If the quickness of the mind and the fluency of the tongue are too punctilious and sharp, moderate them in your activity and rest.
XUNZIIf the quickness of the mind and the fluency of the tongue are too punctilious and sharp, moderate them in your activity and rest.
More Xunzi Quotes
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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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The coming of honor or disgrace must be a reflection of one’s inner power.
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Sacrifices are concerned with the feelings of devotion and longing.
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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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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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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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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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Human nature is evil, and goodness is caused by intentional activity.
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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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Thus, anybody who follows this nature and gives way its states will be led into quarrels and conflicts, and go against the conventions and rules of society, and will end up a criminal.
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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.
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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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If the impulse to daring and bravery is too fierce and violent, stay it with guidance and instruction.
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Man’s nature is evil; goodness is the result of conscious activity.
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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 drum is surely the lord of music, is it not?
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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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Mencius said that human nature is good. I disagree with that.
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The nature of man is evil; what is good in him is artificial.
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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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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 refers to what is in people but which they cannot study or work at achieving.
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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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There are successful scholars, public-spirited scholars, upright scholars, cautious scholars, and those who are merely petty men.
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You look upon the seasons with expectation and await them: wy not seize the seasonal opportunities and exploit them?
XUNZI