Confucius

“How can a large carriage be made to go without the cross-bar?”

“At fifteen, I had my mind bent on learning.”

“At thirty, I stood firm.”

“At forty, I had no doubts.”

“At fifty, I knew the decrees of Heaven.”

“At sixty, my ear was an obedient organ for the reception of truth.”

“At seventy, I could follow what my heart desired without transgressing what was right.”

“To learn without thinking is labor lost.”

“To think without learning is perilous.”

“When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it — this is knowledge.”

“He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn toward it.”

“If you govern the people legalistically and control them by punishment, they will avoid crime, but have no personal sense of shame.”

“If you govern them by means of virtue and control them with propriety, they will gain their own sense of shame, and thus correct themselves.”

“He who would establish himself, seeks also to establish others.”

“He who would enlarge himself, seeks also to enlarge others.”

“Without a true friendship of letters and music, life is dull.”

“In poetry, find inspiration. In ritual, find your standing. In music, find perfection.”

“The superior man may indeed have to endure want, but the mean man, when he is in want, gives way to unbridled license.”

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”