Confucius (/kənˈfjuːʃəs/ kən-FEW-shəs; 551 BC – 479 BC) was a Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history.
Confucius say. . . politician is one who shakes your hand before elections and your confidence after.
If a man is not good, what has he to do with the rules of propriety? If he is not good, what has he to do with music?
It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.
The great mountain must collapse, the mighty beam must break and the wise man wither like a plant.
The nobler sort of man emphasizes the good qualities in others, and does not accentuate the bad. The inferior does.
An image is better than one thousand words
A man of wisdom delights in water.
The whole end of speech is to be understood.
Recompense injury with justice, and recompense kindness with kindness.
Ceremonies are the first thing to be attended to in the practice of government.
he who will not economize will agonize
To govern is to correct. If you set an example by being correct, who would dare remain incorrect?
Waste begets self-will; thrift begets meanness: but better be mean than self-willed.
The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home.
The Master said of Gong Yechang, “He is marriageable. Although he was once imprisoned and branded as a criminal, he was in fact innocent of any crime. ” The Master gave him his daughter in marriage. (Analects 5. 1)
A person of character takes as much trouble to discover what is right as the lesser men take to discover what will pay.
While you are not able to serve men, how can you serve spirits of the dead. . . While you do not know life, how can you know about death
The superior man loves his soul; the inferior man loves his property.
To be poor without murmuring is difficult. To be rich without being proud is easy.
If the people be led by laws, and uniformity sought to be given them by punishments, they will try to avoid the punishment, but have no sense of shame.