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Duke Ai asked, “What can I do in order to get the support of the common people?”
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Zizhang was learning with a view to official emolument. The Master said, “Hear much, but maintain silence as regards doubtful points and be cautious in speaking of the rest; then you will seldom get into trouble. See much, but ignore what it is dangerous to have seen, and be cautious in acting upon the…
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The Master said, “You, shall I teach you what knowledge is? When you know a thing, to recognize that you know it, and when you do not know a thing, to recognize that you do not know it. That is knowledge.”
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The Master said, “To devote oneself to heterodox doctrines brings harm indeed.”
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The Master said, “He who learns but does not think is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.”
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The Master said: “The noble person practices inclusive integrity — they embrace all with impartial care, avoiding factional alliances. The petty person forms exclusive cliques — they bond through self-interest, lacking ethical consistency.
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Zigong asked about the true gentleman. The Master said, “He does not preach what he practises till he has practised what he preaches.”
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The Master said, “A gentleman is not an implement.”
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The Master said, “He who by reanimating the Old can gain knowledge of the New is fit to be a teacher.”