Speak the truth, do not yield to anger; give, if thou art asked for little; by these three steps thou wilt go near the gods.
ConfuciusRead
Never contract friendship with a man that is not better than thyself.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Choose friends who lift you up and inspire you to be better.
This quote by Confucius emphasizes the importance of surrounding ourselves with friends who have positive qualities that we aspire to. It suggests that friendship should be a source of growth, where the people we choose to associate with encourage and challenge us to improve ourselves.
Themes
FriendshipGrowthInspirationSelf-Improvement
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech on personal development, one might quote Confucius to emphasize the importance of choosing the right friends.
More from Confucius
All quotes βEarnest in practicing the ordinary virtues, and careful in speaking about them, if, in his practice, he has anything defective, the superior man dares not but exert himself; and if, in his words, he has any excess, he dares not allow himself such license.
ConfuciusRead
When you see a good person, think of becoming like her/him. When you see someone not so good, reflect on your own weak points.
ConfuciusRead
Never give a sword to a man who can't dance.
ConfuciusRead
The superior man is distressed by the limitations of his ability; he is not distressed by the fact that men do not recognize the ability that he has.
ConfuciusRead
Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.
ConfuciusRead
Similar quotes
A kind and gentle heart he had, To comfort friends and foes; The naked every day he clad When he put on his clothes.
Oliver GoldsmithRead
Good nature is more agreeable in conversation than wit and gives a certain air to the countenance which is more amiable than beauty.
Joseph AddisonRead
Meeting Franklin Roosevelt was like opening your first bottle of champagne; knowing him was like drinking it.
Winston ChurchillRead
The true and not despairing Friend will address his Friend in some such terms as these. "I never asked thy leave to let me love thee,--I have a right. I love thee not as something private and personal, which is your own, but as something universal and worthy of love, which I have found. O, how I think of you! You are purely good, --you are infinitely good. I can trust you forever. I did not think that humanity was so rich. Give me an opportunity to live.
Henry David ThoreauRead
We must reach out our hand in friendship and dignity both to those who would befriend us and those who would be our enemy.
Arthur AsheRead
To avoid being mistaken for a sellout, I chose my friends carefully. The more politically active black students. The foreign students. The Chicanos. The Marxist professors and structural feminists and punk-rock performance poets.
Barack ObamaRead