Man’s nature is evil; goodness is the result of conscious activity.
XUNZIThe coming of honor or disgrace must be a reflection of one’s inner power.
More Xunzi Quotes
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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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Pride and excess bring disaster for man.
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The coming of honor or disgrace must be a reflection of one’s inner power.
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If the blood humor is too strong and robust, calm it with balance and harmony.
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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 noble person uses things; the lesser man is used by things.
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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?
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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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You look upon the seasons with expectation and await them: wy not seize the seasonal opportunities and exploit them?
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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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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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I once tried thinking for an entire day, but I found it less valuable than one moment of study.
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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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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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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.
XUNZI