Confucius

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.

Ability will never catch up with the demand for it.

An oppressive government is more to be feared than a tiger.

And remember, no matter where you go, there you are.

Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.

By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.

Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.

Death and life have their determined appointments; riches and honors depend upon heaven.

Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.

Faced with what is right, to leave it undone shows a lack of courage.

Go before the people with your example, and be laborious in their affairs.

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 towards it.

He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.

He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good.

Heaven means to be one with God.

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.

I will not be concerned at other men's not knowing me;I will be concerned at my own want of ability.

If I am walking with two other men, each of them will serve as my teacher. I will pick out the good points of the one and imitate them, and the bad points of the other and correct them in myself.

If we don't know life, how can we know death?

If you look into your own heart, and you find nothing wrong there, what is there to worry about? What is there to fear?

In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.

Instead of being concerned that you have no office, be concerned to think how you may fit yourself for office. Instead of being concerned that you are not known, see to be worthy of being known.

It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop.

It is easy to hate and it is difficult to love. This is how the whole scheme of things works. All good things are difficult to achieve; and bad things are very easy to get.

It is more shameful to distrust our friends than to be deceived by them.

Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.

Look at the means which a man employs, consider his motives, observe his pleasures. A man simply cannot conceal himself!

Never contract friendship with a man that is not better than thyself.

Never give a sword to a man who can't dance.

No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.

Old age, believe me, is a good and pleasant thing. It is true you are gently shouldered off the stage, but then you are given such a comfortable front stall as spectator.

One atom of the plane where He functions would shatter the world.

Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change.

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance.

Silence is a true friend who never betrays.

Speak the truth, do not yield to anger; give, if thou art asked for little; by these three steps thou wilt go near the gods.

Study the past, if you would divine the future.

Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.

The book salesman should be honored because he brings to our attention, as a rule, the very books we need most and neglect most.

The cautious seldom err.

The expectations of life depend upon diligence; the mechanic that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools.

The firm, the enduring, the simple, and the modest are near to virtue.

The object of the superior man is truth.

The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home.

The superior man is distressed by the limitations of his ability; he is not distressed by the fact that men do not recognize the ability that he has.

The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.

The superior man makes the difficulty to be overcome his first interest; success only comes later.

The superior man thinks always of virtue; the common man thinks of comfort.

The superior man understands what is right; the inferior man understands what will sell.

The wheel of fortune turns round incessantly, and who can say to himself, I shall to-day be uppermost.

The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.

They must often change, who would be constant in happiness or wisdom.

To be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it.

To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.

To know what is right and not to do it is the worst cowardice.

To know, is to know that you know nothing. That is the meaning of true knowledge.

To practice five things under all circumstances constitutes perfect virtue; these five are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness.

To see and listen to the wicked is already the beginning of wickedness.

To see the right and not to do it is cowardice.

Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbors.

Virtuous people often revenge themselves for the constraints to which they submit by the boredom which they inspire.

What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.

When anger rises, think of the consequences.

When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.

When we see persons of worth, we should think of equaling them; when we see persons of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves.

When you are laboring for others let it be with the same zeal as if it were for yourself.

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.

Wherever you go, go with all your heart.

You cannot open a book without learning something.

Sun Tzu - The Art of War

All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.

All war is based on deception.

All war is deception.

All warfare is based on deception.

For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.

Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.

If our soldiers are not overburdened with money, it is not because they have a distaste for riches; if their lives are not unduly long, it is not because they are disinclined to longevity.

If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.

It is essential to seek out enemy agents who have come to conduct espionage against you and to bribe them to serve you. Give them instructions and care for them. Thus doubled agents are recruited and used.

Now the reason the enlightened prince and the wise general conquer the enemy whenever they move and their achievements surpass those of ordinary men is foreknowledge.

O divine art of subtlety and secrecy! Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in our hands.

Of all those in the army close to the commander none is more intimate than the secret agent; of all rewards none more liberal than those given to secret agents; of all matters none is more confidential than those relating to secret operations.

Opportunities multiply as they are seized.

Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance.

Secret operations are essential in war; upon them the army relies to make its every move.

Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.

The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.

The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand.

The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.

The quality of decision is like the well-timed swoop of a falcon which enables it to strike and destroy its victim.

The supreme excellence is to subde the armies of your enemies without even having to fight them.

The ultimate in disposing one's troops is to be without ascertainable shape. Then the most penetrating spies cannot pry in nor can the wise lay plans against you.

There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.

There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare.

Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.

Thus, what is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy.

To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.

To see victory only when it is within the ken of the common herd is not the acme of excellence.

When envoys are sent with compliments in their mouths, it is a sign that the enemy wishes for a truce.

Mencius

Every duty is a charge, but the charge of oneself is the root of all others.

Evil exists to glorify the good. Evil is negative good. It is a relative term. Evil can be transmuted into good. What is evil to one at one time, becomes good at another time to somebody else.

Friendship is one mind in two bodies.

He who attends to his greater self becomes a great man, and he who attends to his smaller self becomes a small man.

If the king loves music, there is little wrong in the land.

It is not difficult to govern. All one has to do is not to offend the noble families.

Kindly words do not enter so deeply into men as a reputation for kindness.

Let not a man do what his sense of right bids him not to do, nor desire what it forbids him to desire. This is sufficient. The skillful artist will not alter his measures for the sake of a stupid workman.

Mankind fears an evil man but heaven does not.

The great man is he who does not lose his child-heart. He does not think beforehand that his words shall be sincere, nor that his acts shall be resolute; he simply abides in the right.

There is no greater delight than to be conscious of sincerity on self-examination.

Truth uttered before its time is always dangerous.

We live, not as we wish to, but as we can.