"By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and Third by experience, which is the bitterest."
Info & reflection: The structure is interesting whatever the attribution: three paths ranked by nobility, not by ease. Reflection is the noblest because it needs no outside push: you create the movement yourself. Imitation is the easiest because you follow. Experience is the bitterest because you have to go through it to learn.
⚠️ Apocryphal attribution: this quote goes around everywhere as Confucius, Analects, but it doesn't match any passage of the Analects. The oldest documented source is James Wood's Dictionary of Quotations (1893), a Western work. The Analects passage that actually matches is 16:9:
生而知之者，上也；學而知之者，次也；困而學之，又其次也
("Those born with knowledge are the highest; those who acquire it by study come next; those who acquire it through hardship come after them.")
The Western paraphrase turns "innate knowledge" into "reflection", which is a big liberty. Sinologists class it as a free paraphrase that "speaks through Confucius's mouth". Verdict: apocryphal.