Whether the gentleman is capable or not, he is loved all the same; conversely the petty man is loathed all the same.
XUNZIMan’s nature is evil; goodness is the result of conscious activity.
More Xunzi Quotes
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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?
XUNZI -
If the gentleman has ability, he is magnanimous, generous, tolerant, and straightforward, through which he opens the way to instruct others.
XUNZI -
When people lack teachers, their tendencies are not corrected; when they do not have ritual and moral principles, then their lawlessness is not controlled.
XUNZI -
If knowledge and foresight are too penetrating and deep, unify them with ease and sincerity.
XUNZI -
In antiquity the sage kings recognized that men’s nature is bad and that their tendencies were not being corrected and their lawlessness controlled.
XUNZI -
When you concentrate on agriculture and industry and are frugal in expenditures, Heaven cannot impoverish your state.
XUNZI -
Man’s nature is evil; goodness is the result of conscious activity.
XUNZI -
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.
XUNZI -
If there is no dull and determined effort, there will be no brilliant achievement.
XUNZI -
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.
XUNZI -
There are successful scholars, public-spirited scholars, upright scholars, cautious scholars, and those who are merely petty men.
XUNZI -
The drum is surely the lord of music, is it not?
XUNZI -
If the impulse to daring and bravery is too fierce and violent, stay it with guidance and instruction.
XUNZI -
If the blood humor is too strong and robust, calm it with balance and harmony.
XUNZI -
The noble person uses things; the lesser man is used by things.
XUNZI