Confucius was a Chinese philosopher and he was a very intellectual man of ancient times. In this article, we are going to share some of the best quotes by Confucius which you might enjoy!
Confucius Quotes on Life
“Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.”
“He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good.”
“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”
“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.”
“If I am walking with two other men, each of them will serve as my teacher. I will pick out the good points of the one and imitate them, and the bad points of the other and correct them in myself.”
“Virtue is more to man than either water or fire. I have seen men die from treading on water and fire, but I have never seen a man die from treading the course of virtue.”
“Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes.”
“Isn’t it a pleasure to study and practice what you have learned?”
“Isn’t it also great when friends visit from distant places? If one remains not annoyed when he is not understood by people around him, isn’t he a sage?”
“It is not possible for one to teach others who cannot teach his own family.”
“Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace.”
“Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men from beasts?”
“It is not possible for one to teach others who cannot teach his own family.”
“He who excels in study can follow an official career.”
“Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses.”
“We should feel sorrow, but not sink under its oppression.”
“Recompense injury with justice, and recompense kindness with kindness.”
“Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.”
“To love a thing means wanting it to live.”
“To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.”
Confucius Famous Quotes
“In a country well governed poverty is something to be ashamed of.”
“Things that are done, it is needless to speak about…things that are past, it is needless to blame.”
“Learn as though you would never be able to master it; hold it as though you would be in fear of losing it.”
“Do not be desirous of having things done quickly. Do not look at small advantages. Desire to have things done quickly prevents their being done thoroughly.”
“Looking at small advantages prevents great affairs from being accomplished.”
“The people may be made to follow a path of action, but they may not be made to understand it.”
“When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them.”
“The cautious seldom err.”
“Men’s natures are alike, it is their habits that carry them far apart.”
“It is only the wisest and the stupidest that cannot change.”
“The object of the superior man is truth.”
“The essence of knowledge is, having it, to apply it not having it, to confess your ignorance.”
“A man who does not plan long ahead will find trouble right at his door.”
“Humility is the solid foundation of all the virtues.”
“With coarse rice to eat, with water to drink, and my bended arm for a pillow – I have still joy in the midst of these things. Riches and honors acquired by unrighteousness are to me as a floating cloud.”
“When anger rises, think of the consequences.”
“Study the past if you would define the future.”
“To be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it.”
“The scholar who cherishes the love of comfort is not fit to be deemed a scholar.”
“Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.”
Confucius Inspirational Quotes
“The real fault is to have faults and not amend them.”
“When we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves.”
“He with whom neither slander that gradually soaks into the mind, nor statements that startle like a wound in the flesh, are successful may be called intelligent indeed.”
“The faults of a superior person are like the sun and moon. They have their faults, and everyone sees them; they change and everyone looks up to them.”
“A fool despises good counsel, but a wise man takes it to heart.”
“He who will not economize will have to agonize.”
“I am not concerned that I am not known, I seek to be worthy to be known.”
“They must change who would be constant in happiness and wisdom.”
“Without an acquaintance with the rules of propriety, it is impossible for the character to be established.”
“Mankind differs from the animals only by a little and most people throw that away.”
“To see what is right, and not to do it, is want of courage or of principle.”
“It is better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness.”
“Respect yourself and others will respect you.”
“When prosperity comes, do not use all of it.”
“Ignorance is the night of the mind, but a night without moon and star.”
“I am not one who was born in the possession of knowledge; I am one who is fond of antiquity, and earnest in seeking it there.”
“They must often change who would be constant in happiness or wisdom.”
“The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large.”
“When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it – this is knowledge.”
“We take greater pains to persuade others that we are happy than in endeavoring to think so ourselves.”
Other Confucius Quotes
“To put the world in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must cultivate our personal life; and to cultivate our personal life, we must first set our hearts right.”
“To be able to practice five things everywhere under heaven constitutes perfect virtue…They are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness.”
“If a man takes no thought about what is distant, he will find sorrow near at hand.”
“Behave toward everyone as if receiving a great guest.”
“What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others.”
“The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home.”
“There are three things to beware of through life: when a man is young, let him beware of his appetites; when he is middle-aged, of his passions; and when old, of covetousness, especially.”
“When you see a worthy person, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy person, then examine your inner self.”
“When a man’s knowledge is sufficient to attain, and his virtue is not sufficient to enable him to hold, whatever he may have gained, he will lose again.”
“Wealth and rank are what people desire, but unless they be obtained in the right way they may not be possessed.”