If knowledge and foresight are too penetrating and deep, unify them with ease and sincerity.
XUNZIIf the impulse to daring and bravery is too fierce and violent, stay it with guidance and instruction.
More Xunzi Quotes
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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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They are done merely for ornament. … the common people regard them as supernatural.
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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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Human nature is what Heaven supplies.
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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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The rigid cause themselves to be broken; the pliable cause themselves to be bound.
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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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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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If there is no dull and determined effort, there will be no brilliant achievement.
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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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Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.
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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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The noble person uses things; the lesser man is used by things.
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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.
XUNZI