Top 100+ Confucius Quotes

Here we have gathered the top Confucius quotes for you to read. Confucius has been considered as one of most famous philosophers and political theorists of all time. The quotes from Confucius are focused on self-cultivation and wisdom that is beneficial for everyone willing to learn. The philosophy of Confucianism gives great weight and importance to family and social harmony. On this list you’re likely to find quotes that help you see life from a more realistic perspective and the big picture. All the Confucius quotes on this list have been organized with the most popular ones ranked on the top, as the quotes on this list are ranked by votes. Please remember to vote your own favourite Confucius quote in order to help it move up the list!

  1. 1
    Confucius

    “Time flows away like the water in the river. ” ― Confucius

  2. 2
    Confucius

    “Never contract friendship with a man that is not better than thyself. ” ― Confucius

  3. 3
    Confucius

    “Respect yourself and others will respect you.” ― Confucius, Sayings of Confucius

  4. 4
    Confucius

    “If what one has to say is not better than silence, then one should keep silent.” ― Confucius

  5. 5
    Confucius

    “Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace.” ― Confucius

  6. 6
    Confucius

    “Have no friends not equal to yourself.” ― Confucius

  7. 7
    Confucious

    “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.” ― Confucious

  8. 8
    Confucious

    “Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” ― Confucious

  9. 9
    Confucius

    “Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.” ― Confucius

  10. 10
    Confucius

    “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” ― Confucius

  11. 11
    Confucius

    “He who knows all the answers has not been asked all the questions.” ― Confucius

  12. 12
    Confucius

    “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” ― Confucius

  13. 13
    Confucius

    “The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” ― Confucius, Confucius: The Analects

  14. 14
    Confucius

    “If you make a mistake and do not correct it, this is called a mistake.” ― Confucius

  15. 15
    Confucius

    “Study the past if you would define the future.” ― Confucius

  16. 16
    Confucius

    “The funniest people are the saddest ones” ― Confucius

  17. 17
    Confucius

    “Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.” ― Confucius

  18. 18
    Confucius

    “To be wronged is nothing, unless you continue to remember it.” ― Confucius

  19. 19
    Confucius

    “Silence is a true friend who never betrays.” ― Confucius

  20. 20
    Confucius

    “You cannot open a book without learning something.” ― Confucius

  21. 21
    Confucius

    “When you see a good person, think of becoming like her/him. When you see someone not so good, reflect on your own weak points.” ― Confucius

  22. 22
    Confucius

    “The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.” ― Confucius

  23. 23
    Confucius

    “Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.” ― Confucius

  24. 24
    Confucius

    “What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others.” ― Confucius

  25. 25
    Confucius

    “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” ― Confucius

  26. 26
    Confucius

    “And remember, no matter where you go, there you are.” ― Confucius

  27. 27
    Confucius

    “Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles.” ― Confucius, The Analects

  28. 28
    Confucius

    “Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses.” ― Confucius

  29. 29
    Confucius

    “Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.” ― Confucius

  30. 30
    Confucius

    “When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.” ― Confucius

  31. 31
    Confucius

    “A lion chased me up a tree, and I greatly enjoyed the view from the top.” ― Confucius

  32. 32
    Confucius

    “To be wealthy and honored in an unjust society is a disgrace.” ― Confucius, The Analects

  33. 33
    Confucius

    “If your plan is for one year plant rice. If your plan is for ten years plant trees. If your plan is for one hundred years educate children. ” ― Confucius

  34. 34
    Confucius

    “In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.” ― Confucius

  35. 35
    Confucius

    “Don’t do unto others what you don’t want done unto you.” ― Confucius

  36. 36
    Confucius

    “To see what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice.” ― Confucius

  37. 37
    Confucius

    “The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their proper name.” ― Confucius

  38. 38
    Confucious

    “The superior man thinks always of virtue; the common man thinks of comfort.” ― Confucious

  39. 39
    Confucius

    “When a wise man points at the moon the imbecile examines the finger.” ― Confucius

  40. 40
    Confucius

    “Don’t complain about the snow on your neighbor’s roof when your own doorstep is unclean.” ― Confucius

  41. 41
    Confucius

    “Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know more.” ― Confucius

  42. 42
    Confucius

    “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.” ― Confucius

  43. 43
    Confucius

    “The Master said, “A true gentleman is one who has set his heart upon the Way. A fellow who is ashamed merely of shabby clothing or modest meals is not even worth conversing with.”
    (Analects 4.9)” ― Confucius

  44. 44
    Confucius

    “Consideration for others is the basis of a good life, a good society.” ― Confucius

  45. 45
    Confucius

    “Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.” ― Confucius

  46. 46
    Confucius

    “Tzu Chang asked Confucius about jen. Confucius said, “If you can practice these five things with all the people, you can be called jen.”

    Tzu Chang asked what they were.

    Confucius said, “Courtesy, generosity, honesty, persistence, and kindness.
    If you are courteous, you will not be disrespected; 
    if you are generous, you will gain everything. 
    If you are honest, people will rely on you. 
    If you are persistent you will get results. 
    If you are kind, you can employ people.” ― Confucius

  47. 47
    Confucius

    “Never give a sword to a man who can’t dance.” ― Confucius, The Analects

  48. 48
    Confucius

    “The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.” ― Confucius

  49. 49
    Confucius

    “The Man who says he can, and the man who says he can not.. Are both correct” ― Confucius

  50. 50
    Confucius

    “We have two lives, and the second begins when we realize we only have one.” ― Confucius

  51. 51
    Confucius

    “The nobler sort of man emphasizes the good qualities in others, and does not accentuate the bad. The inferior does.” ― Confucius

  52. 52
    Confucius

    “The noble-minded are calm and steady. Little people are forever fussing and fretting.” ― Confucius, Analects of Confucius

  53. 53
    Confucius

    “The Master said, “A true teacher is one who, keeping the past alive, is also able to understand the present.”
    (Analects 2.11)” ― Confucius

  54. 54
    Confucius

    “roads were made for journeys not destinations” ― Confucius

  55. 55
    Confucius

    “The Master said, “If your conduct is determined solely by considerations of profit you will arouse great resentment.” ― Confucius

  56. 56
    Confucius

    “Worry not that no one knows you; seek to be worth knowing.” ― Confucius

  57. 57
    Confucious

    “The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home.” ― Confucious

  58. 58
    Confucius

    “Those who know the TRUTH are not equal to those who love it.” ― Confucius

  59. 59
    Confucius

    “A common man marvels at uncommon things. A wise man marvels at the commonplace.” ― Confucius

  60. 60
    Confucius

    “Behind every smile there’s teeth.” ― Confucius

  61. 61
    Confucius

    “The superior man understands what is right; the inferior man understands what will sell.” ― Confucius

  62. 62
    Confucius

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

  63. 63
    Confucius

    “The Master said, “The gentleman understands what is right, whereas the petty man understands profit.”
    (Analects 4.16)” ― Confucius

  64. 64
    Confucius

    “If there is righteousness in the heart, there will be beauty in the character.
    If there is beauty in the character, there will be harmony in the home.
    If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nations.
    When there is order in the nations, there will peace in the world.” ― Confucius

  65. 65
    Confucius

    “Knowledge is merely brilliance in organization of ideas and not wisdom. The truly wise person goes beyond knowledge.” ― Confucius

  66. 66
    Confucius

    “Settle one difficulty, and you keep a hundred away.” ― Confucius

  67. 67
    Confucius

    “No lake so still but it has its wave.
    No circle so perfect but that it has its blur.
    I would change things for you if I could; As I can’t you must take them as they are.” ― Confucius

  68. 68
    Confucius

    “If one should desire to know whether a kingdom is well governed, if its morals are good or bad, the quality of its music will furnish the answer.”― Confucius

  69. 69
    Confucius

    “When the wind blows,the grass bends.” ― Confucius, The Analects

  70. 70
    Confucius

    “He Who Knows And Knows That He Knows Is A Wise Man – Follow Him;
    He Who Knows Not And Knows Not That He Knows Not Is A Fool – Shun Him” ― Confucius, The Analects

  71. 71
    Confucius

    “If you look into your own heart, and you find nothing wrong there, what is there to worry about? What is there to fear?” ― Confucius

  72. 72
    Confucious

    “Ignorance is the night of the mind, but a night without moon or star.” ― Confucious

  73. 73
    Confucius

    “Fix your mind on truth, hold firm to virtue, rely on loving kindness, and find your recreation in the Arts.” ― Confucius, The Analects

  74. 74
    Confucius

    “He who conquers himself is the mightiest warrior.” ― Confucius

  75. 75
    Confucius

    “You will never know how sharp a sword is unless it’s drawn from its sheath” ― Confucius

  76. 76
    Confucius

    “Learn as if you were not reaching your goal and as though you were scared of missing it” ― Confucius

  77. 77
    Confucius

    “The way of the superior person is threefold; virtuous, they are free from anxieties; wise they are free from perplexities; and bold they are free from fear.” ― Confucius

  78. 78
    Confucius

    “The green reed which bends in the wind is stronger than the mighty oak which breaks in a storm.” ― Confucius

  79. 79
    Confucius

    “Faced with what is right, to leave it undone shows a lack of courage.” ― Confucius

  80. 80
    Confucius

    “One joy dispels a hundred cares.” ― Confucius

  81. 81
    Confucius

    “A youth is to be regarded with respect. How do we know that his future will not be equal to our present?” ― Confucius, The Life and Wisdom of Confucius

  82. 82
    Confucius

    “The superior man, when resting in safety, does not forget that danger may come. When in a state of security he does not forget the possibility of ruin. When all is orderly, he does not forget that disorder may come. Thus his person is not endangered, and his States and all their clans are preserved.” ― Confucius, Confucian Analects, The Great Learning The Doctrine of the Mean

  83. 83
    Confucius

    “Some are born with knowledge, some derive it from study, and some acquire it only after a painful realization of their ignorance.

    But the knowledge being possessed, it comes to the same thing.

    Some study with a natural ease, some from a desire for advantages, and some by strenuous effort.

    But the achievement being made, it comes to the same thing.” ― Kung Fu-Tze (Confucius)

  84. 84
    Confucius

    “If there were one word that could act as a standard of conduct for one’s entire life, perhaps it would be ‘thoughtfulness.” ― Confucius

  85. 85
    Confucius

    “If you don’t want to do something,don’t impose on others” ― Confucius

  86. 86
    Confucius

    “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.” ― Confucius

  87. 87
    Confucius

    “We take greater pains to persuade others that we are happy than in endeavoring to think so ourselves” ― Confucius

  88. 88
    Confucius

    “The scholar does not consider gold and jade to be precious treasures, but loyalty and good faith.” ― Confucius, The Ethics of Confucius

  89. 89
    Confucius

    “The Essence of Knowledge is, having it, to use it.” ― Confucius

  90. 90
    Confucius

    “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” ― Confucius, The Analects

  91. 91
    Confucius

    “Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men from beasts?” ― Confucius

  92. 92
    Confucius

    “At fifteen I set my heart upon learning. 
    At thirty, I had planted my feet firm upon the ground. 
    At forty, I no longer suffered from perplexities. 
    At fifty, I knew what were the biddings of Heaven. 
    At sixty, I heard them with docile ear. 
    At seventy, I could follow the dictates of my own heart; for what I desired no longer overstepped the boundaries of right.” ― Confucius

  93. 93
    Confucius

    “They must often change who would remain constant in happiness and wisdom.” ― Confucius

  94. 94
    Confucius

    “Ability will never catch up with the demand for it.” ― Confucius

  95. 95
    Confuscious

    “I want you to be everything that’s you, deep at the center of your being.”
    “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated” ― Confuscious

  96. 96
    Confucius

    “We should keep the dead before our eyes, and honor them as though still living” ― Confucius

  97. 97
    Confucius

    “he who will not economize will have to agonize” ― Confucius

  98. 98
    Confucius

    “Don’t use cannon to kill musquito.” ― Confucius

  99. 99
    Confucius

    “A man without a mustache is a man without a soul.” ― Confucius

  100. 100
    Confucius

    “He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good.” ― Confucius

About

Ranked By Votes brings you crowdsourced lists of the most popular topics across the internet
DMCA.com Protection Status