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Confucius Quotes

Philosopher

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Famous Confucius Quotes

“The superior man does what is proper to the station in which he is; he does not desire to go beyond this. In a position of wealth and honor, he does what is proper to a position of wealth and honor. In a poor and low position, he does what is proper to a poor and low position.”

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Book:Delphi Collected Works of Confucius - Four Books and Five Classics of Confucianism (Illustrated)
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“The superior man honors his virtuous nature, and maintains constant inquiry and study, seeking to carry it out to its breadth and greatness, so as to omit none of the more exquisite and minute points which it embraces, and to raise it to its greatest height and brilliancy.”

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Book:Delphi Collected Works of Confucius - Four Books and Five Classics of Confucianism (Illustrated)
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“The way of the superior man may be compared to what takes place in traveling, when to go to a distance we must first traverse the space that is near, and in ascending a height, when we must begin from the lower ground.”

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Book:Delphi Collected Works of Confucius - Four Books and Five Classics of Confucianism (Illustrated)
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“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.”

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Book:Confucian Analects: The Great Learning, and The Doctrine of the Mean
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