Confucius Quotes

The great man does not think beforehand of his words that they may be sincere, nor of his actions that they may be resolute- he simply speaks and does what is right.

You don't luck into integrity. You work at it.

Character is in turn the enduring source of virtue. It stands by itself and excites admiration in others. It is not obedience to authority, and while it is often consistent with and reinforced by religious belief, it is not piety.

Integrity, like humility, is a quality which vanishes the moment we are conscious of it in ourselves. We see it only in others.

Great hearts alone understand how much glory there is in being good.

If virtue precede us every step will be safe.

Virtue is its own reward.

Integrity means always doing what is right and good, regardless of the immediate consequences.

Let thy virtue be too high for the familiarity of names, and if thou must speak of it, be not ashamed to stammer about it.

I know no other sign of superiority than Goodness.

May your mind be thoroughly impressed with the absolute necessity of universal virtue and goodness, as the only sure road to happiness, and may you walk therein with undeviating steps.

Virtue is her own reward.

The esteem of wise and good men is the greatest of all temporal encouragements to virtue; and it is a mark of an abandoned spirit to have no regard to it.

Virtue is not a thing you can have by halves; it is or it is not.

It is not enough to recognize what is right and true. One must control the impulse to do what is wrong and easy.

Virtue is more clearly shown in the performance of fine ACTIONS than in the non-performance of base ones.

You are wrong, sir, if you think that a man who is any good at all should take into account the risk of life or death; he should look to this only in his actions, whether what he does is right or wrong, whether he is acting like a good or a bad man.

Seek virtue and of that posest, to Providence resign the rest.

Virtue cannot be followed but for herself, and if one sometimes borrows her mask to some other purpose, she presently pulls it away again.

You can't have integrity for breakfast, but try and keep it because it is perhaps the single most important word that defines not just writers but all human beings.

Innocence is not virtue. Virtue demands the active employment of an ardent mind in the promotion of the general good. No man can be eminently virtuous who is not accustomed to an extensive range of reflection.

If you are following the dharma no matter what you do it is moral.