Confucius

To worship ancestors whom one does not know is to be presumptuous.

It is man that can make the Way great, and not the Way that can make man great.

The gentleman is not a tool.

When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them.

I have not seen a man who loves benevolence, or one who hates what is not benevolent. A man who loves benevolence will not place anything above it. A man who hates what is not benevolent will practice benevolence in such a way that he will not allow anything that is not benevolent to approach his person.

The student of virtue has no time for idleness.

To know what you know and what you do not know, that is true knowledge.

Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.

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

Is it not a pleasure, having learned something, to try it out at due intervals?

When you see a good man, try to emulate his example, and when you see a bad man, search yourself for his faults.

Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles.

If I am walking with two other men, each of them will serve as my teacher. I will pick out the good points of the one and imitate them, and the bad points of the other and correct them in myself.

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

A man without constancy cannot be a diviner or a physician.

The noble-minded are calm and steady. Little people are forever fussing and fretting.

To be able to practice five things everywhere under heaven constitutes perfect virtue... gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness.

The gentleman has nothing to contend for.

Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know men.

The superior man thinks of virtue; the small man thinks of comfort.