Confucius said: “‘Seeing goodness and pursuing it as if you will never be able to achieve it; seeing badness and recoiling from it as if you have been scalded by boiling water’ — I have seen such people and I have heard such words. ‘Living in seclusion to pursue your…

Confucius said: “Exemplary people focus their thoughts in nine ways: when looking they focus on seeing clearly; when listening they focus on hearing properly; in their facial expression, they focus on being friendly; in their demeanor, they focus on being deferential; in their speech, they focus on being sincere; in…

Confucius said: “Those who are born with innate knowledge are the highest. Next are those who acquire knowledge through learning. After them are those who learn from the trials and tribulations of life. The lowest are the common people who go through the trials and tribulations of life without ever…

Confucius said: “There are three things that exemplary people stand in awe of. They are in awe of the will of heaven. They are in awe of the greats. They are in awe of the words of the sages. Since petty people are ignorant of the will of heaven, they…

Confucius said: “There are three tendencies that exemplary people guard against. When they are young and their vital force is still unstable, they guard against lust. When they are in the prime of life and their vital force has reached its full strength, they guard against contentiousness. When they are…

Confucius said, “When you are in the presence of an exemplary person, you risk making three mistakes. To speak before the appropriate time is called being rash; to fail to speak at the appropriate time is called being evasive; to speak without observing the expression on the person’s face is…

Confucius said: “There are three kinds of joy that lift you up and three kinds of joy that drag you down. Taking joy in honing your conduct and character through ritual and music, taking joy in delighting in the goodness of other people, and taking joy in having a wide…

Confucius said: “There are three kinds of friends who lift you up and three kinds of friends who drag you down. Friends who are upright, sincere, and learned lift you up. Friends who are devious, insincere, and superficial drag you down.” 孔子曰：「益者三友，損者三友。友直，友諒，友多聞，益矣。友便辟，友善柔，友便佞，損矣。」 Choose your friends wisely. The ones who care…

Confucius said: “It is five generations since control of appointments fell out of the hands of the ducal house. It is four generations since government fell into the hands of the ministers. For this reason, the descendants of the Three Families will fall into obscurity.” 孔子曰：「祿之去公室五世矣，政逮於大夫四世矣。故夫三桓之子孫微矣。」 Even during a time…