The rigid cause themselves to be broken; the pliable cause themselves to be bound.
XUNZIThe person attempting to travel two roads at once will get nowhere.
More Xunzi Quotes
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Sacrifices are concerned with the feelings of devotion and longing.
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Man’s nature is evil; goodness is the result of conscious activity.
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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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Those whose character is mean and vicious will rouse others to animosity against them.
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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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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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A person is born with feelings of envy and hate. If he gives way to them, they will lead him to violence and crime, and any sense of loyalty and good faith will be abandoned.
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They are done merely for ornament. … the common people regard them as supernatural.
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Pride and excess bring disaster for man.
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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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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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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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The person attempting to travel two roads at once will get nowhere.
XUNZI