Confucius (28 September 551 BC – 479 BC)

Confucius, the influential Chinese philosopher, teacher, and politician, was born on 28 September. He is famous for his popular aphorisms and his models of social interaction.
His philosophy emphasized morality, correctness, justice and sincerity.
His teachings, collected in the “Analects” (i.e. “selected passages”), are as applicable to us today as they were  in the fourth century BC.

Here are a few:

“Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself”

“Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it.”

“It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop”

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do.”

“What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others.”

“Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.”

“The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”

“Study the past if you would define the future.”

“Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.”

“Respect yourself and others will respect you.”

“Silence is a true friend who never betrays.”

“You cannot open a book without learning something.”

“Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.”

 

…. and this is their translation into Italian:

“Non fare agli altri quello che non vuoi sia fatto a te”
“Tutto ha una sua bellezza, ma non tutti la percepiscono”.
“Non importa se procedi lentamente, purché tu non ti arresti”
“La nostra gloria più grande non è non cadere mai , ma alzarsi ogni volta che capita”.
“Ciò che l’uomo superiore cerca è in se stesso; ciò che il piccolo uomo cerca è negli altri “.
“Ovunque tu vada, vacci con tutto il tuo cuore. “
“L’uomo che sposta una montagna comincia portando via piccole pietre”.
“Studia il passato se vuoi prevedere il futuro”.
“Prima di intraprendere il viaggio della vendetta, scava due tombe “.
“Se rispetti te stesso, gli altri ti rispetteranno”.
“Il silenzio è un amico sincero che non tradisce mai”.
“Non puoi aprire un libro senza imparare qualcosa”.
“La conoscenza reale è capire l’estensione della propria ignoranza”.

 

 

 

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