Confucius
Traced to source
19 quotes we’ve traced to Confucius
“By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart”
Verified“Desire to have things done quickly prevents their being done thoroughly”
Verified“Fan Ch'ih asked about benevolence. The Master said, 'It is to love all men.'”
Verified“He who learns but does not think, is lost”
Verified“Isn't it a pleasure to study and practice what you have learned?”
Verified“Learning without thought is labour lost; thought without learning is perilous”
Verified“Riches and honours acquired by unrighteousness are to me as a floating cloud”
Verified“The wise find pleasure in water; the virtuous find pleasure in hills”
Verified“What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others”
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“He who says he can and he who says he can't are both usually right”
Disputed“It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop”
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”
Disputed“The only bad question is an unasked one”
Disputed“We have two lives, and the second begins when we realize we only have one”
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)
“Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves”
actually A traditional Japanese proverb
“Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without”
actually A Chinese proverb
“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life”
actually Unknown (a 20th-century American proverb)
“He who says he can and he who says he can't are both usually right”
actually Unknown
“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand”
actually Xúnzǐ (Xun Kuang)
“I Think that I Shall Never See a Billboard Lovely as a Tree”
actually Ogden Nash
“It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop”
actually Unknown
“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated”
Unknown (falsely credited to Confucius)
“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
“People Who Say It Cannot Be Done Should Not Interrupt Those Who Are Doing It”
actually Anonymous, in Puck magazine
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now”
actually Anonymous (American, by 1967)
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”
actually Laozi (Lao Tzu)
“The only bad question is an unasked one”
actually Unknown
“We have two lives, and the second begins when we realize we only have one”
actually Unknown
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.