Han Wên-Kung

“ They love to be sharp upon the faults of others and lenient towards their own, the result being that no advantage accrues thereby to either. In their own conduct, they are satisfied with a minimum of virtue and ability, cajoling others as well as themselves into believing this more than it is. But when it comes to estimating anybody else's virtue and ability, nothing seems to be good enough for them. ”

“ The perfect men of old were unsparing in censure of their own faults, but gentle in dealing with the short-comings of others. Thus they kept up the standard of their own conduct, and stimulated others to the practice of virtue. ”

“ Men are often too lazy to push forward, and at the same time horribly jealous of the advance of others. Thus, whenever I have purposely taken occasion to praise or censure any one, I have invariably found that all who agreed or disagreed, respectively, were those whose interests were closely bound up with the individual praised or blamed ”