1　The Master said, He who rules by moral force (te) is like the pole-star, which remains in its place while all the lesser stars do homage to it.

2　The Master said, If out of the three hundred Songs I had to take one phrase to cover all my teaching, I would say 'Let there be no evil in your thoughts.

3　The Master said, Govern the people by regulations, keep order among them by chastisements, and they will flee from you, and lose all self-respect. Govern them by moral force, keep order among them by ritual and they will keep their self-respect and come to you of their own accord.

4　The Master said, At fifteen I set my heart upon learning. At thirty, I had planted my feet firm upon the ground. At forty, I no longer suffered from perplexities. At fifty, I knew what were the biddings of Heaven. At sixty, I heard them with docile ear. At seventy, I could follow the dictates of my own heart; for what I desired no longer overstepped the boundaries of right.

5　Mêng I Tzu asked about the treatment of parents. The Master said, Never disobey! When Fan Ch'ih was driving his carriage for him, the Master said, Mêng asked me about the treatment of parents and I said, Never disobey! Fan Ch'ih said, In what sense did you mean it? The Master said, While they are alive, serve them according to ritual. When they die, bury them according to ritual and sacrifice to them according to ritual.

6　Mêng Wu Po asked about the treatment of parents. The Master said, Behave in such a way that your father and mother have no anxiety about you, except concerning your health.

7　Tzu-Yu asked about the treatment of parents. The Master said, 'Filial sons' nowadays are people who see to it that their parents get enough to eat. But even dogs and horses are cared for to that extent. If there is no feeling of respect, wherein lies the difference?

8　Tzu-hsia asked about the treatment of parents. The Master said, It is the demeanour that is difficult Filial piety does not consist merely in young people undertaking the hard work, when anything has to be done, or serving their elders first with wine and food. It is something much more than that.

9　The Master said, I can talk to Yen Hui a whole day without his ever differing from me. One would think he was stupid. But if I enquire into his private conduct when he is not with me I find that it fully demonstrates what I have taught him. No, Hui is by no means stupid.

10　The Master said, Look closely into his aims, observe the means by which he pursues them, discover what brings him content—and can the man's real worth remain hidden from you, can it remain hidden from you?

11　The Master said, He who by reanimating the Old can gain knowledge of the New is fit to be a teacher.

12　The Master said, A gentleman is not an implement.

13　Tzu-kung asked about the true gentleman. The Master said, He does not preach what he practises till he has practised what he preaches.

14　The Master said, A gentleman can see a question from all sides without bias. The small man is biased and can see a question only from one side.

15　The Master said, 'He who learns but does not think, is lost.' He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.

16　The Master said, He who sets to work upon a different strand destroys the whole fabric.

17　The Master said, Yu, shall I teach you what knowledge is? When you know a thing, to recognise that you know it, and when you do not know a thing, to recognise that you do not know it. That is knowledge.

18　Tzu-chang was studying the Song Han-lu. The Master said, Hear much, but maintain silence as regards doubtful points and be cautious in speaking of the rest; then you will seldom get into trouble. See much, but ignore what it is dangerous to have seen, and be cautious in acting upon the rest; then you will seldom want to undo your acts. He who seldom gets into trouble about what he has said and seldom does anything that he afterwards wishes he had not done, will be sure incidentally to get his reward.

19　Duke Ai asked, What can I do in order to get the support of the common people? Master K'ung replied, If you 'raise up the straight and set them on top of the crooked,' the commoners will support you. But if you raise the crooked and set them on top of the straight, the commoners will not support you.

20　Chi K'ang-tzu asked whether there were any form of encouragement by which he could induce the common people to be respectful and loyal. The Master said, Approach them with dignity, and they will respect you. Show piety towards your parents and kindness towards your children, and they will be loyal to you. Promote those who are worthy, train those who are incompetent; that is the best form of encouragement.

21　Someone, when talking to Master K'ung, said, How is it that you are not in the public service? The Master said, The Book says: 'Be filial, only be filial and friendly towards your brothers, and you will be contributing to government.' There are other sorts of service quite different from what you mean by service.

22　The Master said, I do not see what use a man can be put to, whose word cannot be trusted. How can a waggon be made to go if it has no yoke-bar or a carriage, if it has no collar-bar?

23　Tzu-chang asked whether the state of things ten generations hence could be foretold. The Master said, We know in what ways the Yin modified ritual when they followed upon the Hsia. We know in what ways the Chou modified ritual when they followed upon the Yin. And hence we can foretell what the successors of Chou will be like, even supposing they do not appear till a hundred generations from now.

24　The Master said, Just as to sacrifice to ancestors other than one's own is presumption, so to see what is right and not do it is cowardice. G7QcKtURiZPq0GHf29zCXS2DdQNPRr91syQ9AylqbRehyEkr7Wo1f9Os62M9phu1