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They are done merely for ornament. ... the common people regard them as supernatural.

Xunzi

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Xunzi
People
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Supernatural
Merely
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Common
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More quotes by Xunzi

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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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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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You look upon the seasons with expectation and await them: wy not seize the seasonal opportunities and exploit them?
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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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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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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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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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If knowledge and foresight are too penetrating and deep, unify them with ease and sincerity.
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Those whose character is mean and vicious will rouse others to animosity against them.
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The nature of man is evil what is good in him is artificial.
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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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Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.
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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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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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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 the gentleman has ability, he is magnanimous, generous, tolerant, and straightforward, through which he opens the way to instruct others.
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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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The person attempting to travel two roads at once will get nowhere.
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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
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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.
Xunzi