Human nature refers to what is in people but which they cannot study or work at achieving.
XUNZIMisery 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.
More Xunzi Quotes
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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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Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.
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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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Human nature is what Heaven supplies.
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Music is a fantastic peacekeeper of the world, it is integral to harmony, and it is a required fundamental of human emotion.
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Not having heard something is not as good as having heard it; having heard it is not as good as having seen it; having seen it is not as good as knowing it; knowing it is not as good as putting it into practice.
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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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The person attempting to travel two roads at once will get nowhere.
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If there is no dull and determined effort, there will be no brilliant achievement.
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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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There are successful scholars, public-spirited scholars, upright scholars, cautious scholars, and those who are merely petty men.
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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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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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Sacrifices are concerned with the feelings of devotion and longing.
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The rigid cause themselves to be broken; the pliable cause themselves to be bound.
XUNZI