Ancient Wisdom

Confucius said, "At fifteen I began to be seriously interested in study.  At thirty I had formed my character. At forty I had no more perplexities. At fifty I knew the will of heaven. At sixty nothing that I heard disturbed me. At seventy I could let my thoughts wander without trespassing the moral law."

' Tselu, Tseng Hsi, Jan Ch'iu and Kunghsi Hua were sitting together one day and Confucius said, " Do not think that I am a little bit older than you and therefore am assuming airs. You often say among yourselves that people don't know you. Suppose someone know you, I should like to know how you would appear to that person." 'Tselu' immediately replied, " I should like to rule over a country with a thousand carriages, situated between two powerful neighbours, involved in war and suffering from famine. I should like to take charge of such a country and in three years, the nation will become strong and orderly."  Confucius smiled at this remark and said, "How about you, Ah Ch'iu. " 'Jan Ch'iu replied, "Let me have a country sixty or seventy li square or perhaps only fifty or sixty li square. Put it in my charge, and in three years the people will have enough to eat, but as for teaching them moral order and music, I shall...

Confucius said: "I am not born a wise man. I'm merely one in love with ancient studies and work very hard to learn them."  Confucius said: "That there are some people who do not understand a subject, but go ahead and invent things out of their own head. I am not like those people. One can come to be a wise man by hearing a great deal and following the good, and by seeing a great deal and remembering it."

Confucius said: "I won't teach a man who is not anxious to learn, and will not explain to one who is not trying to make things clear to himself. And if I explain one-fourth and the man doesn't go back and reflect and think out of the implication in the remaining three-fourths for himself, I won't bother to teach him again."