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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.
Xunzi
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Xunzi
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More quotes by Xunzi
There are successful scholars, public-spirited scholars, upright scholars, cautious scholars, and those who are merely petty men.
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The drum is surely the lord of music, is it not?
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The rigid cause themselves to be broken the pliable cause themselves to be bound.
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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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The noble person uses things the lesser man is used by things.
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Quarreling 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.
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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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Sacrifices are concerned with the feelings of devotion and longing.
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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 refers to what is in people but which they cannot study or work at achieving.
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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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Man's nature is evil goodness is the result of conscious activity.
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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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Thus, that one can find no place to walk through the breadth of the earth is not because the earth is not tranquil but because the danger to every step of the traveler lies generally with words.
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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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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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When you concentrate on agriculture and industry and are frugal in expenditures, Heaven cannot impoverish your state.
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The coming of honor or disgrace must be a reflection of one's inner power.
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They are done merely for ornament. ... the common people regard them as supernatural.
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