The Sayings of Confucius

Confucius was born in the year 550 B.C.,[1] in the land of Lu, in a small village, situated in the western part of the modern province of Shantung. His name was K'ung Ch'iu, and...

1. The Master said, To learn and then do, is not that a pleasure? When friends come from afar do we not rejoice? To live unknown and not fret, is not that to be a gentleman?

3. The Master said, Guide the people by law, aline them by punishment; they may shun crime, but they will want shame. Guide them by mind, aline them by courtesy; they will learn...

7. The Master said, A gentleman never strives with others. Or must he, perhaps, in shooting? But then, as he bows and makes way in going up or steps down to drink,[27] his strif...

5. The Master said, Wealth and honours are what men desire; but do not go from the Way, to keep them. Lowliness and want are hated by men; but do not go from the Way, to escape...

Of Nan Jung the Master said, When the land keeps the Way he will not be neglected; and if the land loses the Way he will escape punishment and death.

To be stern to himself, said Chung-kung, and slack in his claims on the people, might do; but to be slack himself and slack with others must surely be too slack.

3. The Master said, Not making the most of my mind, want of thoroughness in learning, failure to do the right when told it, lack of strength to overcome faults; these are my sor...

2. The Master said, Without good form attentions grow into fussiness, heed becomes fearfulness, daring becomes unruliness, frankness becomes rudeness. When gentlemen are true to...

When the Master heard this, he said to his disciples, What shall I take up? Shall I take up driving, or shall I take up shooting? I shall take up driving.

3. When the king bade him receive guests, his face seemed to change and his legs to bend. He bowed left and right to those beside him, straightened his robes in front and behind...

1. The Master said, Savages! the men that first went into courtesy and music! Gentlemen! those that went into them later! My use is to follow the first lead in both.

The Master said, Love is to conquer self and turn to courtesy. If we could conquer self and turn to courtesy for one day, all below heaven would turn to love. Does love flow fro...

What a savage Yu[126] is! said the Master. A gentleman is tongue-tied when he does not understand. If names are not right, words do not fit. If words do not fit, affairs go wron...

4. The Master said, Whilst the land keeps the Way, be fearless of speech and fearless in deed; when the land has lost the Way, be fearless in deed but soft of speech.

The Master said, Duke Huan gathered the great vassals round him, not by chariots of war, but through the might of Kuan Chung. What can love do more? What can love do more?

The Master said, Be faithful and true of word, plain and lowly in thy walk; thou wilt get on even in tribal lands. If thy words be not faithful and true, thy walk not plain and...

Confucius said, After all, Ch'iu,[143] art thou not in the wrong? The kings of old made Chuan-yü lord of Tung Meng.[144] Moreover, as Chuan-yü is inside our borders it is the li...

1. Yang Huo[151] wished to see Confucius. Confucius did not go to see him. He sent Confucius a sucking pig. Confucius chose a time when he was out, and went to thank him. They m...

He answered, If I serve men the straight way, where can I go without being dismissed thrice? If I am to serve men the crooked way, why should I leave the land of my father and m...

1. Tzu-chang said, The knight that stakes his life when he sees danger, who in sight of gain thinks of right, and whose thoughts are reverent at worship, and sad when he is in m...

1. Yao said, Hail to thee, Shun! The count that Heaven is telling falls on thee. Keep true hold of the centre. If there be stress or want within the four seas, the gift of Heave...

_Chi_, or _Chi-sun_, one of the three great houses of Lu, who had grasped all power in the state. The others were Meng-sun and Shu-sun. They were all descended from Duke Huan by...

_Chi_, xviii. 1, another small state. Lord of Chi: an uncle of the tyrant Chou, last of the Yin dynasty. He was imprisoned for chiding the emperor, and to escape death feigned m...

_Chieh-yü_, xviii. 5, a famous man of Ch'u, who, disapproving of his king's conduct, supported himself by husbandry, and feigned madness in order to escape being forced into the...

_Chou_, or _Chou Hsin_ (reigned 1154-22 B.C.), the last emperor of the house of Yin, an infamous tyrant, finally overthrown by King Wu, when he perished in his burning palace; x...

_Tzu-hsi_, xiv. 10, chief minister to the state of Ch'u. He refused to be appointed successor to the throne in place of the true heir; but did not oppose his master's faults, an...

_T'ai-po_, eldest son of King T'ai of Chou. His brother was the father of King Wen, whose son King Wu dethroned Chou Hsin and founded the Chou dynasty, that was reigning in Chin...

_Wei_, the lord of, xviii. 1, an elder brother by a concubine of the tyrant Chou Hsin (reigned 1154-22 B.C.), last of the Yin dynasty. He fled from court, since he could not imp...

_Yü-chung_, the younger brother of T'ai-po. He accompanied him in his flight to the wild tribes of Wu (the country round Shanghai), in order to let the third brother come to the...