’ The Master said, ‘The Master said, ‘Ts’ze, you have not attained to that.’
• Book 5 XV. The Master said of Tsze-ch’an that he had four of the characteristics of a superior man: -in his conduct of himself, he was humble; in serving his superiors, he was respectful; in nourishing the people, he was kind; in ordering the people, he was just.’
• Book 5 XXV. Yen Yuan and Chi Lu being by his side, the Master said to them, ‘Come let each of you tell his wishes.’
• Tsze-lu said, ‘I should like, having chariots and horses, and light fur dresses, to share them with friends, and though they should spoil them, I would not be displeased.’
• Yen Yuan said, ‘I should like not to boast of my excellence, nor to make a display of my meritorious deeds.’
• Tsze-lu then said, ‘I should like, sir, to hear your wishes.’ The Master said, ‘They are, in regard to the aged, to give them rest; in regard to friends, to show them sincerity; in regard to the young, to treat them tenderly.’
• Book 6 XVIII. The Master said, ‘They who know the truth are not equal to those who love it, and they who love it are not equal to those who delight in it.’
• Book 6 XX. Fan Ch’ihasked what constituted wisdom. The Master said, ‘To give one’s self earnestly to the duties due to men, and, while respecting spiritual beings, to keep aloof from them, may be called wisdom.’ He asked about perfect virtue. The Master said, ‘The man of virtue makes the difficulty to be overcome his first business, and success only a subsequent consideration; - this may be called perfect virtue.’
• Book 6 XXI. The Master said, ‘The wise find pleasure in water; the virtuous find pleasure in hills. The wise are active; the virtuous are tranquil. The wise are joyful; the virtuous are long-lived.’
• Book 6 XXIV. Tsai Wo asked, saying, ‘A benevolent man, though it be told him, - “There is a man in the well,” will go in after him, I suppose.’ Confucius said, ‘Why would he do so?’ A superior man may be made to go to the well, but he cannot be made to go down into it. He may be imposed upon, but he cannot be befooled.’
• Book 6 XXV. The Master said, ‘The superior man, extensively studying all learning, and keeping himself under the restraint of the rules of propriety, may thus likewise not overstep what is right.’
• Book 7 III. The Master said, ‘The leaving virtue without cultivation; the not thoroughly discussing what is learned; not being able to move towards righteousness of which a knowledge is gained; and not being able to change what is not good: -these are the things which occasion me solicitude.’
• Book 7 IV. When the Master was unoccupied with business, his manner was easy, and he looked pleased.
• Book 7 VI. The Master said, ‘Let the will be set on the path of duty. Let every attainment in what is good be firmly grasped. Let perfect virtue be accorded with. Let relaxation and enjoyment be found in the polite arts.’
• Book 7 XVIII. The duke of Sheh asked Tsze-lu about Confucius, and Tsze-lu did not answer him. The Master said, ‘Why did you not say to him, -He is simply a man, who in his eager pursuit (of knowledge) forgets his food, who in the joy of its attainment forgets his sorrows, and who does not perceive that old age is coming on?’
• Book 7 XIX. The Master said, ‘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.’
• Book 7 XXI. The Master said, ‘When I walk along with two others, they may serve me as my teachers. I will select their good qualities and follow them, their bad qualities and avoid them.’
• Book 7 XXVII. The Master said, ‘There may be those who act without knowing why. I do not do so. Hearing much and selecting what is good and following it; seeing much and keeping it in memory: -this is the second style of knowledge.’
• Book 7 XXXI. When the Master was in company with a person who was singing, if he sang well, he would make him repeat the song, while he accompanied it with his own voice.
• Book 7 XXXVI. The Master said, ‘The superior man is satisfied and composed; the mean man is always full of distress.’
• Book 7 XXXVII. The Master was mild, and yet dignified; majestic, and yet not fierce; respectful, and yet easy.
• Book 8 II. The Master said, ‘Respectfulness, without the rules of propriety, becomes laborious bustle; carefulness, without the rules of propriety, becomes timidity; boldness, without the rules of propriety, becomes insubordination; straightforwardness, without the rules of propriety, becomes rudeness. 
• When those who are in high stations perform well all their duties to their relations, the people are aroused to virtue. When old friends are not neglected by them, the people are preserved from meanness.’
• Book 8 IX. The Master said, ‘The people may be made to follow a path of action, but they may not be made to understand it.’
• Book 9 XXII. The Master said, ‘A youth is to be regarded with respect. How do we know that his future will not be equal to our present? If he reach the age of forty or fifty, and has not made himself heard of, then indeed he will not be worth being regarded with respect.’
• Book 9 XXIV. The Master said, ‘Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles. Have no friends not equal to yourself. When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them.’
• Book 9 XXVIII. The Master said, ‘The wise are free from perplexities; the virtuous from anxiety; and the bold from fear.’
• Book 12 II. Chung-kung asked about perfect virtue. The Master said, ‘It is, when you go abroad, to behave to every one as if you were receiving a great quest; to employ the people as if you were assisting at a great sacrifice; not to do to others as you would not wish done to yourself; to have no murmuring against you in the country, and none in the family.’ Chung-kung said, ‘Though I am deficient in intelligence and vigour, I will make it my business to practise this lesson.’
• Book 12 III. Sze-ma Niu asked about perfect virtue. The Master said, ‘The man of perfect virtue is cautious and slow in his speech.’ ‘Cautious and slow in speech!’ said Niu: -‘is this what is meant by perfect virtue?’ The Master said, ‘When a man feels the difficulty of doing, can he be other than cautious and slow in speaking?’
• Book 12 IV. Sze-ma Niu asked about the superior man. The Master said, ‘The superior man has neither anxiety nor fear.’ ‘Being without anxiety or fear!’ said Niu; -‘does this constitute what we call the superior man?’ The Master said, ‘When internal examination discovers nothing wrong, what is there to be anxious about, what is there to fear?’
• Book 12 V. Sze-ma Niu, full of anxiety, said, ‘Other men all have their brothers, I only have not.’ Tsze-hsia said to him, ‘ There is the following saying which I have heard: -‘”Death and life have their determined appointment; riches and honours depend upon heaven.” ‘Let the superior man never fail reverentially to order his own conduct, and let him be respectful to others and observant of propriety: -then all within the four seas will be his brothers. What has the superior man to do with being distressed because he has no brothers?’
• Book 12 VI. Tsze-chang asked what constituted intelligence. The Master said, ‘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. Yea, he with whom neither soaking slander, nor startling statements, are successful, may be called far-seeing.’
• Book 12 X. Tsze-chang having asked how virtue was to be exalted, and delusions to be discovered, the Master said, ‘Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles, and be moving continually to what is right; -this is the way to exalt one’s virtue. 
• You love a man and wish him to live; you hate him and wish him to die. Having wished him to live, you also wish him to die. This is a case of delusion. “It may not be on account of her being rich, yet you come to make a difference.”’
• Book 12 XV. The Master said, ‘By extensively studying all learning, and keeping himself under the restraint of the rules of propriety, one may thus likewise not err from what is right.’
• Book 12 XVI. The Master said, ‘The superior man seeks to perfect the admirable qualities of men, and does not seek to perfect their bad qualities. The mean man does the opposite of this.’
• Book 12 XVII. Chi K’ang asked Confucius about government. Confucius replied, ‘To govern means to rectify. If you lead on the people with correctness, who will dare not to be correct?’
• Book 12 XVIII. Chi’Kang, distressed about the number of thieves in the state, inquired of Confucius how to do away with them. Confucius said, ‘If you sir, were not covetous, although you should reward them to do it, they would not steal.’
• Book 12 XIX. Chi Kang asked Confucius about government, saying, ‘What do you say to killing the unprincipled for the good of the principled?’ Confucius replied, Sir, in carrying on your government, why should you use killing at all? Let your evinced desires be for what is good, and the people will be good. The relation between superiors and inferiors, is like that between the wind and the grass. The grass must bend, when the wind blows across it.’
• Book 12 XXII. Fan Ch’ih asked about benevolence. The Master said, ‘It is to love all men.’ He asked about knowledge. The Master said, ‘It is to know all men.’
• Fan Ch’ih did not immediately understand these answers. The Master said, ‘Employ the upright and put aside all the crooked; -in this way the crooked can be made to be upright.’ 
• Fan Ch’ih retired, and, seeing Tsze-hsia, he said to him, ‘A little while ago, I had an interview with our Master, and asked him about knowledge. He said, “Employ the upright, and put aside all the crooked; - in this way, the crooked will be made to be upright.” What did he mean?’
• Tsze-hsia said, ‘Truly rich is his saying!
• ‘Shun, being in possession of the kingdom, selected from among all the people, and employed Kao-yao, on which all who were devoid of virtue disappeared. T’ang being in possession of the kingdom, selected from among all the people, and employed I Yin, and all who were devoid of virtue disappeared.’
•  Book 12 XXIII. Tsze-kung asked about friendship. The Master said, ‘Faithfully admonish your friend, and skillfully lead him on. If you find him impracticable, stop. Do not disgrace yourself.’
• Book12 XXIV. The philosopher Tsang said, ‘The superior man on grounds of culture meets with his friends, and by their friendship helps his virtue.’
• Book 13 XVII. Tsze-hsia, being governor of Chu-fu, asked about government. The Master said, ‘Do not be desirous to have things done quickly prevents their being done thoroughly. Looking at small advantages prevents great affairs from being accomplished.’
• Book 13 XXIII. The Master said, ‘The superior man is affable, but not adulatory; the mean man is adulatory, but not affable.’
• Book 13 XXVI. The Master said, ‘The superior man has a dignified ease without pride. The mean man has pride without a dignified ease.’
• Book 13 XXVII. The Master said, ‘The firm, the enduring, the simple, and the modest are near to virtue.’
• Book 14 III. The Master said, ‘The scholar who cherishes the love of comfort is not fit to be deemed a scholar.’
• Book 14 V. The Master said, ‘The virtuous will be sure to speak correctly, but those whose speech is good may not always be virtuous. Men of principle are sure to be bold, but those who are bold may not always be men of principle.’
• Book 14 XIV. The Master asked Kung-ming Chia about Kung-shu Wan, saying, ‘Is it true that your master speaks not, laughs not, and takes not?
• Kung-ming Chia replied, ‘This has arisen from the reporters going beyond the truth. –My master speaks when it is the time to speak, and so men do not get tired of his speaking. He laughs when there is occasion to be joyful, and so men do not get tired of his laughing. He takes when it is consistent with righteousness to do so, and so men do not get tired of his taking.’ The Master said, ‘So! But is it so with him?’
• Book 14 XXI. The Master said, ‘He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good.’
• Book 14 XXIV. The Master said, ‘The progress of the superior man is upwards; the progress of the mean man is downwards.’
• Book 14 XXV. The Master said, ‘In ancient times, men learned with a view to their own improvement. Now-a-days, men learn with a view to the approbation of others.’
• Book 14 XXVIII. The philosopher Tsang said, ‘The superior man, in his thoughts, does not go out of his place.’
• Book 14 XXIX. The Master said, ‘The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.’
• Book 14 XXX. The Master said, ‘The way of the superior man is threefold, but I am not equal to it. Virtuous, he is free from anxieties; wise, he is free from perplexities; bold, he is free from fear. 
• tsze-kung said, ‘Master, that is what you yourself say.’
• Book 14 XXXII. The Master said, ‘I will not be concerned at men’s not knowing me; I will be concerned at my own want of ability.’
• Book 15 V. Tsze-chang asked how a man should conduct himself, so as to be everywhere appreciated.
• The Master said, ‘Let his words be sincere and truthful, and his actions honourable and carful; -such conduct may be practiced among the rude tribes of the South or the North. If his words be not sincere and truthful, and his actions not honourable and careful, will he, with such conduct, be appreciated, even in his neighbourhood?
• When he is standing, let him see those two things, as it were, fronting him. When he is in a carrage, let him see them attached to the yoke. Then may he subsequently carry them into practice.’
• Tsze-chang wrote these counsels on the end of his sash.
• Book 15 XI. The Master said, ‘If a man take no thought about what is distant, he will find sorrow near hand.’
• Book 15 XIV. The Master said, ‘He who requires much from himself and little from others, will keep himself from being the object of resentment.’
• Book 15 XVII. The Master said, ‘The superior man in everything considers righteousness to be essential. He performs it according to the rules of propriety. He brings it forth in humility. He completes it with sincerity. This is indeed a superior man.’
• Book 15 XVIII. The Master said, ‘The superior man is distressed by his want of ability. He is not distressed by men’s not knowing him.’
• Book 15 XIX. The Master said, ‘The superior man dislikes the thought of his name not being mentioned after his death.’
• Book 15 XX. The Master said, ‘What the superior man seeks, is in himself. What the mean man seeks, is in others.
• Book 15 XXI. The Master said, ‘The superior man is dignified, but does not wrangle. He is sociable, but not a partisan.’
• Book 15 XXII. The Master said, ‘The superior man does not promote a man simply on account of his words, nor does he put aside good words because of the man.’
• Book 15 XXIII. 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.’
• Book 15 XXVI. The Master said, ‘Specious words confound virtue. Want of forbearance in small matters confounds great plans.’
• Book 15 XXVII. The Master said, ‘When the multitude hate a man, it is necessary to examine into the case. When the multitude like a man, it is necessary to examine into the case.’
• Book 15 XXVIII. The Master said, ‘A man can enlarge the principles which he follows; those principles do not enlarge the man.’
• Book 15 XXIX. The Master said, ‘To have faults and not to reform them, -this, indeed, should be pronounced having faults.’
• Book 15 XXXI. The Master said, ‘The object of the superior man is truth. Food is not his object. There is ploughing; -even in that there is sometimes want. So with learning; - emolument may be found in it. The superior man is anxious lest he should not get truth; he is not anxious lest poverty should come upon him.’
• Book 15 XXXIV. The Master said, ‘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.’
• Book 15 XXXVI. The Master said, ‘The superior man is correctly firm, and not firm merely.’
• Book 16 X. Confucius said, ‘The superior man has nine things which are subjects with him of thoughtful consideration. In regard to the use of his eyes, he is anxious to hear distinctly. In regard to his demeanor, he is anxious that it should be respectful. In regard to his speech, he is anxious that it should be sincere. In regard to his doing of business, he is anxious that it should be reverently careful. In regard to what he doubts about, he is anxious to question others. When he is angry, he thinks of the difficulties (his anger may involve him in). When he sees gain to be got, he thinks of righteousness.’
• Book 16 XI. Confucius said, ‘Contemplating good, and pursuing it, as if they could not reach it; contemplating evil, and shrinking from it, as they would from thrusting the hand into boiling water: -I have seen such men, as I have heard such words.
• Living in retirement to study their aims, and practicing righteousness to carry out their principles: -I have heard these words, but I have not seen such men.’
• Book 17 II. The Master said, ‘By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart.’
• Book 17 III. The Master said, ‘There are only the wise of the highest class, and the stupid of the lowest class, who cannot be changed.’
• Book 17 VI. Tseze-chang asked Confucius about perfect virtue. Confucius said, ‘To be able to practise five things everywhere under heaven constitutes perfect virtue.’ He begged to ask what they were, and was told, ‘Gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness. If you are grave, you will not be treated with disrespect. If you are generous, you will win all. If you are sincere, people will repose trust in you. If you are earnest, you will accomplish much. If you are kind, this will enable you to employ the services of others.’
• Book 19 III. The disciples of Tsze-hsia asked Tsze-chang about the principles that should characterize mutual intercourse. Tsze-chang asked, ‘What does Tsze-hsia say on the subject?’ They replied, ‘Tsze-hsia says:-“Associate with those who can advantage you. Put away from you those who cannot do so.”’ Tsze-chang observed, ‘ This is different from what I have learned. The superior man honours the talented and virtuous, and bears with all. He praises the good, and pities the incompetent. Am I possessed of great talents and virtue? – who is there among men whom I will not bear with? Am I devoid of talents and virtue? –men will put me away from them. What have we to do with the putting away of others?’
• Book 19 V. Tsze-hsia said, ‘He, who from day to day recognizes what he has not yet, and from month to month does not forget what he has attained to, may be said indeed to love to learn.’
• Book 19 VI. Tsze-hsia said, ‘There are learning extensively, and having a firm and sincere aim; inquiring with earnestness, and reflecting with self-application: -virtue is in such course.’
• Book 19 VII. Tsze-hsia said, ‘Mechanics have their shops to dwell in, in order to accomplish their works. The superior man learns, in order to reach to the utmost of his principles.’
• Book 19 VIII. Tsze-hsia said, ‘The mean man is sure to gloss his faults.’
• Book 19 IX. Tsze-hsia said, ‘The superior man undergoes three changes. Looked at from a distance, he appears stern; when approached, he is mild; when he is heard to speak, his language is firm and decided.’
• Book 19 X. Tsze-hsia said, ‘The superior man, having obtained their confidence, may then impose labours on his people. If he have not gained their confidence, they will think that he is oppressing them. Having obtained the confidence of his prince, one may then remonstrate with him. If he have not gained his confidence, the prince will think that he is vilifying him.’
• Book 19 XVII. The philosopher Tsang said, ‘I heard this from our Master: -“Men may not have shown what is in them to the full extent, and yet they will be found to do so, on occasion of mourning for their parents.”’
• Book XX. Tsze-kung said, ‘Chau’s wickedness was not so great as that name implies. Therefore, the superior man hates to dwell in low-lying situations, where all the evil of the world will flow in upon him.