--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I am virtuous and worthy, for whom…" description: "\"If I am virtuous and worthy, for whom should I not maintain a proper concern?\" — Confucius" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/confucius-164_concern_if-i-am-virtuous-and-worthy-for-whom-sho_1685921.jpg" --- # If I am virtuous and worthy, for whom should I not… ![“If I am virtuous and worthy, for whom should I not maintain a proper concern?” quote by Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/confucius-164_concern_if-i-am-virtuous-and-worthy-for-whom-sho_1685921.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/confucius-164_concern_if-i-am-virtuous-and-worthy-for-whom-sho_1685921.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/confucius-164_concern_if-i-am-virtuous-and-worthy-for-whom-sho_1685921.jpg) > “If I am virtuous and worthy, for whom should I not maintain a proper concern?” [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. Virtue obliges one to care for all, especially those deserving of respect. **In simple terms:** Virtuous people should care for others. Key Takeaway Practice empathy toward the worthy. Themes ethics humaneness social duty Mood contemplative didactic Type philosophy morality When to use this quote - family relations - community service - leadership - education Key Concepts confucianism moral philosophy Questions to Reflect On - Who deserves your concern? - How to balance care for all versus selective concern? A Different Perspective Determining who is “worthy” can be subjective and exclusionary. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Concern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concern/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Maintain Proper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maintain-proper-1005064/) [Proper Concern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proper-concern-1005062/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Should i](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should-i/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Virtuous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtuous/) [Virtuous Worthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtuous-worthy-1005061/) [Worthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worthy/) [Worthy Maintain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worthy-maintain-1005063/) ## Related quotes > [“No one can pretend that because a people may be oppressed, every individual member is virtuous and worthy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/no-one-can-pretend-that-because-a-people-may-be-oppressed-every/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“Motherhood for her had always been a conflict between proper concern and far too much worry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-nadler/motherhood-for-her-had-always-been-a-conflict-between-proper-concern/) [Stuart Nadler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-nadler/) > [I would insist that poetry is a normal human activity and its proper concern all the things that happen to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-longley/i-would-insist-that-poetry-is-a-normal-human-activity-and-its-proper/) [Michael Longley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-longley/) > [How should I know anything about another world when I know so little of this?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/how-should-i-know-anything-about-another-world-when-i-know-so-little/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [There has never been a man mean and at the same time virtuous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/there-has-never-been-a-man-mean-and-at-the-same-time-virtuous/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Let a ruler base his government upon virtuous principles, and he will be like the pole-star, which remains steadfast in its place, while all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/let-a-ruler-base-his-government-upon-virtuous-principles-and-he-will/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [If I were travelling with two partners, one virtuous and one dishonest, both would be useful as teachers. 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I wish to be virtuous, and lo! Virtue is at hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/is-virtue-a-thing-remote-i-wish-to-be-virtuous-and-lo-virtue-is-at/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [The way of the superior person is threefold; virtuous, they are free from anxieties; wise they are free from perplexities; and bold they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-way-of-the-superior-person-is-threefold-virtuous-they-are-free/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [The wise find pleasure in water; the virtuous find pleasure in hills. The wise are active; the virtuous are tranquil. The wise are joyful;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-wise-find-pleasure-in-water-the-virtuous-find-pleasure-in-hills/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Nothing bad ever happens, why should I care?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-elfman/nothing-bad-ever-happens-why-should-i-care/) [Danny Elfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-elfman/) ## 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. 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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 Concern quotes > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [It is not my intention to explain Turkey, its culture and its problems. 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The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [It concerns me when people frame the conversation about equal pay about the entertainment business. I don't want the wage gap issue to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-arquette/it-concerns-me-when-people-frame-the-conversation-about-equal-pay/) [Patricia Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-arquette/) > [The Patriot Act is certainly a concern; all of those things are dangerous. 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They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) > [If you are trying to live a life in accordance with the Bible, the concept and call to justice are inescapable. We do justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/if-you-are-trying-to-live-a-life-in-accordance-with-the-bible-the/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [ I just have to deal with it \[injuries\] if and when problems happen. 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