You look upon the seasons with expectation and await them: wy not seize the seasonal opportunities and exploit them?
XUNZIMan’s nature is evil; goodness is the result of conscious activity.
More Xunzi Quotes
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If the gentleman has ability, he is magnanimous, generous, tolerant, and straightforward, through which he opens the way to instruct others.
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Mencius said that human nature is good. I disagree with that.
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Thus, that one can find no place to walk through the breadth of the earth is not because the earth is not tranquil but because the danger to every step of the traveler lies generally with words.
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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.
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The noble person uses things; the lesser man is used by things.
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Man’s nature is evil; goodness is the result of conscious activity.
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If the quickness of the mind and the fluency of the tongue are too punctilious and sharp, moderate them in your activity and rest.
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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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When you concentrate on agriculture and industry and are frugal in expenditures, Heaven cannot impoverish your state.
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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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When people lack teachers, their tendencies are not corrected; when they do not have ritual and moral principles, then their lawlessness is not controlled.
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The coming of honor or disgrace must be a reflection of one’s inner power.
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Whether the gentleman is capable or not, he is loved all the same; conversely the petty man is loathed all the same.
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One must remember equality, yet also be aware of difference, for if the people are allowed to act as it pleases them without coming up against displeasure, if one gives rein to its desires without setting [any] limit, it becomes confused and can no longer take delight in anything.
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The nature of man is evil; what is good in him is artificial.
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Sacrifices are concerned with the feelings of devotion and longing.
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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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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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Sacrifice is a state of mind in which our thoughts turn with longing [toward Heaven, the Ancestors], It is the supreme expression of loyalty, love, and respect.
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If the blood humor is too strong and robust, calm it with balance and harmony.
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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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Human nature refers to what is in people but which they cannot study or work at achieving.
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When a man sees something desirable, he must reflect on the fact that with time it could come to involve what is detestable. When he sees something that is beneficial, he should reflect that sooner or later it, too, could come to involve harm.
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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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Human nature is evil, and goodness is caused by intentional activity.
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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.
XUNZI