Analects of Confucius Book 7: Confucius on himself
Analects Book 7 features a wealth of quotes from Confucius on himself that give us a deeper appreciation of his passion for learning and teaching. He was a man who could always see room for improvement no matter how much progress he made along the path of self-cultivation.
Quotes
7.3
“Failure to nurture my virtue, failure to discuss what I have learned, failure to follow what I know to be right, and failure to correct my faults: these are the worries that plague me.”
7.7
“I have never refused to teach anyone who has asked me to, even if they were too poor to offer no more than a token offering of a bundle of dried meat for their tuition.”
7.8
“I instruct only the passionate. I enlighten only the fervent. If a student cannot return with the other three corners of the square after I have shown them the first one, I will not repeat the lesson.”
7.11
“If wealth were worth pursuing, I’d go after it even if it meant working as a lowly official. But since it isn’t, I prefer to pursue what I love.”
7.15
“Even if you have only coarse grain to eat, water to drink, and your bent elbow to use as a pillow, you can still find joy in these things. But wealth and honors obtained by improper means are like passing clouds to me.”
7.16
“If I were given a few more years, I would devote fifty to the study of the Book of Changes so that I may be free from serious mistakes.”
7.19
“I wasn’t born with innate knowledge. I simply love the past and am assiduous in seeking it there.”
7.21
“Let me take a stroll with any two people, and I can always be sure of learning something from them. I can take their good points and emulate them, and I can take their bad points and correct them in myself.”
7.32
“Although my commitment is as strong as anyone’s when it comes to cultural knowledge and refinement, I haven’t yet hit the target of becoming a true leader in how I conduct myself.”
7.33
“How could I possibly dare to claim that I’m a man of great wisdom and goodness? All that can be said of me is that I never grow weary of learning and never get tired of teaching others.”
Links
Book 7, Chapter 3
Book 7, Chapter 7
Book 7, Chapter 8
Book 7, Chapter 11
Book 7, Chapter 15
Book 7, Chapter 16
Book 7, Chapter 19
Book 7, Chapter 21
Book 7, Chapter 32
Book 7, Chapter 33
Note
I took this image at the Beijing Confucius Temple.
