I transmit but do not create; I trust in and love the ancients.
述而不作、信而好古
Philosophers
Confucius
Born c. 551 BCE in Lu, Confucius built a moral system on ren, li, and xiao. The Analects became East Asia's intellectual bedrock, shaping ethics across the civilization sphere for twenty-five centuries.
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Confucius's Other Quotes
Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.
Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.
When three walk together, one is surely my teacher. I follow what is good and correct what is not.
Knowing it is less than loving it; loving it is less than delighting in it.
The exemplary person demands it of himself; the petty person demands it of others.
Related Quotes
I know that I do not know.
-- Plato
I know that I know nothing.
-- Socrates
The highest goodness is like water. Water benefits all things and does not compete; it dwells in places others disdain, and so is close to the Tao.
-- Laozi
The trouble with people is that they love playing teacher to others.
-- Mencius
When three walk together, one is surely my teacher. I follow what is good and correct what is not.
-- Confucius
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
-- Steve Jobs