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The rigid cause themselves to be broken the pliable cause themselves to be bound.

Xunzi

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Xunzi
Promise
Broken
Cause
Causes
Pliable
Rigid
Bound
Bounds

More quotes by Xunzi

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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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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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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 there is no dull and determined effort, there will be no brilliant achievement.
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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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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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The person attempting to travel two roads at once will get nowhere.
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Those whose character is mean and vicious will rouse others to animosity against them.
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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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Sacrifices are concerned with the feelings of devotion and longing.
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Whether the gentleman is capable or not, he is loved all the same conversely the petty man is loathed all the same.
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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 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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Human nature is what Heaven supplies.
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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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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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I once tried thinking for an entire day, but I found it less valuable than one moment of study.
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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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Mencius said that human nature is good. I disagree with that.
Xunzi