The coming of honor or disgrace must be a reflection of one’s inner power.
XUNZINot having heard something is not as good as having heard it; having heard it is not as good as having seen it; having seen it is not as good as knowing it; knowing it is not as good as putting it into practice.
More Xunzi Quotes
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I once tried thinking for an entire day, but I found it less valuable than one moment of study.
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The petty man is eager to make boasts, yet desires that others should believe in him. He enthusiastically engages in deception, yet wants others to have affection for him. He conducts himself like an animal, yet wants others to think well of him.
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If the impulse to daring and bravery is too fierce and violent, stay it with guidance and instruction.
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In antiquity the sage kings recognized that men’s nature is bad and that their tendencies were not being corrected and their lawlessness controlled.
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I once tried standing up on my toes to see far out in the distance, but I found that I could see much farther by climbing to a high place.
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Men of all social stations live together: they are equal in their desires, yet vary in their methods; they are equal in their passions, yet different in their intelligence; that is their nature-given vitality.
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Misery is evil; quarreling, a misfortune. There is only one possibility of avoiding both: a clear division of society. [Otherwise] the strong tyrannize the weak, the intelligent frighten the stupid, the inferior resist the superior, and the young mock the old.
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Music is a fantastic peacekeeper of the world, it is integral to harmony, and it is a required fundamental of human emotion.
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Now it is human nature to want to eat to ones fill when hungry, to want to warm up when cold, to want to rest when tired. These all are a part of people’s emotional nature.
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Human nature is evil, and goodness is caused by intentional activity.
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Man’s nature is evil; goodness is the result of conscious activity.
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Since the nature of people is bad, to become corrected they must be taught by teachers and to be orderly they must acquire ritual and moral principles.
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Quarreling over food and drink, having neither scruples nor shame, not knowing right from wrong, not trying to avoid death or injury, not fearful of greater strength or of greater numbers, greedily aware only of food and drink – such is the bravery of the dog and boar.
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Therefore, a person should first be changed by a teacher’s instructions, and guided by principles of ritual. Only then can he observe the rules of courtesy and humility, obey the conventions and rules of society, and achieve order.
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Mencius said that human nature is good. I disagree with that.
XUNZI