3.19

Duke Ding asked how a leader should employ ministers, and how ministers should serve their leader.

Confucius said, “The leader should employ ministers according to ritual. The ministers should serve their leader with dutifulness and loyalty.”

12.10

Zizhang asked Confucius how to accumulate virtue and recognize confusion.

Confucius replied, “Take loyalty and trustworthiness as your first principles, and always move in the direction of what is right. That’s how to accumulate virtue.

“If you love something, you want it to live. If you hate something, you want it to die. If you want something to live and die at the same time, this is confusion.

“‘Not for her wealth,

But just for the novelty.’”

16.10

Confucius said, “A noble person takes care to give attention to nine things. In seeing, to have clear vision. In hearing, to be keen. In expression, to be warm. In attitude, to be courteous. In speech, to be loyal. In service, to be reverent. In doubt, to ask questions. In anger, to think of the consequences. In gaining an advantage, to think of fairness.”