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.
XUNZIQuarreling over food and drink, having neither scruples nor shame, not knowing right from wrong, not trying to avoid death or injury, not fearful of greater strength or of greater numbers, greedily aware only of food and drink – such is the bravery of the dog and boar.
More Xunzi Quotes
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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 there is no dull and determined effort, there will be no brilliant achievement.
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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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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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The drum is surely the lord of music, is it not?
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One must remember equality, yet also be aware of difference, for if the people are allowed to act as it pleases them without coming up against displeasure, if one gives rein to its desires without setting [any] limit, it becomes confused and can no longer take delight in anything.
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The person attempting to travel two roads at once will get nowhere.
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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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There are successful scholars, public-spirited scholars, upright scholars, cautious scholars, and those who are merely petty men.
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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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Human nature refers to what is in people but which they cannot study or work at achieving.
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Those whose character is mean and vicious will rouse others to animosity against them.
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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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Pride and excess bring disaster for man.
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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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You look upon the seasons with expectation and await them: wy not seize the seasonal opportunities and exploit them?
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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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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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Mencius said that human nature is good. I disagree with that.
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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 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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The nature of man is evil; what is good in him is artificial.
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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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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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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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