Great Quotes from Confucius
CONFUCIUS (Chinese philosopher, 551 – 479 BCD)
Confucius was a Chinese philosopher, poet and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who was traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Confucius’s teachings and philosophy formed the basis of East Asian culture and society, and continues to remain influential across China and East Asia as of today.
“A healthy man wants a thousand things, a sick man only wants one.”
“If they spit at you behind your back, it means you’re ahead of them.”
“He who knows all the answers has not been asked all the questions.”
“The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.”
“The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.”
“If what one has to say is not better than silence, then one should keep silent.”
“Study the past if you would define the future.”
“Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”
“Give a bowl of rice to a man and you will feed him for a day. Teach him to grow his own rice and you will save his life.”
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”
“We have two lives and the second begins when we realize we only have one.”
“Tell me and I will forget, show me and i may remember; involve me and i will understand.”
“To know what you know is what you do not know, that is true knowledge.”
“Don’t do unto others what you don’t want done unto you.”
“If you are the smartest person in the room, then you are in the wrong room.”
“The man who says he can, and the man who says he cannot… Are both correct.”
“Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.”
“He who flatters a man is his enemy. He who tells him of his faults is his maker.”
“The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”
“I hear and i forget. I see and i remember. I do and i understand.”
“It is easy to hate and it is difficult to love. This is how the whole scheme of things works. All good things are difficult to achieve and bad things are very easy to get.”
“The funniest people are the saddest ones.”
“To see what is right to not do it is the worst cowardice.”
“Your life is what your thoughts make it.”
“When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.”
“By 3 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.”
“Before you embark on a journey of revenge – dig two graves.”
“It is more shameful to distrust our friends than to be deceived by them.”
“Forget injuries, never forget kindness.”
“The man who chases two rabbits, catches neither.”
“Learning without thought is labor lost thought without learning is perilous.”
“If you make a mistake and do not correct it, this is called a mistake.”
“Learn as if you were not reaching your goal and as though you were scared of missing it.”
“If someone wants to offend you greatly, then it is even worse for him.”
“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
“The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.”
“Roads were made for journeys – not destinations.”
“Think of tomorrow, the past can’t be mended.”
“Worry not that no one knows you, seek to be worth knowing.”
