A person is born with feelings of envy and hate. If he gives way to them, they will lead him to violence and crime, and any sense of loyalty and good faith will be abandoned.
XUNZIHuman nature refers to what is in people but which they cannot study or work at achieving.
More Xunzi Quotes
-
-
The drum is surely the lord of music, is it not?
XUNZI -
If what the heart approves conforms to proper patterns, then even if one’s desires are many, what harm would they be to good order?
XUNZI -
If you wish to see the thousand years, look at today; if you wish to understand the millionfold, then look at the one or the two.
XUNZI -
Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.
XUNZI -
Human nature is what Heaven supplies.
XUNZI -
Pride and excess bring disaster for man.
XUNZI -
Sacrifices are concerned with the feelings of devotion and longing.
XUNZI -
The noble person uses things; the lesser man is used by things.
XUNZI -
If the blood humor is too strong and robust, calm it with balance and harmony.
XUNZI -
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.
XUNZI -
Man’s nature is evil; goodness is the result of conscious activity.
XUNZI -
If there is no dull and determined effort, there will be no brilliant achievement.
XUNZI -
Not 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.
XUNZI -
The rigid cause themselves to be broken; the pliable cause themselves to be bound.
XUNZI -
Music is a fantastic peacekeeper of the world, it is integral to harmony, and it is a required fundamental of human emotion.
XUNZI