Better to be without a book than to believe a book entirely.
The [soldier who retreated] 50 paces jeered at the one who [retreated] 100 paces.
A forced hen will not lay eggs.
Associating with an evil person is like sleeping in the midst of knives and swords--even if you have not been wounded, you are constantly afraid.
Do not believe that you will reach your destination without leaving the shore.
If you ask for directions rudely, you might end up many miles from your destination.
In the midst of great joy, do not promise to give a man anything. In the midst of great anger, do not answer a man's letter.
People doing the same things might have different motives.
How can a tiger or leopard put up with the insults of a dog or sheep?
Some people want to be praised for the rest of their lives for what they did well for one day.
You can't talk of the ocean to a well-frog.
The melon seller does not announce, "Bitter melons."
The melon seller declares his melons sweet.
Distant water does not put out a nearby fire.
If you want to avoid being cheated, ask for prices at three different stores.
If a girl seems as shy as a mouse, you still have to look out for the tiger within her.
To be totally at leisure for one day is to be immortal for one day.
Some study shows the need for more.
The first thing a scholar does is to establish resolution.
Near vermilion one gets stained pink; near ink one gets stained black. Near putrid fish you’ll stink; near the epidendrum you’ll be fragrant. [One takes the color and odor of one's company.]
He who waits for a roast duck to fly in his mouth must wait a very long time.
A hobbling cat is better than a fast horse when rats swarm the palace.
In a group of many words, there is bound to be a mistake.
The man who only covets wealth and good living has no sense of honor. Though he dresses like a human being, he is only a brute.
It is after a hundred battles that heroes are produced.
[Even] with half of the Analects [put into use], the country can be [well] ruled.
If one plants in the springtime, one will harvest in the fall.
With a helmsman [i.e. leader] that is not nervous, the passengers [i.e. followers] [will feel] secure.
All language is not in books, nor all thoughts in language.
He who has seen little is astonished at much.
If a man keeps his mouth shut, his words become proverbial.
Who is the greatest liar? Who talks most of himself.
He who has never been cheated cannot be a good businessman.
A man without a smiling face must not open a shop.
He who would rise in the world should veil his ambition with the forms of humanity.
Joy is not a horse. You cannot harness it.
If you want your children to have a peaceful life, let them suffer a little hunger and a little coldness.
He that takes medicine and neglects diet, wastes the skill of the physician.
The people who talk the best are not the only ones who can tell you the most interesting things.
The people sitting in the free theater seats are the first ones to boo. / Free-sitters at the play always grumble the most.
Ripe fruit falls by itself, but it doesn't fall in your mouth.
To know another is not to know that person's face, but to know that person's heart.
He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.
Better the cottage where one is merry than the palace where one weeps.
Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for life.
Tenacity and adversity are old foes.
Of all female qualities, a warm heart is the most valuable.
If you want an audience, start a fight.
Married couples tell each other a thousand things without speech.
He who studies ten years in obscurity, will, when once preferred, be known universally.
It is easy to convince a wise man, but to reason with a fool is a difficult undertaking.
To the contented, even poverty and obscurity bring happiness, while to the ambitious, wealth and honors are productive of misery.
Though a poor man should live in the midst of a noisy market, no one will ask about him; though a rich man should bury himself among the mountains, his relations will come to him from a distance.
The same tree may produce sour and sweet fruit; the same mother may have a virtuous and vicious progeny.
The figure of men in ancient times resembled that of wild beasts; but their hearts contained the most perfect virtue. The outward appearance of the present race of men is human, but their dispositions are utterly brutish.
He who possesses an enlarged and sedate mind will have great happiness, but the man whose schemes are deep will have great depth of misery.
When the man of a naturally good propensity has much wealth, it injures his advancement in wisdom; when the worthless man has much wealth, it increases his faults.
There are plenty of men in the world, but very few heroes.
What is earned with hard labor is eaten with pleasure.
Wait till the Yellow River becomes clear, and how old will you be?
A good heart influences Heaven and Earth.
Heaven knows and Earth knows--how can I alone know?
Man may not, but Heaven knows.
Heaven knows the good and evil stored in the heart.
The smallest desire to do good is--though not seen by man--certainly known to Heaven.
Heaven and Earth will not be angry with one who will correct his faults.
One sincere thought can influence Heaven and Earth.
Entire sincerity moves spiritual beings.
You may deceive people. You cannot deceive Heaven.
Doing one good act is better than building a nine story pagoda.
There is happiness in doing good, and secret merit in virtuous deeds.
Nobody should neglect to cultivate secret virtues.
Tao can be delicate or strong, soft or hard, yin or yang, obscure or clear. It can wrap up Heaven and Earth. It is sufficient for all things.
Tao does not act in vain.
If the heart is not pure, you will be unable to see Tao.
A pure heart has few desires.
Why so anxiously and busily manage so many evil matters? Drop them all and become a good man.
To make a man of yourself you must toil.
Tao without plans will not succeed; plans without Tao will not succeed.
As Tao raises a foot, the demon raises ten. [Where truth/Tao is prominent, persecution arises.]
Worship the gods as if they were present; if you don’t worship them, they are but pieces of mud.
Before the thought has arisen, the gods know it.
Man reasons in a thousand ways; the spirits only in one [i.e. the right one].
Man combs his hair every morning. Why not his heart?
Cleanse your heart as you would cleanse a dish.