Confucius Quotes

Confucius was born in 551 BC. He was a Chinese philosopher, whose teachings and explanations of philosophy have deeply influenced Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese and Vietnamese thoughts on life. His way of wording his sentences, with a lot of meaning in a few words, makes his work spiritual wisdom. His quotes inspire more thought on any given subject.

Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes.

Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.

Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it.

It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.

Men's natures are alike, it is their habits that carry them far apart.

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do.

Respect yourself and others will respect you.

To be able under all circumstances to practice five things constitutes perfect virtue;

these five things are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness and kindness.

Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.

By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart.

The people may be made to follow a path of action,

but they may not be made to understand it.

The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.

There are three things which the superior man guards against. In youth...lust.

When he is strong...quarrelsomeness. When he is old...covetousness.

Things that are done, it is needless to speak about,

things that are past, it is needless to blame.

To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.

When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them.

[The superior man] acts before he speaks, and afterwards speaks according to his actions.

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?

Ability will never catch up with the demand for it.

No matter where you go, there you are.

Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.

By three methods we may learn wisdom:

First, by reflection, which is noblest;

Second, by imitation, which is easiest;

and third by experience, which is the bitterest.

Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.

I want you to be everything that's you, deep at the center of your being.

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.

If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees;

if in terms of 100 years, teach the people.

It is easy to hate and it is difficult to love. This is how the whole scheme of things works.

All good things are difficult to achieve; and bad things are very easy to get.

No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading,

or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.

The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large.

The superior man thinks always of virtue; the common man thinks of comfort.

To know what is right and not to do it is the worst cowardice.

To see and listen to the wicked is already the beginning of wickedness.

You cannot open a book without learning something.

Confucius Spirituality

Confucius might define our "Wisdom is Wisdom, No Matter Who Says It." spiritual law. He was an amazing teacher of philosophy at a time when his country was defining morals, values, and principals that would go on to be the foundation of many cultures.

"You cannot open a book without learning something." -Confucius