Confucius on Peace Quotes

"Wherever you go, go with all your heart."

"To be able under all circumstances to practice five things constitutes perfect virtue; these five are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness."

"If a man takes no thought about what is distant, he will find sorrow near at hand."

"Without an acquaintance with the rules of propriety, it is impossible for the character to be established."

"Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom associated with true virtue."

"When anger rises, think of the consequences."

"To lead an uninstructed people to war is to throw them away."

"Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbors."

"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."

"The superior man is all-embracing and not partial. The mean man is partial and not all-embracing."

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."

"As quoted in Liberating Faith : Religious Voices for Justice, Peace, and Ecological Wisdom (2003) by Roger S. Gottlieb, p. 24"

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

"In the practice of the rules of propriety, a natural ease is to be prized. In the ways prescribed by the ancient kings, this is the course of beauty: the small and the great follow it."

"He who acts with a constant view to his own advantage will be much murmured against."

"In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of."

"He who is master of his own spirit is greater than he who takes a city."

"The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones."

"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it."

"The man of wisdom is never of two minds; the man of benevolence never worries; the man of courage is never afraid."

"Silence is a true friend who never betrays."

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

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

"The superior man is quiet and calm, waiting for the appointments of Heaven. The mean man walks in dangerous paths, looking for lucky occurrences."

"When the heart is set on benevolence, there is no practicing of wickedness."

"Let the states of equilibrium and harmony exist in perfection, and a happy order will prevail throughout heaven and earth, and all things will be nourished and flourish."

"When we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves."

"Recompense injury with justice, and recompense kindness with kindness."

"The cautious seldom err."

"It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop."

"To see what is right and not to do it is want of courage."

"The superior man is satisfied and composed; the mean man is always full of distress."

"The superior man, in the world, does not set his mind either for anything, or against anything; what is right he will follow."