The Analects: The Joy of Learning

Confucius was a teacher in ancient China who lived about 2,500 years ago.After his death, his students collected his short sayings and conversations in a book called the Analects, which shaped life in Korea, China and Japan for centuries.

The Master said, “Is it not a pleasure to learn, and to practise what you have learned again and again?Is it not a joy to have friends come from far away?And is he not a true gentleman who does not feel hurt when others fail to recognise him?”

The Master said, “At fifteen, I set my heart on learning. At thirty, I stood firm. At forty, I had no doubts.At fifty, I knew the will of Heaven. At sixty, my ear was open to the truth. At seventy, I could follow my heart’s desire without doing wrong.”

The Master said, “If you keep reviewing the old so that you keep learning the new, you can be a teacher of others.”“Learning without thinking is wasted work; thinking without learning is dangerous.”To his student Zilu he said, “Shall I teach you what knowledge is? When you know a thing, say that you know it; when you do not know a thing, admit that you do not know it. This is knowledge.”

“When I walk with two other people, I am sure to find a teacher.I choose their good points and follow them, and I see their bad points and correct them in myself.”“If a man hears the right Way in the morning, he may die in the evening without regret.”