From the Writings of Confucius  (551-479 B.C.)

“If everyone dislikes it, it must be looked into. If everyone likes it, it must be looked into."

“A man who boasts will have great difficulty in living up to his boasting.”

“A gentleman blames himself while a common man blames others.”

“A man who committed a mistake and did not correct it is committing another mistake.”

“The cautious person seldom errs.”

“To know what you know and know what you do not know is the mark of a person who knows.”

“A superior man . . . acts before he speaks and afterwards speaks according to his actions.”

“I have been the whole day without eating and the whole night without sleeping, -- occupied with thinking. It was no use. The better plan is to learn. Learning without thought is labor lost; and thought without learning is perilous.”

“In archery we have something like the way of the superior man. When the archer misses the center of the target, he turns around and looks for the cause of the failure in himself.”

“If a man be under the influence of anger, his conduct will not be correct. The same will be the case if he be under the influence of terror, or of (love) or sorrow.”

“Man is the representative of Heaven and is supreme over all things. Woman yields obedience to the institutions of man and helps him to carry out his principles. On this account she can determine no thing of herself and . . . when young she must obey her father and elder brother; when married she must obey her husband; when her husband is dead, she must obey her son. She may not think of marrying a second time.”

“Tsze Kung asked, ‘Is there one word which may serve as a rule of behavior for all of one’s life?’ The Master said, ‘Is not _____________ such a word?’”