“Sacrifices are concerned with the feelings of devotion and longing.”

Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.

Human nature is such that people are born with a love of profit If they follow these inclinations, they will struggle and snatch from each other, and inclinations to defer or yield will die.

Therefore, a person should first be changed by a teacher’s instructions, and guided by principles of ritual. Only then can he observe the rules of courtesy and humility, obey the conventions and rules of society, and achieve order.

When people lack teachers, their tendencies are not corrected; when they do not have ritual and moral principles, then their lawlessness is not controlled.

Man’s nature is evil; goodness is the result of conscious activity.

Human nature refers to what is in people but which they cannot study or work at achieving.

The drum is surely the lord of music, is it not?

The person attempting to travel two roads at once will get nowhere.

Sacrifice is a state of mind in which our thoughts turn with longing [toward Heaven, the Ancestors], It is the supreme expression of loyalty, love, and respect.

If the gentleman has ability, he is magnanimous, generous, tolerant, and straightforward, through which he opens the way to instruct others.

Human nature is what Heaven supplies.

The coming of honor or disgrace must be a reflection of one’s inner power.

If the quickness of the mind and the fluency of the tongue are too punctilious and sharp, moderate them in your activity and rest.

When a man sees something desirable, he must reflect on the fact that with time it could come to involve what is detestable. When he sees something that is beneficial, he should reflect that sooner or later it, too, could come to involve harm.

If you wish to see the thousand years, look at today; if you wish to understand the millionfold, then look at the one or the two.

The nature of man is evil; what is good in him is artificial.

I believe in an America where millions of Americans believe in an America that’s the America millions of Americans believe in. That’s the America I love.

You’ll know you’re amazing when you get devoted to making other people amazing.

I may die of earthly love, or of devotion.

Remember that the best and greatest among mankind are those who do themselves no worldly good. Every successful man is more or less a selfish man. The devoted fail.

The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.

No matter where your interest lies, you will not be able to accomplish anything unless you bring your deepest devotion to it.

Cut your morning devotions into your personal grooming. You would not go out to work with a dirty face. Why start the day with the face of your soul unwashed?”

No person will deny that the highest degree of attainable accuracy is an object to be desired, and it is generally found that the last advances towards precision require a greater devotion of time, labour, and expense, than those which precede them.