Confucius Quotes

The Philosopher Confucius. 551-479 BC - many attributed and translated sayings and Chinese proverbs.  Confucius was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher, whose teachings and philosophy have deeply influenced Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese and Vietnamese thought and life. His philosophy emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity. This list looks at some of his greatest quotations – all of which are as applicable to us today as they were when he wrote them in the fourth century BC.

Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbors.

Silence is a true friend who never betrays.

To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.

If you look into your own heart, and you find nothing wrong there, what is there to worry about? What is there to fear? 

He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good.

I hear, I know. I see, I remember. I do, I understand.

Death and life have their determined appointments; riches and honors depend upon heaven. 

Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.

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.

It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. 

Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated

In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of. 

Ability will never catch up with the demand for it. 

Real knowledge is to know the extent of ones ignorance.

To practice five things under all circumstances constitutes perfect virtue; these five are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, 

earnestness, and kindness.

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

When prosperity comes, do not use all of it. 

He that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools

Silence is a true friend who never betrays

It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop. 

To know what is right and not to do it is the worst cowardice.

Everything has beauty but not everyone sees it.

The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home.

It is better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness.

It is more shameful to distrust our friends than to be deceived by them.

The father who does not teach his son his duties is equally guilty with the son who neglects them

To be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it.

To see and listen to the wicked is already the beginning of wickedness.

Worry not that no one knows of you; seek to be worth knowing