The Virtues (II)
It is only the wisest and the stupidest that cannot change.
I have yet to meet a man as fond of high moral conduct as he is of outward appearances.
Faced with what is right, to leave it undone is a sure sign of cowardice.
There are men incapable of the sciences, but not incapable of virtue.
How can a man without virtues of his own be capable of cultivating music?
May the character of man be formed by poetry, fixed in the laws of good conduct and perfected by music.
Virtue is the strong stem of man’s nature, and music is the blossoming of virtue.
Upon examining a man’s mistakes you will know his character.
What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.
Do not make bets. If you know that you will win then you are a scoundrel and if you do not then you are a fool.
The superior man is all-embracing and not partial. The inferior man is partial and not all-embracing.
The superior man thinks always of virtue; the common man thinks of comfort.
The virtuous man is driven by responsibility, the non-virtuous man is driven by profit.
Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbors.
When a man’s knowledge is sufficient to attain, and his virtue is not sufficient to enable him to hold, whatever he may have gained, he will lose again.
Not all may be illustrious, but everyone can be good.
Do not suppose yourself so great to the point of thinking others smaller than you.
He who suppresses the impetus of cholera will be covered from any danger. It is convenient to know how to suffocate, or at least moderate cholera, fear, sadness, joy and other deep agitations that can alter the righteousness of the soul.
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