•
Confucius said, “There are three kinds of beneficial friends and three kinds of harmful friends. Friendship with the upright, friendship with the trustworthy, and friendship with the well-informed – these are beneficial. Friendship with the fawning, friendship with the insincerely agreeable, and friendship with the glibly eloquent – these are harmful.”
•
The Master said, “In serving a ruler, attend to your duties with reverence first, and place your salary second.”
•
The Master said, “The noble person is steadfast in principle but not rigidly bound by petty fidelity.”
•
The Master said, “The noble person cannot be fully known through small matters, yet can be entrusted with great responsibilities; the petty person cannot be entrusted with great responsibilities, yet can be understood through small matters.”
•
The Master said, “The noble person seeks the Way, not sustenance. In farming, hunger may still occur; in studying, official emolument often follows. Thus, the noble person worries about the Way, not about poverty.”
•
The Master said, “The noble person does not promote someone solely on the basis of his words, nor does he reject someone’s words solely because of who he is.”
•
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.”