Matsuo Basho –
Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the men of old; seek what they sought.
Confucius –
Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles. Then no friends would not be like yourself (all friends would be as loyal as yourself).
I am not bothered by the fact that I am not understood. I am bothered when I do not know others.
Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom associated with true virtue.
Be loyal and trustworthy. Do not befriend anyone who is lower than yourself in this regard.
The virtuous is frank and open; the non-virtuous is secretive and worrying.
Sincerity is the way of Heaven. The attainment of sincerity is the way of men. He who possesses sincerity is he who, without an effort, hits what is right, and apprehends, without the exercise of thought — he is the sage who naturally and easily embodies the right way. He who attains to sincerity is he who chooses what is good, and firmly holds it fast. To this attainment there are requisite the extensive study of what is good, accurate inquiry about it, careful reflection on it, the clear discrimination of it, and the earnest practice of it.
When we have intelligence resulting from sincerity, this condition is to be ascribed to nature; when we have sincerity resulting from intelligence, this condition is to be ascribed to instruction. But given the sincerity, and there shall be the intelligence; given the intelligence, and there shall be the sincerity.
Anatole France –
Innocence most often is a good fortune and not a virtue.
Baltasar Gracian –
A wise man gets more use from his enemies than a fool from his friends.
General George S. Patton, Jr. –
Don’t fight a battle if you don’t gain anything by winning.
Marilyn vos Savant –
Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent.
Sun Tzu -
Keep your friends close; your enemies even closer.
A leader leads by example, not by force.
For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.
Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.
Leonardo Da Vinci –
It is easier to resist at the beginning than at the end.
Oscar Wilde –
Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.
Ai Weiwei –
Say what you say plainly, and then take responsibility for it.
A small act is worth a million thoughts.
Anonymous -
A single blow of a blacksmith is equal to a hundred blows of a goldsmith.
A small hole not mended in time will become a big hole much more difficult to mend.
A wise man can see more from the bottom of a well than a fool can from a mountain top.
Before you go and criticize the younger generation, just remember who raised them.
Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.
Blood of the covenant is thicker than water of the womb.
Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.
Discipline is just choosing between what you want now and what you want most.
Fortune does not come twice. Misfortune does not come alone.
He that will not work, shall not eat.
He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.
He who starts well is in the middle of the work.
If the wind comes from an empty cave, it’s not without a reason.
Intention of required study, the word worth a thousand gold.
It is an ill bird that fouls its own nest; don’t wash your dirty linen in public.
It’s easy to make good decisions when there are no bad options.
Little strokes fell great oaks.
Money doesn’t change you; it reveals who you are when you no longer have to be nice.
Not hearing is not as good as hearing, hearing is not as good as seeing, seeing is not as good as mentally knowing, mentally knowing is not as good as acting; true learning continues up to the point that action comes forth.
Some people are so afraid to die that they never begin to live.
The right path is very steep upward, whereas the wrong path is horizontal.
The society that separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting by fools.
To close the gate of the bull pen after the bull has escaped is foolishness.
When the wind of change blows, some build walls, while others build windmills.
Without the support of small pebbles, a big rock cannot be stable.
You reap what you sow; Honey is sweet, but the bees sting.
You should not have enmity with the crocodile if you are living in the water.
