Friends are the siblings God never gave us.
Friendship is one mind in two bodies.
The great man is he who does not lose his child's-heart.
The people are the most important element in a nation; the spirits of the land and grain are the next; the sovereign is the least.
I like fish, and I also like bear's paws. If I cannot have the two together, I will let the fish go, and take the bear's paws. So, I like life, and I also like righteousness. If I cannot keep the two together, I will let life go, and choose righteousness.
Let not a man do what his sense of right bids him not to do, nor desire what it forbids him to desire. This is sufficient. The skillful artist will not alter his measures for the sake of a stupid workman.
There is no greater delight than to be conscious of sincerity on self-examination.
Sincerity is the way to heaven.
If the king loves music, there is little wrong in the land.
A trail through the mountains, if used, becomes a path in a short time, but, if unused, becomes blocked by grass in an equally short time.
Let men decide firmly what they will not do, and they will be free to do vigorously what they ought to do.
Only when a man will not do some things is he capable of doing great things.
Truth uttered before its time is always dangerous.
He who attends to his greater self becomes a great man, and he who attends to his smaller self becomes a small man.
Kindly words do not enter so deeply into men as a reputation for kindness.
The root of the kingdom is in the state. The root of the state is in the family. The root of the family is in the person of its head.
Friendship with a man is friendship with his virtue.
Mankind fears an evil man but heaven does not.
Every duty is a charge, but the charge of oneself is the root of all others.
If Confucius wasn't born, the long night would have no bright lamp.
