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Confucius, Chinese philosopher who taught that a person is made through their relationships, not apart from them, gets quoted everywhere and sourced almost nowhere. The 15 quotes below are different: each one is checked word for word against the cited work, starting with The Analects, not copied from aggregator sites that pass misattributions along. The source is named under every line, so you can trace each quote back to the page it came from.
Read Confucius's full profile and how they reason →15 verified quotes
On balancing study with independent judgment:
He who learns but does not think is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.Confucius, The Analects
On admitting what you do not know:
When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it, this is knowledge.Confucius, The Analects
On choosing principle over convenience:
The superior man thinks always of virtue; the common man thinks of comfort.Confucius, The Analects
On looking inward instead of blaming circumstances:
What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others.Confucius, The Analects
On staying silent when you should speak up:
To see what is right and not to do it is want of courage.Confucius, The Analects
On learning the hard way versus the easy way:
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.Confucius, The Analects
Wondering if doing the right thing will leave you isolated:
Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbors.Confucius, The Analects
Deciding whether to travel far to reconnect with an old friend:
Is it not delightful to have friends coming from distant quarters?Confucius, The Analects
Deciding how to handle a coworker the way you would want to be handled:
Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself.Confucius, The Analects
Finding out who actually stays loyal to you during a hard season:
When the cold season comes, then we know that the pine and the cypress are the last to lose their leaves.Confucius, The Analects
Feeling behind where you think you should be at your age:
At fifteen I set my heart on learning; at thirty I stood firm; at forty I had no doubts; at fifty I knew the mandate of heaven.Confucius, The Analects
Deciding whether to envy a colleague's success or learn from it:
When you see a man of worth, think of how to equal him. When you see one who is not, examine yourself.Confucius, The Analects
Worrying about being misunderstood instead of working to understand others:
I will not be afflicted at men's not knowing me; I will be afflicted that I do not know men.Confucius, The Analects
Choosing what to take and what to leave from a demanding boss:
When I walk along with two others, from them I will select a teacher. I will observe their good qualities and follow them, their bad qualities and avoid them.Confucius, The Analects
Weighing a lucrative offer that requires cutting an ethical corner:
The superior man is conversant with righteousness; the mean man is conversant with gain.Confucius, The Analects