He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good.

The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.

Recompense injury with justice, and recompense kindness with kindness.

The determined scholar and the man of virtue will not seek to live at the expense of injuring their virtue. They will even sacrifice their lives to preserve their virtue complete.

The people may be made to follow a path of action, but they may not be made to understand it.

While you are not able to serve men, how can you serve spirits [of the dead]?…While you do not know life, how can you know about death?

To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.

He with whom neither slander that gradually soaks into the mind, nor statements that startle like a wound in the flesh, are successful may be called intelligent indeed.