Confucius

551 B.C. - 479 B.C.
"If one learns from others but does not think, he will be bewildered.
If, on the other had, one thinks but does not learn from others, he will be
in peril."
- Confucius
Confucius was born a noble in the state of Lu in modern Shantung, but, because
the imperial rule was breaking down, he was not very wealthy or powerful.
Confucius considered himself to be a transmitter of early Chou culture, rather
than an innovator of new ideas. He taught a moral philosophy with man as the
center. He believed that for a person to reach his moral responsibility, that
person needed to think for himself. Confucius felt thinking and learning were
equally important for his students.
The center of Confucius's philosophy was the chün tzu, an ideal
man whose character embodies the virtue of benevolence and whose acts
are in accordance
with the rites and rightness.
A taste of Confucius
· The superior man understands what is right; the inferior man understands
what will sell.
· Have no friends not equal to yourself.
· Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.
· The gold in one's heart is more precious than the gold in one's pocket.
· The gentleman understands righteousness; the petty man understands interest.
· Aspire to the principle, behave with virtue, abide by benevolence, and
immerse yourself in the arts.
· A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without
trials.
· Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without one.
· Enough shovels of earth -- a mountain. Enough pails of water -- a river.
· Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.
· If you know, to recognize that you know; if you don't know, to realize
that you don't know. That is knowledge.
· True knowledge is when one knows the limitations of one's knowledge.
· Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is
dangerous.
· Reviewing the old and deducing the new makes a teacher.
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