The Sayings of Confucius

in inaction alone peace can be found

his practical mind told him that inaction could not help the world, and that to find a remedy for the nation's ills, their cause must first be learned. This could only be done by historical study.

Smooth words and fawning looks are seldom found with love

To guide a land of a thousand chariots, honour business and be true; spend little and love men; time thy calls on the people.

A gentleman will not be looked up to unless he is staid, nor will his learning be sound. Put faithfulness and truth first; have no friends unlike thyself; be not ashamed to mend thy faults.

Heed the dead, follow up the past, and the soul of the people will again grow great.

Poor, but no flatterer; rich, but not proud: how would that be?

Tell him what is gone, and he knows what shall come.

Not to be known is no sorrow. My sorrow is not knowing men.

He that rules by mind is like the north star, steady in his seat, whilst the stars all bend to him

The three hundred poems are summed up in the one line, Think no evil.

Guide the people by law, aline them by punishment; they may shun crime, but they will want shame. Guide them by mind, aline them by courtesy; they will learn shame and grow good.

At fifteen, I had the will to learn; at thirty, I could stand; at forty, I had no doubts; at fifty, I understood the heavenly Bidding; at sixty, my ears were opened[9]; at seventy, I could do as my heart lusted without trespassing from the square

asked me the duty of a son; I answered, Not to transgress. What did ye mean? said Fan Chi'ih. To serve our father and mother with courtesy whilst they live; to bury them with courtesy when they die, and to worship them with courtesy.

Our manner is the hard part. For the young to be a stay in toil and leave the wine and food to their elders, is this to fulfil their duty?

To keep old knowledge warm and get new makes the teacher.

What is a gentleman? The Master said, He puts words into deeds first, and follows these up with words

said, A gentleman is broad and fair; the small man takes sides and is narrow.

Learning without thought is naught; thought without learning is dangerous.

To fight strange doctrines does harm

shall I teach thee what is wisdom? To know what we know, and know what we do not know, is wisdom.

Hear much, leave all that is doubtful alone, speak warily of everything else, and few will be offended. See much, leave all that is dangerous alone, deal warily with everything else, and thou wilt have little to rue. If thy words seldom give offence, and thy deeds leave little to rue, pay will follow.

Lift up the straight, put away the crooked; and the people will be won. Lift up the crooked, put away the straight; and the people will not be won.

Chi K'ang[19] asked how to make the people lowly, faithful and painstaking. The Master said, Meet them with dignity, they will be lowly; be a good son and merciful, they will be faithful; lift up the good and teach the unskilled, and they will take pains.

To be a good son and a friend to thy brothers is to show how to govern.' This, too, is to govern. Must one be in office to govern?

The Book of History

To worship the ghosts of men not akin to us is fawning. To see the right and not do it is want of courage.

sin against Heaven leaves no room for prayer

In shooting, the arrow need not go right through the target, for men are not the same in strength. This was the old rule.

The lord should treat his lieges with courtesy; lieges should serve their lord faithfully

I do not speak of what is ended, chide what is settled, or find fault with what is past.

Love makes a spot beautiful: who chooses not to dwell in love, has he got wisdom?

Loveless men cannot bear need long, they cannot bear fortune long. Loving men find peace in love, the wise find profit in it.

Love alone can love others, or hate others.

Wealth and honours are what men desire; but do not go from the Way, to keep them. Lowliness and want are hated by men; but do not go from the Way, to escape them.

A man and his faults are of a piece. By watching his faults we learn whether love be his.

To learn the Way at daybreak and die at eve were enough

A gentleman has no likes or dislikes below heaven. He follows right.

The gentleman cherishes mind, the small man cherishes dirt. Gentlemen trust in the law, the small man trusts in favour.

The chase of gain is rich in hate.

If we cannot sway a kingdom by courteous yielding, what is our courtesy worth?

Care not for want of place; care for thy readiness to fill one. Care not for being unknown, but seek to be worthy of note.

The Master's Way is no more than faithfulness and fellow-feeling.

The gentleman is learned in right; the small man is learned in gain.

At sight of worth, think to grow like it; at sight of baseness, search thyself within.

A father or a mother may be gently chidden. If thou seest they have no will to follow thee, be the more lowly, but do not give way; nor murmur at the trouble they give thee

Whilst thy father and mother are living, do not wander afar. If thou must travel, hold a set course.

A father and mother's years must be borne in mind; with gladness on the one hand and fear on the other.

The men of old were loth to speak, for not to live up to their words would have shamed them.

A gentleman wishes to be slow to speak and quick to do.

A great soul is never friendless: he has always neighbours.

Nagging at kings brings disgrace, nagging at friends estrangement.

What is the good of being glib? Fighting men with tongue-craft mostly makes men hate you. Whether love be his I do not know, but what is the good of being glib?

When Hui hears one thing, he understands ten; when I hear one thing I understand two.

When I first met men I listened to their words and took their deeds on trust. When I meet them now, I listen to their words and watch their deeds. I righted this on Yü

Tzu-kung said, What I do not wish done to me, I likewise wish not to do to others. The Master said, That is still beyond thee, Tz'u.

Tzu-kung asked, Why was K'ung-wen called cultured? The Master said, He was quick and loved learning; he was not ashamed to ask those beneath him: that is why he was called cultured.

Chi Wen thought thrice before acting. On hearing this the Master said, Twice is enough

Because Po-yi and Shu-ch'i never remembered old wickedness they made few enemies

Tzu-lu said, We should like to hear your wishes, Sir. The Master said, To give the old folk peace, to be true to friends, and to have a heart for the young.

I have met no one that can see his own faults and arraign himself within

In a hamlet of ten houses there must be men that are as faithful and true men as I, but they do not love learning as I do.

Yen Hui[49] loved learning. He did not carry over anger; he made no mistake twice.

To men above the common we can talk of higher things; to men below the common we must not talk of higher things

To rank the effort above the prize may be called love.

A gentleman might be got to the well, but not trapped into it, He may be cheated, but not fooled.

By breadth of reading and the ties of courtesy, a gentleman is kept, too, from false paths.

Seeking a foothold for self, love finds a foothold for others; seeking light for itself, it enlightens others too. To learn from the near at hand may be called the clue to love.

To think things over in silence, to learn and be always hungry, to teach and never weary; is any of these mine?

Not making the most of my mind, want of thoroughness in learning, failure to do the right when told it, lack of strength to overcome faults; these are my sorrows.

Keep thy will on the Way, lean on mind, rest in love, move in art.

No man, said the Master, that would face a tiger bare-fisted, or plunge into a river and die without a qualm; but one, indeed, who, fearing what may come, lays his plans well and carries them through.

I was not born to wisdom: I loved the past, and sought it earnestly there.

There may be men that do things without knowing why. I do not. To hear much, pick out the good and follow it; to see much and think it over; this comes next to wisdom

Why be so harsh? If a man cleans himself to come in, I admit his cleanness, but do not warrant his past.

How lucky I am! If I go wrong, men are sure to know it!

How dare I lay claim to holiness or love? A man of endless craving, who never tires of teaching, I might be called, but that is all.

Waste makes men unruly, thrift makes them mean; but they are better mean than unruly

A gentleman is calm and spacious; the small man is always fretting.

The Master's manner was warm yet dignified. He was stern, but not fierce; humble, yet easy.

The people may be made to follow, we cannot make them understand.

A man to whom three years of learning have borne no fruit would be hard to find

Learn as though the time were short, like one that fears to lose.

I have seen no one that loves mind as he loves looks

Put faithfulness and truth first; have no friends unlike thyself; be not ashamed to mend thy faults.

Wisdom has no doubts; love does not fret; the bold have no fears.

With some we can learn together, but we cannot go their way; we can go the same way with others, though our standpoint is not the same; and with some, though our standpoint is the same our weights and scales are not.

When we cannot do our duty to the living, how can we do it to the dead?

We know not life, said the Master, how can we know death?

That man does not talk, but when he speaks he hits the mark.

Tzu-chang asked, What is the way of a good man? The Master said, He does not tread the beaten track; and yet he does not enter the inner rooms.

Commend a man for plain speaking: he may prove a gentleman, or else but seeming honest.

He that holds to the Way in serving his lord and leaves when he cannot do so, we call a great minister

Love is to conquer self and turn to courtesy. If we could conquer self and turn to courtesy for one day, all below heaven would turn to love.

Ssu-ma Niu asked, What is a gentleman? The Master said, A gentleman knows neither sorrow nor fear. No sorrow and no fear! Can that be called a gentleman? The Master said. He searches his heart: it is blameless; so why should he sorrow, what should he fear?

Tzu-kung asked, What is kingcraft? The Master said, Food enough, troops enough, and the trust of the people. Tzu-kung said, If it had to be done, which could best be spared of the three? Troops, said the Master. And if we had to, which could better be spared of the other two? Food, said the Master. From of old all men die, but without trust a people cannot stand.

The art is no less than the stuff, the stuff is no less than the art. Without the fur, a tiger or a leopard's hide is no better than the hide of a dog or a goat.

When all his folk have enough, answered Yu Jo, shall the lord alone not have enough? When none of his folk have enough, shall the lord alone have enough?

Put faithfulness and truth first, and follow the right; the mind will be raised. We wish life to what we love and death to what we hate. To wish it both life and death is a delusion.

Tzu-chang asked, What is kingcraft? The Master said, To be tireless of thought and faithful in doing.

Breadth of reading and the ties of courtesy will keep us, too, from false paths.

A gentleman shapes the good in man, he does not shape the bad in him. The small man does the contrary.

Chi K'ang being troubled by robbers asked Confucius about it. Confucius answered, If ye did not wish it, Sir, though ye rewarded him no man would steal.

The gentleman's mind is the wind, and grass are the minds of small men: as the wind blows, so must the grass bend.

Tzu-chang asked, What must a knight be, for him to be called eminent? The Master said, What dost thou mean by eminence? Tzu-chang answered, To be famous in the state and famous in his home. That is fame, not eminence, said the Master. The eminent man is plain and straight, and loves right. He weighs words and scans looks; he takes pains to come down to men. And he shall be eminent in the state and eminent in his house. The famous man wears a mask of love, but his deeds belie it. Self- confident and free from doubts, fame will be his in the state and fame be his in his home

Whilst walking with the Master in the Rain God's glade Fan Ch'ih said to him, May I ask how to raise the mind, amend evil and scatter errors? Well asked! said the Master. Rank thy work above success, will not the mind be raised? Fight the bad in thee, not the bad in other men, will not evil be mended? One angry morning to forget both self and kin, is that no error?

Fan Ch'ih asked, What is love? The Master said, To love men. He asked, What is wisdom? The Master said, To know men.

Tzu-kung asked about friends. The Master said, Talk faithfully to them, and guide them well. If this is no good, stop. Do not bring shame upon thee.

Tzu-lu asked how to rule. The Master said, Go before; work hard. When asked to say more, he said, Never flag.

When he was steward of the Chi, Chung-kung asked how to rule. The Master said, Let officers act first; overlook small faults, lift up brains and worth. Chung-kung said, How shall I get to know brains and worth to lift them up? Lift up those thou dost know, said the Master; and those thou dost not know, will other men pass by?

A gentleman is tongue-tied when he does not understand. If names are not right, words do not fit. If words do not fit, affairs go wrong. If affairs go wrong, neither courtesy nor music thrive. If courtesy and music do not thrive, law and justice fail. And if law and justice fail them, the people can move neither hand nor foot. So a gentleman must be ready to put names into speech and words into deed. A gentleman is nowise careless of his words.

What is governing to a man that can rule himself? If he cannot rule himself, how shall he rule others?

When he was governor of Chü-fu, Tzu-hsia asked how to rule. The Master said, Be not eager for haste; look not for small gains. Nothing done in haste is thorough, and looking for small gains big things are left undone.

Fan Ch'ih asked, What is love? The Master said, To be humble at home, earnest at work, and faithful to all. Even among wild tribes none of this must be dropped.

Zealous men push ahead and take things up, and there are things that austere men will not do.

Gentlemen unite, but are not the same. Small men are all the same, but each for himself.

A gentleman is easy to serve and hard to please. If we go from the Way to please him, he is not pleased; but his commands are measured to the man. A small man is hard to serve and easy to please. Though we go from the Way to please him, he is pleased; but he expects everything of his men

A gentleman is high-minded, not proud; the small man is proud, but not high-minded

Strength and courage, simplicity and modesty are akin to love.

The Master said, If a good man taught the people for seven years, they would be fit to bear arms too. The Master said, To take untaught men to war is called throwing them away.

Hsien[128] asked, What is shame? The Master said, To draw pay when the land keeps the Way and to draw pay when it has lost the Way, is shame.

Whilst the land keeps the Way, be fearless of speech and fearless in deed; when the land has lost the Way, be fearless in deed but soft of speech.

A man of mind can always talk, but talkers are not always men of mind. Love is always bold, though boldness is found without love.

Alas! there have been gentlemen without love! But there has never been a small man that was not wanting in love.

Not to grumble at being poor is hard, not to be proud of wealth is easy.

He that in sight of gain thinks of right, who when danger looms stakes his life, who, though the bond be old, does not forget what he has been saying all his life, might make a full-grown man.

Tzu-lu asked how to serve a lord. The Master said, Never cheat him; stand up to him.

The men of old learned for their own sake; to-day men learn for show.

When not in office discuss not policy.

A gentleman is shamefast of speech: his deeds go further.

In the way of the gentleman there are three things that I cannot achieve. Love is never troubled; wisdom has no doubts; courage is without fear.

Meet evil with justice; meet good with good.

Where there's a will, that is nowise hard

Gentlemen have indeed to face want, said the Master. The small man, when he is in want, runs to excess.

Not to speak to him that has ears to hear is to spill the man. To speak to a man without ears to hear is to spill thy words. Wisdom spills neither man nor words.

A high will, or a loving heart, will not seek life at cost of love. To fulfil love they will kill the body.

Without thought for far off things, there shall be trouble near at hand.

All is ended! I have seen no one that loves mind as he loves looks!

By asking much of self and little of other men ill feeling is banished.

His shortcomings trouble a gentleman; to be unknown does not trouble him.

A gentleman is firm, not quarrelsome; a friend, not a partisan.

A gentleman does not raise a man for his words, nor spurn the speech for the man.

Do not do unto others what thou wouldst not have done to thee.

I have still known historians that would leave a gap in their text, and men that would lend a horse to another to ride. Now it is so no more.

Cunning words confound the mind; petty impatience confounds great projects.

The man can exalt the Way: it is not the Way that exalts the man.

I have spent whole days without food and whole nights without sleep, thinking, and gained nothing by it. Learning is better.

A gentleman has no small knowledge, but he can carry out big things: the small man can carry out nothing big, but he may be knowing in small things

A gentleman is consistent, not changeless.

Learning knows no rank.

Mingle not in projects with a man whose way is not thine.

The whole end of speech is to be understood.

There are three friends that help us, and three that do us harm. The friends that help us are a straight friend, an outspoken friend, and a friend that has heard much. The friends that harm us are plausible friends, friends that like to flatter, and friends with a glib tongue.

There are three delights that do good, and three that do us harm. Those that do good are delight in dissecting good form and music, delight in speaking of the good in men, and delight in having many worthy friends. Those that do harm are proud delights, delight in idle roving, and delight in the joys of the feast

Men that wait upon lords fall into three mistakes. To speak before the time has come is rashness. Not to speak when the time has come is secrecy. To speak heedless of looks is blindness.

A gentleman has three things to guard against. In the days of thy youth, ere thy strength is steady, beware of lust. When manhood is reached, in the fulness of strength, beware of strife. In old age, when thy strength is broken, beware of greed.

The best men are born wise. Next come those that grow wise by learning; then those that learn from toil. Those that do not learn from toil are the lowest of the people.

A gentleman has nine aims. To see clearly; to understand what he hears; to be warm in manner, dignified in bearing, faithful of speech, keen at work; to ask when in doubt; in anger to think of difficulties; and in sight of gain to think of right

Ch'en K'ang[149] asked Po-yü,[150] Apart from us, have ye heard anything, Sir? He answered, No: once as my father stood alone and I sped across the hall, he said to me, Art thou learning poetry? I answered, No. He that does not learn poetry, he said, has no hold on words. I withdrew and learned poetry. Another day, when he again stood alone and I sped across the hall, he said to me, Art thou learning courtesy? I answered, No. He that does not learn courtesy, he said, has no foothold. I withdrew and learned courtesy. These two things I have heard. Ch'en K'ang withdrew, and cried gladly, I asked one thing, and I get three! I hear of poetry; I hear of courtesy; and I hear too that a gentleman stands aloof from his son.

Men are near to each other by nature; the lives they lead sunder them.

Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change.

A gentleman that has learnt the Way loves men; small folk that have learnt the Way are easy to rule.

Confucius said, Love is to mete out five things to all below heaven. May I ask what they are? Modesty and bounty, said Confucius, truth, earnestness and kindness. Modesty escapes insult: bounty wins the many; truth gains men's trust; earnestness brings success; and kindness is enough to make men work.

The thirst for love, without love of learning, sinks into simpleness. Love of knowledge, without love of learning, sinks into vanity. Love of truth, without love of learning, sinks into cruelty. Love of straightness, without love of learning, sinks into rudeness. Love of daring, without love of learning, sinks into turbulence. Love of strength, without love of learning, sinks into oddity

Men of old had three failings, which have, perhaps, died out to-day. Ambitious men of old were not nice; now they are unprincipled. Stern men of old were hard; now they are quarrelsome. Ignorant men of old were straight; now they are false. That is all

With daring and no sense of right gentlemen turn rebels and small men turn robbers.

I hate those that take spying for wisdom, who take want of manners for courage, and take tale-telling for honesty

When a man of forty is hated, he will be so to the end.

If I serve men the straight way, where can I go without being dismissed thrice? If I am to serve men the crooked way, why should I leave the land of my father and mother?

Tseng-tzu said, Those above have lost their way, the people have long been astray. When thou dost get at the truth, be moved to pity, not puffed with joy.

He that does not know the Bidding cannot be a gentleman. Not to know good form is to have no foothold. Not to know words is to know nothing of men.