--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Excess and deficiency are equally at fault." description: "\"Excess and deficiency are equally at fault.\" — Confucius" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27c/confucius-164_deficiency_excess-and-deficiency-are-equally-at-fau_1179541.jpg" --- # Excess and deficiency are equally at fault. ![“Excess and deficiency are equally at fault.” quote by Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27c/confucius-164_deficiency_excess-and-deficiency-are-equally-at-fau_1179541.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27c/confucius-164_deficiency_excess-and-deficiency-are-equally-at-fau_1179541.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27c/confucius-164_deficiency_excess-and-deficiency-are-equally-at-fau_1179541.jpg) > “Excess and deficiency are equally at fault.” [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Both excess and deficiency disrupt balance; moderation is essential for harmony. **In simple terms:** Too much or too little harms; aim for balance. Key Takeaway Practice moderation. Themes balance moderation ethics health Mood reflective ethical Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - diet - workload - emotional regulation Key Concepts golden mean virtue ethics well‑being Questions to Reflect On - Where do you tend toward excess? - How can you cultivate moderation? A Different Perspective Finding the middle can be culturally subjective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Excess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excess/) [Productivity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productivity/) [Simple life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple-life/) [Simple living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple-living/) ## Related quotes > [Virtue is the golden mean between two vices, the one of excess and the other of deficiency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/virtue-is-the-golden-mean-between-two-vices-the-one-of-excess-and-the/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [It is equally a fault to believe all men or to believe none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/it-is-equally-a-fault-to-believe-all-men-or-to-believe-none/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [“Fiscal prudence, leaving cheaply, self-sufficiency, being close to nature, contenting oneself with simple pleasures, asceticism, routine, and aesthetic austerity: these are the main senses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emrys-westacott/fiscal-prudence-leaving-cheaply-self-sufficiency-being-close-to/) Emrys Westacott > [Simplicity of life, even the barest, is not a misery, but the very foundation of refinement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/simplicity-of-life-even-the-barest-is-not-a-misery-but-the-very/) [William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/) > [It seems to me that inner growth is the whole moving force behind voluntary simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-elgin/it-seems-to-me-that-inner-growth-is-the-whole-moving-force-behind/) [Duane Elgin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-elgin/) > [“If we open our eyes to simplicity, we may discover serene pleasures scattered around us, quietly waiting to be noticed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhuwan-thapaliya/if-we-open-our-eyes-to-simplicity-we-may-discover-serene-pleasures/) [Bhuwan Thapaliya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhuwan-thapaliya/) > [Design the life you want to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-roy/design-the-life-you-want-to-live/) [Rachel Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-roy/) > [The world has become too full of many things, an over furnished room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/the-world-has-become-too-full-of-many-things-an-over-furnished-room/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [Frugality is one of the most beautiful and joyous words in the language, and yet one that we are culturally cut off from understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elise-m-boulding/frugality-is-one-of-the-most-beautiful-and-joyous-words-in-the/) [Elise M. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elise-m-boulding/) > [We can make ourselves whole only by accepting our partiality, by living within our limits, by being humans not by trying to be gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/we-can-make-ourselves-whole-only-by-accepting-our-partiality-by/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [People, the common people, can genuinely see what I'm doing. Moreover, people know that I have adopted four principles in living my life: simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdul-sattar-edhi/people-the-common-people-can-genuinely-see-what-i-m-doing-moreover/) [Abdul Sattar Edhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdul-sattar-edhi/) > [“The point of simple living, for me has got to be: A soft place to land A wide margin of error Room to breathe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-babauta/the-point-of-simple-living-for-me-has-got-to-be-a-soft-place-to-land/) [Leo Babauta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-babauta/) > [Simplicity of living, if deliberately chosen, implies a compassionate approach to life. It means that we are choosing to live our daily lives with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-elgin/simplicity-of-living-if-deliberately-chosen-implies-a-compassionate/) [Duane Elgin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-elgin/) > [Living simply means concentrating on what's important in light of eternity. And not taking the rest of life too seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-chapman/living-simply-means-concentrating-on-what-s-important-in-light-of/) Annie Chapman > [Who lives content with little possesses everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-boileau-despreaux/who-lives-content-with-little-possesses-everything/) [Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-boileau-despreaux/) ## More by Confucius > [Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/attack-the-evil-that-is-within-yourself-rather-than-attacking-the/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [The superior man is distressed by his want (lack) of ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-superior-man-is-distressed-by-his-want-lack-of-ability/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [In ancient times, those who wished to illuminate the world with virtue first brought order to their nations. Wishing to order well their nations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/in-ancient-times-those-who-wished-to-illuminate-the-world-with-virtue/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Better than the one who knows what is right is the one who loves what is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/better-than-the-one-who-knows-what-is-right-is-the-one-who-loves-what/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Knowledge is merely brilliance in organization of ideas and not wisdom. The truly wise person goes beyond knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/knowledge-is-merely-brilliance-in-organization-of-ideas-and-not/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [I live in a very small house, but my windows look out on a very large world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/i-live-in-a-very-small-house-but-my-windows-look-out-on-a-very-large/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [To rule a country of a thousand chariots, there must be reverent attention to business, and sincerity; economy in expenditure, and love for men;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/to-rule-a-country-of-a-thousand-chariots-there-must-be-reverent/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [The real fault is to have faults and not amend them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-real-fault-is-to-have-faults-and-not-amend-them/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [To know what you know and what you do not know, that is true knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/to-know-what-you-know-and-what-you-do-not-know-that-is-true-knowledge/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [A picture is poem without words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/a-picture-is-poem-without-words/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Heaven means to be one with God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/heaven-means-to-be-one-with-god/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Does Heaven ever speak? The four seasons come and go, and all creatures thrive and grow. Does Heaven ever speak!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/does-heaven-ever-speak-the-four-seasons-come-and-go-and-all-creatures/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [To study and at times practice what one has learned, is this not a pleasure?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/to-study-and-at-times-practice-what-one-has-learned-is-this-not-a/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Recompense injury with justice, and recompense kindness with kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/recompense-injury-with-justice-and-recompense-kindness-with-kindness/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [There is only one thing in life which never changes, and it is change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/there-is-only-one-thing-in-life-which-never-changes-and-it-is-change/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) [Explore all 1,019 Confucius quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) ## More Deficiency quotes > [You can trace every sickness, every disease and every ailment to a mineral deficiency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linus-pauling/you-can-trace-every-sickness-every-disease-and-every-ailment-to-a/) [Linus Pauling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linus-pauling/) > [He that fancies himself very enlightened, because he sees the deficiencies of others, may be very ignorant, because he has not studied his own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/he-that-fancies-himself-very-enlightened-because-he-sees-the/) [Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/) > [“Where any one body of educated men, of whatever denomination, are condemned indiscriminately, there must be a deficiency of information, (or smiling) of something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/where-any-one-body-of-educated-men-of-whatever-denomination-are/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [The ancient Greek oral poets all had this anxiety about the deficiencies of their memories and always began poems by praying to the Muse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-antin/the-ancient-greek-oral-poets-all-had-this-anxiety-about-the/) [David Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-antin/) > [If somewhere is a deficiency the normal American answer would have been well then, let's spend some more money, build some more weapons and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helmut-schmidt/if-somewhere-is-a-deficiency-the-normal-american-answer-would-have/) [Helmut Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helmut-schmidt/) > [To behold, is not necessary to observe, and the power of comparing and combining is only to be obtained by education. It is much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-von-humboldt/to-behold-is-not-necessary-to-observe-and-the-power-of-comparing-and/) [Wilhelm von Humboldt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-von-humboldt/) > [Can there be a more lamentable picture than that of a Chancellor of the Exchequer seated on an empty chest by a pool of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-peel/can-there-be-a-more-lamentable-picture-than-that-of-a-chancellor-of/) [Robert Peel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-peel/) > [“For years I had been aware of an important deficiency in the English language: a word to describe something a person loses that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-miller/for-years-i-had-been-aware-of-an-important-deficiency-in-the-english/) Ellen Miller > [I'm trying to get at this. That is, a man may know that he belongs to, say, a group - this group or that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/i-m-trying-to-get-at-this-that-is-a-man-may-know-that-he-belongs-to/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [The first step to improvement, whether mental, moral, or religious, is to know ourselves - our weakness, errors, deficiencies, and sins, that, by divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/the-first-step-to-improvement-whether-mental-moral-or-religious-is-to/) [Tryon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tryon-edwards/) > [Indeed taking all the evidence together, it is not too much to say that there is no single historic incident better or more variously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/indeed-taking-all-the-evidence-together-it-is-not-too-much-to-say/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [By the deficiency or absence of one necessary constituent, all the others being present, the soil is rendered barren for all those crops to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justus-von-liebig/by-the-deficiency-or-absence-of-one-necessary-constituent-all-the/) [Justus von Liebig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justus-von-liebig/) > [It does not matter what your personal deficiency, or whether it be a hundred and one different things, God has always one sufficient answer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/watchman-nee/it-does-not-matter-what-your-personal-deficiency-or-whether-it-be-a/) [Watchman Nee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/watchman-nee/) > [Patriotism is proud of a country's virtues and eager to correct its deficiencies; it also acknowledges the legitimate patriotism of other countries, with their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/patriotism-is-proud-of-a-country-s-virtues-and-eager-to-correct-its/) [Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) > [It seems to be the fate of man to seek all his consolations in futurity. The time present is seldom able to fill desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/it-seems-to-be-the-fate-of-man-to-seek-all-his-consolations-in/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) Browse all 236 Deficiency quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Excess and deficiency are equally at fault.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Confucius" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/excess-and-deficiency-are-equally-at-fault/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Deficiency" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/excess-and-deficiency-are-equally-at-fault/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27c/confucius-164_deficiency_excess-and-deficiency-are-equally-at-fau_1179541.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27c/confucius-164_deficiency_excess-and-deficiency-are-equally-at-fau_1179541.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27c/confucius-164_deficiency_excess-and-deficiency-are-equally-at-fau_1179541.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Excess and deficiency are equally at fault.” — Confucius", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Confucius", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Excess and deficiency are equally at...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/excess-and-deficiency-are-equally-at-fault/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/excess-and-deficiency-are-equally-at-fault/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```