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.”