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Quote by Confucius

“If a man has no humaneness what can his propriety be like? If a man has no humaneness what can his happiness be like?”

Quote by Confucius

Author

Confucius, also known as Kong Qiu or Zhongni, was a great philosopher, educator, and politician during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. He advocated for benevolence, rule of propriety, and the doctrine of the mean, and his thoughts have had a profound impact on Chinese and world culture. more

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“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.”

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

Source: Confucian Analects, The Great Learning & The Doctrine of the Mean

“Although your father and mother are dead, if you propose to yourself any good work, only reflect how it will make their names illustrious, and your purpose will be fixed.”

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“Being in humaneness is good. If we select other goodness and thus are far apart from humaneness, how can we be the wise?”

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“How great is the path proper to the Sage! Like overflowing water, it sends forth and nourishes all things, and rises up to the height of heaven. All-complete is its greatness! It embraces the three hundred rules of ceremony, and the three thousand rules of demeanor. It waits for the proper man, and then it is trodden. Hence it is said, 'Only by perfect virtue can the perfect path, in all its courses, be made a fact.'”

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Book:The Chinese Classics

Source: The Chinese Classics

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Book:The Chinese Classics: The life and works of Mencius

Source: The Chinese Classics: The life and works of Mencius

“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)

Source: Delphi Collected Works of Confucius - Four Books and Five Classics of Confucianism (Illustrated)

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

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

“There are three things which the superior man guards against. In youth ... lust. When he is strong ... quarrelsomeness. When he is old ... covetousness.”

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Author:Confucius