The nature of man is evil; what is good in him is artificial.
XUNZIThus, 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.
More Xunzi Quotes
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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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If knowledge and foresight are too penetrating and deep, unify them with ease and sincerity.
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In antiquity the sage kings recognized that men’s nature is bad and that their tendencies were not being corrected and their lawlessness controlled.
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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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Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.
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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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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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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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Now it is human nature to want to eat to ones fill when hungry, to want to warm up when cold, to want to rest when tired. These all are a part of people’s emotional nature.
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If the impulse to daring and bravery is too fierce and violent, stay it with guidance and instruction.
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The rigid cause themselves to be broken; the pliable cause themselves to be bound.
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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.
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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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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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If the gentleman has ability, he is magnanimous, generous, tolerant, and straightforward, through which he opens the way to instruct others.
XUNZI