If language is not correct, then what is said is not what is meant; if what is said is not what is meant, then what must be done remains undone; if this remains undone, morals and art will deteriorate; if justice goes astray, the people will stand about in helpless confusion. Hence there must be no arbitrariness in what is said. This matters above everything.

To govern is to correct. If you set an example by being correct, who would dare remain incorrect?

He who will not economize will have to agonize.

When anger rises, think of the consequences.

It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop.

The superior man is modest in his speech, but excels in his actions.

The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.

If a man take no thought about what is distant, he will find sorrow near at hand

Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses.

Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes.

To see what is right, and not to do it, is want of courage or of principle.

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.

Respect yourself and others will respect you.

Ignorance is the night of the mind, but a night without moon and star.

Study the past if you would define the future.

What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others.

Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it.

Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.

Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.