Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom associated with true virtue.

The gentleman calls attention to the good points in others; he does not call attention to their defects. The small man does just the reverse of this.

Man is born for uprightness. If a man lose his uprightness and yet live, his escape from death is mere good fortune.

The failure to cultivate virtue, the failure to examine and analyze what I have learned, the inability to move toward righteousness after being shown the way, the inability to correct my faults-these are the causes of my grief.

Heaven, in the production of things, is sure to be bountiful to them, according to their qualities. Hence the tree that is flourishing, it nourishes, while that which is ready to fall, it overthrows.

The nobler sort of man emphasizes the good qualities in others, and does not accentuate the bad. The inferior does.