Notes from Wikiquote

James Legge translation.

Variants

s: The superior man acts before he speaks, and afterwards speaks according to his actions. The greater man does not boast of himself, But does what he must do. A good man does not give orders, but leads by example.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Confucius (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.