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.
XUNZIThus, 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.
More Xunzi Quotes
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The rigid cause themselves to be broken; the pliable cause themselves to be bound.
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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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Those whose character is mean and vicious will rouse others to animosity against them.
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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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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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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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You look upon the seasons with expectation and await them: wy not seize the seasonal opportunities and exploit them?
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The drum is surely the lord of music, is it not?
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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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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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The coming of honor or disgrace must be a reflection of one’s inner power.
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Man’s nature is evil; goodness is the result of conscious activity.
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The noble person uses things; the lesser man is used by things.
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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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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.
XUNZI