The coming of honor or disgrace must be a reflection of one’s inner power.
XUNZINow 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.
More Xunzi Quotes
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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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Pride and excess bring disaster for man.
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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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There are successful scholars, public-spirited scholars, upright scholars, cautious scholars, and those who are merely petty men.
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Mencius said that human nature is good. I disagree with that.
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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.
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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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If knowledge and foresight are too penetrating and deep, unify them with ease and sincerity.
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The person attempting to travel two roads at once will get nowhere.
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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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Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.
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If there is no dull and determined effort, there will be no brilliant achievement.
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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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Man’s nature is evil; goodness is the result of conscious activity.
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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.
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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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You look upon the seasons with expectation and await them: wy not seize the seasonal opportunities and exploit them?
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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 gentleman has ability, he is magnanimous, generous, tolerant, and straightforward, through which he opens the way to instruct others.
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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 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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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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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.
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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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The noble person uses things; the lesser man is used by things.
XUNZI