Confucius Quotes
Confucius was a Chinese philosopher and political teacher of the Spring and Autumn period. His teachings, recorded by disciples in the Analects, emphasize personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice, and sincerity. The quotes below are attributed to Confucius, organized by topic.
Confucius on Justice
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Attributed to Confucius:
“Recompense injury with justice, and recompense kindness with kindness.”
Confucius on Knowledge
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Attributed to Confucius:
“Learning without thought is labour lost; thought without learning is perilous.”
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Attributed to Confucius:
“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.”
Confucius on Life
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Attributed to Confucius:
“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.”
Confucius on Virtue
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Attributed to Confucius:
“Do not do unto others what you do not want done to yourself.”
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Attributed to Confucius:
“The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.”
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Attributed to Confucius:
“What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others.”
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Attributed to Confucius:
“Have no friends not equal to yourself.”
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Attributed to Confucius:
“When you see a man of worth, think of how to equal him; when you see a man of unworthy character, examine yourself.”
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Attributed to Confucius:
“Riches and honours are what men desire. If they cannot be obtained in the proper way, they should not be held.”
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Attributed to Confucius:
“When anger rises, think of the consequences.”
Things actually not said by Confucius
A number of widely-shared lines are circulated as Confucius but are in fact from someone else. Did Confucius say these? No. Each entry below pairs the line with the person who actually wrote it.
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Did Confucius say this? No.
“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
This line appears in Oliver Goldsmith's 1762 book The Citizen of the World. Goldsmith himself prefaced it with the phrase 'as the Chinese say,' which appears to have seeded the long-running misattribution to Confucius. The line does not appear in the Analects or any other Confucian classic.
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Did Confucius say this? No.
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”
This saying does not appear in the Analects or any classical Confucian text. Its earliest verifiable English-language appearances are from the 20th century, and no Chinese-language original has been identified.
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Did Confucius say this? No.
“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
This sentence does not appear in the Analects. Its earliest verifiable English-language attestations date to the late 20th century. It is variously attributed to Confucius, Mark Twain, and others, but no original source has been confirmed for any of these attributions.