Zi Zhang asked how to cultivate virtue and discern confusion. The Master said, “Make loyalty and trustworthiness your foundation, and always align yourself with righteousness—this is how you elevate virtue. As for confusion: when you love someone, you wish him to live; when you hate him, you wish him to die. Now wanting him…
Confucius said, “Hold loyalty and trustworthiness as your foundation; do not befriend those who are inferior to yourself; and when you make a mistake, do not fear correcting it.”
The Book of Odes says:“The royal domain extends a thousand li – this is where the people find their abode.”
Mencius said: “A truly noble person does not always insist on keeping every promise or carrying every action to completion – what matters is whether it aligns with righteousness.”
5.28 The Master said, “In a hamlet of ten houses you may be sure of finding someone quite as loyal and true to his word as I. But I doubt if you would find anyone with such a love of learning.”