"Do not worry that others do not know you; worry that you lack ability."

On Human Relations

巧言令色，鲜矣仁!

"Clever words and an ingratiating appearance are seldom associated with humanity."

In "巧言令色，鲜矣仁!," Confucius focuses on clever words and an ingratiating appearance are seldom associated with humanity. The exact principle is that virtue is proven by choices when convenience, fear, or comparison pulls the other way. The tension is not generic humanity and virtue; it is the specific problem that people praise goodness in principle but fail to move toward it when a concrete moment asks for cost, which still appears in noticing a person to emulate, a fault to avoid, or a small chance to do the right thing.

On Human Relations

贫而无怨难，富而无骄易。

"It is hard to be poor without resentment; it is easier to be rich without arrogance."

In "贫而无怨难，富而无骄易," Confucius focuses on it is hard to be poor without resentment. The exact principle is that wisdom has to become a visible pattern of conduct, not a sentence one merely agrees with. The tension is not generic conduct; it is the specific problem that people understand a principle abstractly but fail to choose the behavior it requires in the next situation, which still appears in facing a routine decision where character is easier to postpone than practice.

On Human Relations

君子欲讷于言而敏于行

"A person of character wishes to be slow in speech and quick in action."

In "君子欲讷于言而敏于行," Confucius focuses on a person of character wishes to be slow in speech and quick in action. The exact principle is that words should be slower than responsibility and close enough for action to catch them. The tension is not generic speech and action; it is the specific problem that people use speech to look capable before their conduct has earned that confidence, which still appears in promising a deadline, offering an opinion, asking a question, or joining a discussion.