Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.

Humility is the solid foundation of all virtues.

The firm, the enduring, the simple, and the modest are near to virtue.

“Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself.”

“Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.”

“The perfecting of one’s self is the fundamental base of all progress and all moral development.”

“He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good.”

“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”

“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.”

“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.”

“He that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools.”

“Virtue is more to man than either water or fire. I have seen men die from treading on water and fire, but I have never seen a man die from treading the course of virtue.”

“Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes.”

“Isn’t it a pleasure to study and practice what you have learned?”

“Isn’t it also great when friends visit from distant places? If one remains not annoyed when he is not understood by people around him, isn’t he a sage?”

“It is not possible for one to teach others who cannot teach his own family.”

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”

“Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace.”

“Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men from beasts?”

“It is not possible for one to teach others who cannot teach his own family.”

“He who excels in study can follow an official career.”

“Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses.”

“What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.”

“We should feel sorrow, but not sink under its oppression.”

“Recompense injury with justice, and recompense kindness with kindness.”

“Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.”

“To love a thing means wanting it to live.”

“To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.”

“The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trial.”

“In a country well governed poverty is something to be ashamed of.”

“Things that are done, it is needless to speak about…things that are past, it is needless to blame.”

“Learn as though you would never be able to master it; hold it as though you would be in fear of losing it.”

“Do not be desirous of having things done quickly. Do not look at small advantages. Desire to have things done quickly prevents their being done thoroughly.”

“If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees; if in terms of 100 years, teach the people.”

“Looking at small advantages prevents great affairs from being accomplished.”

“The people may be made to follow a path of action, but they may not be made to understand it.”

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

“The cautious seldom err.”

“The superior man is modest in his speech, but excels in his actions.”

“Men’s natures are alike, it is their habits that carry them far apart.”

“It is only the wisest and the stupidest that cannot change.”

“The object of the superior man is truth.”

“The essence of knowledge is, having it, to apply it not having it, to confess your ignorance.”

“A man who does not plan long ahead will find trouble right at his door.”

“Silence is the true friend that never betrays.”

“Humility is the solid foundation of all the virtues.”

“With coarse rice to eat, with water to drink, and my bended arm for a pillow – I have still joy in the midst of these things. Riches and honors acquired by unrighteousness are to me as a floating cloud.”

“When anger rises, think of the consequences.”

“Study the past if you would define the future.”

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Confucius