The noble person uses things; the lesser man is used by things.
XUNZIHuman 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.
More Xunzi Quotes
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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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When people lack teachers, their tendencies are not corrected; when they do not have ritual and moral principles, then their lawlessness is not controlled.
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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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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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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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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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If the quickness of the mind and the fluency of the tongue are too punctilious and sharp, moderate them in your activity and rest.
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Human nature is what Heaven supplies.
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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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The drum is surely the lord of music, is it not?
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The nature of man is evil; what is good in him is artificial.
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The person attempting to travel two roads at once will get nowhere.
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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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Man’s nature is evil; goodness is the result of conscious activity.
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Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.
XUNZI