Confucius
Traced to source
8 quotes we’ve traced to Confucius
“He who learns but does not think, is lost”
Verified“Learning without thought is labour lost; thought without learning is perilous”
Verified“When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them”
Verified“When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it — this is knowledge”
Verified“Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance”
Attributed“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life”
Disputed“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated”
Disputed“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now”
DisputedNot actually Confucius
Often misattributed to Confucius
Famous lines widely pinned on Confucius that we’ve traced to someone else.
“A picture is worth a thousand words”
actually Arthur Brisbane (popularized by Fred R. Barnard)
“Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without”
actually A Chinese proverb
“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand”
actually Xúnzǐ (Xun Kuang)
“No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance”
actually Atwood H. Townsend
“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall”
actually Oliver Goldsmith
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”
actually Laozi (Lao Tzu)
Did they really say it?
Thought Confucius said something else?
Type a quote you think Confucius said — we’ll tell you what we know, or point you to the best sources.