Browse quotations by Confucius with named works, context notes, meanings and recurring themes.
“In teaching there should be no distinction of classes.”
Teaching is presented as something that should not be reserved only for people of a favored social class or background.
Source note: The Analects of Confucius, James Legge’s public-domain English translation; Book XV states the principle in a compact sentence about access to teaching.
“To see what is right and not to do it is want of courage.”
Recognizing the right course is incomplete if fear or convenience prevents a person from acting on that judgment.
Source note: The Analects of Confucius, James Legge’s public-domain English translation; Book II connects moral recognition with the courage required for action.
“What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.”
A simple test for conduct is to consider whether we would accept the same treatment if our positions were reversed.
Source note: The Analects of Confucius, James Legge’s public-domain English translation; Book XV gives the maxim as a concise rule for conduct toward others.
“Is it not delightful to have friends coming from distant quarters?”
Friendship gains special warmth when distance has not weakened the relationship and reunion becomes an occasion for shared joy.
Source note: The Analects of Confucius, James Legge’s public-domain English translation; Book I pairs learning with the pleasure of welcoming distant friends.
“Is it not pleasant to learn with a constant perseverance and application?”
Learning becomes satisfying when it is sustained through repeated application rather than treated as a single act of exposure.
Source note: The Analects of Confucius, James Legge’s public-domain English translation; Book I opens by connecting learning with steady practice.
“The superior man wishes to be slow in his speech and earnest in his conduct.”
Restraint in speech is paired with seriousness in action, placing demonstrated conduct above impressive but unproven words.
Source note: The Analects of Confucius, James Legge’s public-domain English translation; Book IV contrasts careful speech with earnest conduct.
“Learning without thought is labour lost; thought without learning is perilous.”
Study and reflection are treated as partners: information without examination is shallow, while speculation without learning can drift away from reality.
Source note: Analects 2:15 in James Legge’s translation; the saying balances study with independent reflection.
“What the superior man seeks, is in himself. What the mean man seeks, is in others.”
Mature judgment begins with one’s own conduct and capacities rather than making other people the first explanation for every outcome.
Source note: The Analects of Confucius, James Legge’s public-domain English translation; Book XV contrasts inward self-examination with dependence on others.
“The superior man is satisfied and composed; the mean man is always full of distress.”
The contrast treats composure as a feature of cultivated character rather than as freedom from all difficulty: the “superior man” is represented as settled enough not to live in continual inward distress.
Source note: The Analects of Confucius, Book VII, Chapter XXXVI, James Legge translation, Project Gutenberg #3330.
“To have faults and not to reform them,—this, indeed, should be pronounced having faults.”
Making an error is less serious than refusing to correct it after the problem has become visible.
Source note: The Analects of Confucius, James Legge’s public-domain English translation; Book XV distinguishes ordinary faults from the refusal to reform them.