The Master said: "The gentleman is all-embracing but does not form cliques; the petty man forms cliques but is not all-embracing."
The Master said: "The commander of the Three Armies may be deposed, but a common man's resolve cannot be taken away."
The Master said: "The Song of Guan is joyful but not licentious; it expresses grief but is not harmful."
The Master said: "The gentleman understands righteousness; the petty man understands profit."
Ye Gong asked Zi Lu about Confucius, but Zi Lu did not answer. The Master said: "What did you not say? He is such a man who, when he is roused to passion, forgets to eat; when he is happy, forgets his troubles; and does not even realize that old age is approaching. That is all."
The Master said: "When walking with two others, I will certainly find a teacher among them. I choose their good qualities to emulate and their bad qualities to correct in myself."
The Master said: "Do not be concerned that others do not know you; be concerned that you do not know others."
The Master said: "The three hundred poems can be summed up in one phrase: 'They have no evil thoughts.'"
The Master said: "The gentleman promotes the good deeds of others and does not promote their bad deeds. The petty man does the opposite."
To know what you know and acknowledge the fact that what you don't know, that is real knowledge.
The Master said: "The wise man delights in water, the benevolent man delights in mountains; the wise man is active, the benevolent man is quiet; the wise man is joyful, the benevolent man is long-lived."
The Master said: "Do not speak of what has already been done, do not remonstrate with what has already been accomplished, and do not blame what has already passed."
The Master said: "The gentleman does not seek fullness in food or comfort in dwelling; he is quick in doing but cautious in speech; he turns to those who have the Way to correct himself. He may be called one who loves learning."
The Master said: "The wise man is not confused, the benevolent man is not worried, and the courageous man is not fearful."
The Master said: "At fifteen, I set my heart upon learning. At thirty, I made my feet firm. At forty, I was no longer perplexed. At fifty, I knew the decree of heaven. At sixty, my ear was obedient. At seventy, I followed my heart's desire; I did not transgress the line."
Be cautious in the final arrangements and look back at the distant past; the people's virtue will return to thickness.
The Master said: "If substance prevails over form, one becomes rustic; if form prevails over substance, one becomes formal. Only when both form and substance are harmonized can one be called a gentleman."
The Master said: "Young people are to be feared. How do we know that later generations will not be like the present ones?"
The Master taught with four items: literature, conduct, loyalty, and good faith.
To learn without thinking is to be lost; to think without learning is to be in doubt.
The Master said: "If you are not in a position, do not plan for that office."
A little impatience upsets grand plans.
The Master said: "To review the old and gain new insights allows one to become a teacher."
The Master said: "If I hear the Way in the morning, I can die content in the evening."
A scholar who aims at the Way and feels ashamed of bad clothes and bad food is not worth discussing with.
Barbarians do not plan against the Chinese, the barbarians do not disturb the Chinese, captives do not violate the alliance, and armies do not threaten friends.
The Master said: "When seeing a worthy person, think of emulating him; when seeing an unworthy person, examine yourself internally."
