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To be able under all circumstances to practice five
things constitutes perfect virtue; these five things are gravity,
generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness and kindness.
Wisdom,
compassion, and
courage
are the three universally recognized moral
qualities of men.
He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be
compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the
stars turn towards it.
If a man takes no thought about what is distant, he will
find sorrow near at hand.
Is virtue a thing remote? I wish to be virtuous, and lo!
Virtue is at hand.
If a man remembers what is right at the sign of profit,
is ready to lay down his life in the face of danger, and does not forget
sentiments he has repeated all his life when he has been in straitened
circumstances for a long time, he may be said to be a complete man.
The firm, the enduring, the simple, and the modest are
near to virtue.
Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom
associated with true virtue.
I have not seen a person who loved virtue, or one who
hated what was not virtuous. He who loved virtue would esteem nothing
above it.
Virtue is more to man than either water or fire. I have
seen men die from treading on water and fire, but I have never seen a
man die from treading the course of virtue.
If a man withdraws his mind from the
love of beauty, and
applies it as sincerely to the love of the virtuous; if, in serving his
parents, he can exert his utmost strength; if, in serving his prince, he
can devote his life; if in his intercourse with his friends, his words
are sincere – although men say that he has not learned, I will certainly
say that he has.
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