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.
XUNZII once tried thinking for an entire day, but I found it less valuable than one moment of study.
More Xunzi Quotes
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Pride and excess bring disaster for man.
XUNZI -
The rigid cause themselves to be broken; the pliable cause themselves to be bound.
XUNZI -
Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.
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 -
Human nature is evil, and goodness is caused by intentional activity.
XUNZI -
If there is no dull and determined effort, there will be no brilliant achievement.
XUNZI -
I once tried thinking for an entire day, but I found it less valuable than one moment of study.
XUNZI -
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.
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 -
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.
XUNZI -
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.
XUNZI -
If the gentleman has ability, he is magnanimous, generous, tolerant, and straightforward, through which he opens the way to instruct others.
XUNZI -
There are successful scholars, public-spirited scholars, upright scholars, cautious scholars, and those who are merely petty men.
XUNZI -
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?
XUNZI -
The noble person uses things; the lesser man is used by things.
XUNZI