If I am not personally present when the sacrifice is being made, then I do not sacrifice.  There can be no proxy in this matter.

Tze-kung wanted to do away with the offering of a sheep at the new moon.  The master said, “Thou lovest the sheep, but I love the ceremony.”

These things are not to be tolerated:  Rank without generosity, ritual without reverence, and mourning without genuine sorrow.

It is better to have virtue with want and ignominy, than wealth and honour without virtue.

If a man in the morning learns the right way of life he may die at night without regret.

A scholar’s mind should be set on the search for truth, and he should not be ashamed of poor clothes or of plain or even of insufficient food.

The superior man loves the good and pursues it; besides this, he has no likes or dislikes.

The good man considers what is right; the bad man what will pay.

As long as thy parents live thou must not go far from them.  But if through necessity thou leavest them, let them know where thou art, and be ready to come to them when needed.

The man who governs himself, restraining his passions, seldom goes wrong.

The good man desires to be slow of speech, but active in conduct.

Virtue stands never alone.  It will always make neighbours.

In my first dealings with men I listened to their words, and gave them credit for good conduct.  Experience has taught me not to listen to their words but to watch their conduct.  It was from Yu that I learned this lesson.

I have met no man of strong and unbending will; even Chang is passionate.

On being asked why Kung-wan was said to be cultured, the master replied, “Because he was quick to learn, fond of learning, and especially because he was not ashamed to ask questions of those below him.”  Of Tze-chang the master said that he had four characteristics of the gentleman:  he was humble in his own life, respectful towards seniors, generous in supplying the needs of the people, and just in all his demands of them.

Yen Yuan and Chi Lu were once sitting by the master, who turned to them and said, “Come, I want each of you to tell me his wishes.”  Chi Lu said, “I should like to have carriages and horses and light fur robes to share with my friends that they, and I, may carelessly wear them out.”  Yen Yuan said, “My wish is to make no boast of moral or intellectual excellence.”  The master said, “My wish is this:  to make the aged happy, to show sincerity towards friends, and to treat young people with tenderness and sympathy.”

Nature preponderating over art begets coarseness; art preponderating over nature begets pedantry; art and nature united make a proper gentleman.

To men whose talents are above mediocrity we speak of superior things.  To men whose talents are below the common we must speak things suited to their culture.