"Lead the people with administrative injunctions and put them in their place with penal law, and they will avoid punishments but will be without a sense of shame. Lead them with excellence and put them in their place through roles and ritual practices, and in addition to developing a sense of shame, they will order themselves harmoniously"
"Never give a sword to a man who can't dance."
"When the wind blows,the grass bends."
"If names be not correct, language is not in accordance with the truth of things. If language be not in accordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot be carried on to success. When affairs cannot be carried on to success, proprieties and music do not flourish."
"The wise never doubt. The Humane never worry. The brave never fear."
"One who never anticipates deceit or expects duplicity, and yet is the first to recognize such things – is that not a sage indeed?"
"I am not one who was born with great wisdom. I love the ancients and diligently seek wisdom among them."
"Am I a man of great wisdom? Hardly! Even when a simple person brings me a question, my mind goes utterly blank, I just thrash it out until I’ve exhausted every possibility."
"If things far away don’t concern you, you’ll soon mourn things close at hand."
"Don’t grieve when people fail to recognize your ability. Grieve for your lack of ability instead."
"If a craftsman wants to do good work, he must first sharpen his tools."
"If you want to make a stand, help others make a stand, and if you want to reach your goal, help others reach their goal. Consider yourself and treat others accordingly: this is the method of Humanity."
"The noble-minded worry about their lack of ability, not about people’s failure to recognize their ability."
"In worthy teaching, all things are related."
"To one who is not eager I do not reveal anything, nor do I explain anything to one who is not communicative. If I raise one corner for someone and he cannot come back with the other three, I do not go on."
"How can you love people without encouraging them? And how can you be loyal to people without educating them."
"What can a man do with music who is not benevolent?"
"If you expect great things of yourself and demand little of others, you’ll keep resentment far away."
"A noble minded person is not an implement."
"Language is insight itself."
"To be wealthy and honored in an unjust society is a disgrace."
"A legendary horse is praised not for its strength, but for its Integrity."
"Naming enables the noble-minded to speak, and speech enables the noble-minded to act. Therefore, the noble-minded are anything but careless in speech."
"When the Master entered the great temple he asked about everything. Someone said, ‘Who will say that this son of the man of Zou knows about ritual? When he enters the temple, he asks about everything’. The Master heard of it and said, ‘This is the ritual’."
"If I raise one corner for someone and he cannot come back with the other three, I do not go on."