“Listen to a man’s words and look at the pupil of his eye. How can a man conceal his character?”

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

I dislike death, however, there are some things I dislike more than death. Therefore, there are times when I will not avoid danger.

Sincerity is the way to heaven.

The way is near, but men seek it afar. It is in easy things, but men seek for it in difficult things.

The great man is he who does not lose his child’s heart.

The way of learning is none other than finding the lost mind.

The way of truth is like a great road. It is not difficult to know it. The evil is only that men will not seek it.

The disease of men is that they neglect their own fields and go to weed the fields of others.

To lay hold of the mean without taking into account the occasion is like grasping one thing only.

A man must not be without shame, for the shame of being without shame is shamelessness indeed.

Friendship with a man is friendship with his virtue, and does not admit of assumptions of superiority.

The Tao is near and people seek it far away.

Mankind fears an evil man but heaven does not.

The feeling of compassion is the beginning of humanity.

Secure property in hand leads to peace in mind.

The sole concern of learning is to seek one’s original heart.

Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike.

Those who assume a character which does not belong to them, only make themselves ridiculous.

Difficulty shows what men are.

You will be better advised to watch what we do instead of what we say.

Where you stand depends on where you sit.

Men are always ready to respect anything that bores them.

You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.

Wealth stays with us a little moment if at all: only our characters are steadfast, not our gold.