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.
XUNZII 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.
More Xunzi Quotes
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When you concentrate on agriculture and industry and are frugal in expenditures, Heaven cannot impoverish your state.
XUNZI -
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.
XUNZI -
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.
XUNZI -
There are successful scholars, public-spirited scholars, upright scholars, cautious scholars, and those who are merely petty men.
XUNZI -
Thus, that one can find no place to walk through the breadth of the earth is not because the earth is not tranquil but because the danger to every step of the traveler lies generally with words.
XUNZI -
Whether the gentleman is capable or not, he is loved all the same; conversely the petty man is loathed all the same.
XUNZI -
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 -
If the gentleman has ability, he is magnanimous, generous, tolerant, and straightforward, through which he opens the way to instruct others.
XUNZI -
Man’s nature is evil; goodness is the result of conscious activity.
XUNZI -
If the blood humor is too strong and robust, calm it with balance and harmony.
XUNZI -
The petty man is eager to make boasts, yet desires that others should believe in him. He enthusiastically engages in deception, yet wants others to have affection for him. He conducts himself like an animal, yet wants others to think well of him.
XUNZI -
If the quickness of the mind and the fluency of the tongue are too punctilious and sharp, moderate them in your activity and rest.
XUNZI -
The nature of man is evil; what is good in him is artificial.
XUNZI -
Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.
XUNZI -
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.
XUNZI