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Mencius said that human nature is good. I disagree with that.
Xunzi
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Xunzi
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More quotes by Xunzi
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
You look upon the seasons with expectation and await them: wy not seize the seasonal opportunities and exploit them?
Xunzi
They are done merely for ornament. ... the common people regard them as supernatural.
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
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.
Xunzi
If the blood humor is too strong and robust, calm it with balance and harmony.
Xunzi
Human nature is evil, and goodness is caused by intentional activity.
Xunzi
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.
Xunzi
The noble person uses things the lesser man is used by things.
Xunzi
There are successful scholars, public-spirited scholars, upright scholars, cautious scholars, and those who are merely petty men.
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
Those whose character is mean and vicious will rouse others to animosity against them.
Xunzi
The nature of man is evil what is good in him is artificial.
Xunzi
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.
Xunzi
When you concentrate on agriculture and industry and are frugal in expenditures, Heaven cannot impoverish your state.
Xunzi
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
If the gentleman has ability, he is magnanimous, generous, tolerant, and straightforward, through which he opens the way to instruct others.
Xunzi
I once tried thinking for an entire day, but I found it less valuable than one moment of study.
Xunzi
The drum is surely the lord of music, is it not?
Xunzi
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.
Xunzi
