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?
XUNZIIf the blood humor is too strong and robust, calm it with balance and harmony.
More Xunzi Quotes
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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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The drum is surely the lord of music, is it not?
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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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Those whose character is mean and vicious will rouse others to animosity against them.
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Human nature is such that people are born with a love of profit If they follow these inclinations, they will struggle and snatch from each other, and inclinations to defer or yield will die.
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If the blood humor is too strong and robust, calm it with balance and harmony.
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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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I once tried thinking for an entire day, but I found it less valuable than one moment of study.
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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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Pride and excess bring disaster for man.
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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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Human nature is evil, and goodness is caused by intentional activity.
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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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Sacrifices are concerned with the feelings of devotion and longing.
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There are successful scholars, public-spirited scholars, upright scholars, cautious scholars, and those who are merely petty men.
XUNZI