It cannot be when the root is neglected that what springs from it will be well ordered. Confucius More Quotes by Confucius More Quotes From Confucius When frying small fish, disturb them little. Confucius fryingfisheslittles A man who lacks reliability is utterly useless. Confucius reliabilityuselessmen 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 fooled. Confucius intelligencemaymen To love a thing means wanting it to live. Confucius lovemean 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. Confucius confucianismdelighttruth A true gentleman makes demands upon himself but not upon others. Confucius demandgentlemanresponsibility I do not enlighten those who are not eager to learn, nor arouse those who are not anxious to give an explanation themselves. If I have presented one corner of the square and they cannot come back to me with the other three, I should not go over the points again. Confucius threesquaresgiving I have never seen one who really loves goodness or one who really hates wickedness. One who really loves goodness will not place anything above it. One who really hates wickedness will practice goodness in such a way that wickedness will have no chance to get at him. Is there anyone who has devoted his whole strength to doing good for even as long as a single day? I have not seen anyone give up such an attempt because he had not the strength to go on. Perhaps there is such a case, but I have never seen it. Confucius giving-uphatepractice Everyone calls his son his son, whether he has talents or has not talents. Confucius talentson A common man marvels at uncommon things. A wise man marvels at the commonplace. Confucius wisemenscience The gentleman is calm and at ease. The gentleman is dignified but not proud; the small man is proud but not dignified. Confucius gentlemaneasemen Great as heaven and earth are, men still find some things in them with which to be dissatisfied. Thus it is that, were the superior man to speak of his way in all its greatness, nothing in the world would be found able to embrace it, and were he to speak of it in its minuteness, nothing in the world would be found able to split it. Confucius greatnesscharactermen The really faithful lover of learning holds fast to the Good Way till death. Confucius faithfullearningway To err and not reform, this may indeed be called error. Confucius reformerrorsmay Know what you know and know that you don't know what you don't know — that is the characteristic of one who knows. Confucius understandingrealwisdom Men's natures are alike; it is their habits that separate them. Confucius inspirationallovefunny It is better not to proceed at all than to proceed without purpose. Confucius purpose When nature exceeds culture, we have the rustic. When culture exceeds nature, we have the pedant. Confucius pedantsnatureculture Waste begets self-will; thrift begets meanness: but better be mean than self-willed. Confucius wasteselfmean For one word a man is often deemed to be wise, and for one word he is often deemed to be foolish. We should be careful indeed what we say. Confucius wisdomwisemen
