4.16 The Master said, “A gentleman takes as much trouble to discover what is right as lesser men take to discover what will pay.”
4.15 The Master said, “Shen! My Way (Dao) has one (thread) that runs right through it.”
4.13 The Master said, “If it is really possible to govern countries by ritual and yielding, there is no more to be said. But if it is not really possible, of what use is ritual?”
4.11 The Master (Confucius) said, “Where gentlemen set their hearts upon virtue, the commoners set theirs upon the soil. Where gentlemen think only of punishments, the commoners think only of exemptions.”
4.10 The Master said, “A gentleman in his dealings with the world has neither enmities nor affections; but wherever he sees righteousness he ranges himself beside it.”
4.8 The Master said, “In the morning, hear the Dao (the Way); in the evening, die content!”
4.7 The Master said, “People’s faults vary according to their kind. By observing their faults, one comes to understand their humanity.”
4.6 The Master said, “I for my part have never yet seen one who really cared for benevolence, nor one who really abhorred wickedness. One who really cared for benevolence would never let any other consideration come first. One who abhorred wickedness would be so constantly practicing benevolence that wickedness would never have a…