5.6 The Master gave Qidiao Kai leave to take office, but he replied,”I have not yet sufficiently perfected myself in the virtue of good faith.” The Master was delighted.
5.5 Someone said, “Ran Yong is benevolent, but he is a poor talker.”
5.3 Of Zijian he said, “A gentleman indeed is such a one as he! If the land of Lu were indeed without gentlemen, how could he have learnt this?”
5.1, 5.2 The Master said of Gongye Chang, “Though he has suffered imprisonment, he is not an unfit person to choose as a husband; for it was not through any fault of his own.” He married him to his daughter.
4.26 Ziyou said, “In the service of one’s prince repeated scolding can only lead to loss of favour; in friendship, it can only lead to estrangement.
4.24 The Master said, “A gentleman covets the reputation of being slow in word but prompt in deed.”
4.23 The Master said, “Those who err on the side of strictness are few indeed!”