--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The superior man sets his person at rest…" description: "\"The superior man sets his person at rest before he moves; he composes his mind before he speaks.\" — Confucius" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/confucius-164_inspiration_the-superior-man-sets-his-person-at-rest_1259057.jpg" --- # The superior man sets his person at rest before he moves… ![“The superior man sets his person at rest before he moves; he composes his mind before he speaks.” quote by Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/confucius-164_inspiration_the-superior-man-sets-his-person-at-rest_1259057.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/confucius-164_inspiration_the-superior-man-sets-his-person-at-rest_1259057.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/confucius-164_inspiration_the-superior-man-sets-his-person-at-rest_1259057.jpg) > “The superior man sets his person at rest before he moves; he composes his mind before he speaks.” [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. Before acting or speaking, one should achieve inner calm and mental clarity to act wisely. **In simple terms:** Calm mind before action and speech. Key Takeaway Cultivate inner peace before decisions. Themes self‑control mindfulness communication Mood thoughtful instructive Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - public speaking - leadership - conflict resolution - personal decision‑making Key Concepts Confucian ethics self‑discipline Questions to Reflect On - How do you prepare mentally before important conversations? - What practices help you settle your mind? A Different Perspective Achieving calm is difficult in high‑stress situations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Composes Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composes-mind-3996112/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Man Sets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-sets-2716107/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Person Rest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person-rest-3996111/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Rest Moves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rest-moves-3292955/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Superior man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superior-man/) [Superiors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superiors/) ## Related quotes > [“One day you will find the person who is everything that all the rest pretended to be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cody-edward-lee-miller/one-day-you-will-find-the-person-who-is-everything-that-all-the-rest/) [Cody Edward Lee Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cody-edward-lee-miller/) > [“You move because you are built for movement, because your heartbeat and respiration are involuntary. 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Looked at from a distance, he appears stern; when approached, he is mild; when he is heard to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-superior-man-undergoes-three-changes-looked-at-from-a-distance-he/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [When the Superior Man eats he does not try to stuff himself; at rest he does not seek perfect comfort; he is diligent in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/when-the-superior-man-eats-he-does-not-try-to-stuff-himself-at-rest/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [The superior man \* \* \* in regard to his speech \* \* \* is anxious that it should be sincere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-superior-man-in-regard-to-his-speech-is-anxious-that-it-should-be/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [The superior man does what is proper to the station in which he is; he does not desire to go beyond this. In a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-superior-man-does-what-is-proper-to-the-station-in-which-he-is-he/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Therefore the superior man is watchful over himself, when he is alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/therefore-the-superior-man-is-watchful-over-himself-when-he-is-alone/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Football is a pretty complex numbering system most of the time: run the three back through the four hole, things like that. We kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nurse/football-is-a-pretty-complex-numbering-system-most-of-the-time-run/) [Nick Nurse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-nurse/) > [There is a huge gulf between the man who follows the conventions and laws of his country and the man who sets out to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/there-is-a-huge-gulf-between-the-man-who-follows-the-conventions-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The wise man sets bounds even to his innocent desires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/the-wise-man-sets-bounds-even-to-his-innocent-desires/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [It's always great to play a man who sets himself up to be punctured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-irons/it-s-always-great-to-play-a-man-who-sets-himself-up-to-be-punctured/) [Jeremy Irons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-irons/) > [Under peaceful conditions a warlike man sets upon himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/under-peaceful-conditions-a-warlike-man-sets-upon-himself/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [If a man sets out to study all the laws, he will have no time left to transgress them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/if-a-man-sets-out-to-study-all-the-laws-he-will-have-no-time-left-to/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) ## 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 Greatness quotes > [The man who can master his time can master nearly anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-man-who-can-master-his-time-can-master-nearly-anything/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Every man who is high up likes to think that he has done it all himself, and the wife smiles and lets it go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-man-who-is-high-up-likes-to-think-that-he-has-done-it-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straghtforward men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/what-we-shall-need-is-not-geniuses-or-cynics-or-misanthropes-or/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“You are destiny for greatness. Your future is in the hands of the Lord.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/you-are-destiny-for-greatness-your-future-is-in-the-hands-of-the-lord/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [We need to discover all over again that worship is natural to the Christian, as it was to the godly Israelites who wrote the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/we-need-to-discover-all-over-again-that-worship-is-natural-to-the/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Nothing brings out the lower traits of human nature like office-seeking. Men of good character and impulses are betrayed by it into all sorts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/nothing-brings-out-the-lower-traits-of-human-nature-like-office/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) > [Men generally decide upon a middle course, which is most hazardous, for they know neither how to be entirely good nor entirely bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/men-generally-decide-upon-a-middle-course-which-is-most-hazardous-for/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [Every man remembers his childhood as a kind of mythical age, just as every nation's childhood is its mythical age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/every-man-remembers-his-childhood-as-a-kind-of-mythical-age-just-as/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [Greatness is not guarding yourself from people. Greatness is being accepted by the people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/greatness-is-not-guarding-yourself-from-people-greatness-is-being/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [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/) > [Great men don't 'move to the center' - great men move the center!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/great-men-don-t-move-to-the-center-great-men-move-the-center/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Perfection is the enemy of greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/perfection-is-the-enemy-of-greatness/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [Men want a challenge, but they want a challenge they can win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-gaskell/men-want-a-challenge-but-they-want-a-challenge-they-can-win/) [Whitney Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-gaskell/) [Browse all 7,631 Greatness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The superior man sets his person at rest before he moves; he composes his mind before he speaks.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Confucius" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-superior-man-sets-his-person-at-rest-before-he-moves-he-composes/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Greatness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-superior-man-sets-his-person-at-rest-before-he-moves-he-composes/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/confucius-164_inspiration_the-superior-man-sets-his-person-at-rest_1259057.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/confucius-164_inspiration_the-superior-man-sets-his-person-at-rest_1259057.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/confucius-164_inspiration_the-superior-man-sets-his-person-at-rest_1259057.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The superior man sets his person at rest before he moves; he composes his mind before he speaks.” — 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": "The superior man sets his person...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-superior-man-sets-his-person-at-rest-before-he-moves-he-composes/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-superior-man-sets-his-person-at-rest-before-he-moves-he-composes/#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 } } ] } ```