Quotes from The Analects

“The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”
― Confucius, quote from The Analects

“Respect yourself and others will respect you.”
― Confucius, quote from The Analects

“Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles.”
― Confucius, quote from The Analects

“To be wealthy and honored in an unjust society is a disgrace.”
― Confucius, quote from The Analects

“Never give a sword to a man who can't dance.”
― Confucius, quote from The Analects

“The noble-minded are calm and steady. Little people are forever fussing and fretting.”
― Confucius, quote from The Analects

“He Who Knows And Knows That He Knows Is A Wise Man - Follow Him;
He Who Knows Not And Knows Not That He Knows Not Is A Fool - Shun Him”
― Confucius, quote from The Analects

“When the wind blows,the grass bends.”
― Confucius, quote from The Analects

“Fix your mind on truth, hold firm to virtue, rely on loving kindness, and find your recreation in the Arts.”
― Confucius, quote from The Analects

“Lead the people with administrative injunctions and put them in their place with penal law, and they will avoid punishments but will be without a sense of shame. Lead them with excellence and put them in their place through roles and ritual practices, and in addition to developing a sense of shame, they will order themselves harmoniously”
― Confucius, quote from The Analects

“Be strict with yourself but least reproachful of others and complaint is kept afar.”
― Confucius, quote from The Analects

“The superior man has a dignified ease without pride. The mean man has pride without a dignified ease.”
― Confucius, quote from The Analects

“If there were an honorable way to get rich, I’d do it, even if it meant being a stooge standing around with a whip. But there isn’t an honorable way, so I just do what I like.”
― Confucius, quote from The Analects

“The scholar who cherishes the love of comfort is not fit to be deemed a scholar.”
― Confucius, quote from The Analects

“The expectations of life depend upon diligence the mechanic that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools. ”
― Confucius, quote from The Analects

“Not to discuss with a man worthy of conversation is to waste the man. To discuss with a man not worthy of conversation is to waste words. The wise waste neither men nor words.”
― Confucius, quote from The Analects

“If names be not correct, language is not in accordance with the truth of things.”
― Confucius, quote from The Analects

“Tsze-Kung asked, “Is there one word with which to act in accordance throughout a lifetime?” The Master said, “Is not reciprocity such a word? What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.”
― Confucius, quote from The Analects

“To be poor without murmuring is difficult. To be rich without being proud is easy.”
― Confucius, quote from The Analects

“Coarse rice to eat, water to drink, my bended arm for a pillow - therein is happiness. Wealth and rank attained through immoral means are nothing but drifting clouds.”
― Confucius, quote from The Analects

“I used to take on trust a man's deeds after having listened to his words. Now having listened to a man's words I go on to observe his deeds.”
― Confucius, quote from The Analects

“Care not for want of place; care for thy readiness to fill one. Care not for being unknown, but seek to be worthy of note.”
― Confucius, quote from The Analects

“What can a man do with music who is not benevolent?”
― Confucius, quote from The Analects

“A youth is to be regarded with respect. How do we know that his future will not be equal to our present? If he reach the age of forty or fifty, and has not made himself heard of, then indeed he will not be worth being regarded with respect.”
― Confucius, quote from The Analects

“There are some with whom we may study in common, but we shall find them unable to go along with us to principles. Perhaps we may go on with them to principles, but we shall find them unable to get established in those along with us. Or if we may get so established along with them, we shall find them unable to weigh occurring events along with us.”
― Confucius, quote from The Analects

“Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom associated with true virtue.”
― Confucius, quote from The Analects

“If you expect great things of yourself and demand little of others, you’ll keep resentment far away.”
― Confucius, quote from The Analects

“Zuviel ist gerade so falsch wie zuwenig.”
― Confucius, quote from The Analects

“A conversa impregnada de vaidade e o pretensiosismo são raramente compatíveis com a virtude.”
― Confucius, quote from The Analects

About the author

Popular quotes

“In the history of Russian pessimism, the general decrepitude of the university buildings, the gloomy corridors, the grimy walls, the inadequate light, the dismal look of the stairs, cloakrooms and benches, occupy one of the foremost places in the series of causes predisposing...And here is our garden. It seems to have become neither better nor worse since I was a student. I don’t like it. It would be much smarter if, instead of consumptive lindens, yellow acacias, and sparse trimmed lilacs, there were tall pines and handsome oaks growing here. The student, whose mood is largely created by the surroundings of his place of learning, should see at every step only the lofty, the strong, the graceful...God save him from scrawny trees, broken windows, gray walls, and doors upholstered with torn oilcloth.”
― Anton Chekhov, quote from Selected Stories

“Love is a mystery. We embrace it where we can. Mostly we do not choose whom we love. It just happens. A voice speaks to us, in ways the ears cannot hear. We recognize a beauty the eye does not see. We experience a change in our hearts that no voice can describe.”
― David Gemmell, quote from Shield of Thunder

“People call me a
saint and I think, I have to work harder. Because a saint would be a great thing to be.” - Paul Farmer”
― Tracy Kidder, quote from Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World

“Louis-Cesare’s anger suddenly filled the small room like water, and in a heartbeat his eyes went from silver tinged to as solid as two antique coins.
I sat frozen, awash in a sea of power. I was beginning to understand why Mircea had wanted him along, only Daddy had failed to mention anything about the hair-trigger temper. I guess he assumed the red hair would clue me in.”
― Karen Chance, quote from Midnight's Daughter

“Once the blinders are off, it's rather hard to go back to seeing things the way you used to.”
― Mercedes Lackey, quote from The Fairy Godmother

Interesting books

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.