It is not difficult to govern. All one has to do is not to offend the noble families.
Without effective protection of the citizens' right to property, it will be difficult to attract and accumulate valuable capital.
Evil exists to glorify the good. Evil is negative good. It is a relative term. Evil can be transmuted into good. What is evil to one at one time, becomes good at another time to somebody else.
Mankind fears an evil man but heaven does not.
Only when a man will not do some things is he capable of doing great things.
Every duty is a charge, but the charge of oneself is the root of all others.
Kindly words do not enter so deeply into men as a reputation for kindness.
I like fish, and I also like bear's paws. If I cannot have the two together, I will let the fish go, and take the bear's paws. So, I like life, and I also like righteousness. If I cannot keep the two together, I will let life go, and choose righteousness.
Friendship with a man is friendship with his virtue.
Secure property in hand leads to peace in mind.
The people are the most important element in a nation; the spirits of the land and grain are the next; the sovereign is the least.
Truth uttered before its time is always dangerous.
The root of the kingdom is in the state. The root of the state is in the family. The root of the family is in the person of its head.
If Confucius wasn't born, the long night would have no bright lamp.
People can have a long-term life plan only if they know their private property is secure.
Sincerity is the way to heaven.
He who attends to his greater self becomes a great man, and he who attends to his smaller self becomes a small man.
