The Master said, “Clever words corrupt virtue; lacking patience in small matters disrupts great plans.”
The Master said, “When it comes to people, whom have I ever slandered? Whom have I ever praised lightly? If I have praised anyone, it was only after testing and verifying their character. It is precisely these common people who enabled the Three Dynasties – Xia, Shang, and Zhou – to follow the straight…
Zigong asked, “Is there one word that can be practiced for a lifetime?” The Master said, “Perhaps it is ‘shu’ (reciprocity)! Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.”
The Master said, “The noble person seeks from himself; the petty person seeks from others.”
The Master said, “The noble person worries that after his death, his name will not be commensurate with his virtue – that he will not be remembered worthily.”
The Master said, “The noble person worries about his own lack of ability, not about others’ failure to recognize him.”