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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 the course of history, men come to see that iron necessity is neither iron nor necessary."
"A man in passion rides a horse that runs away with him."
"There is nothing so stupid as the educated man if you get him off the thing he was educated in."
"The dons of Oxford and Cambridge are too busy educating the young men to be able to teach them anything."
"In the last analysis, even the best man is evil: in the last analysis, even the best woman is bad."
"A man can take a little bourbon without getting drunk, but if you hold his mouth open and pour in a quart, he's going to get sick on it."
Explore more quotes by Xun Zi
"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."
"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."
"When you locate good in yourself, approve of it with determination. When you locate evil in yourself, despise it as something detestable."
"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."
"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."
"In antiquity the sage kings recognized that men's nature is bad and that their tendencies were not being corrected and their lawlessness controlled."
"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."
"In order to properly understand the big picture, everyone should fear becoming mentally clouded and obsessed with one small section of truth."
"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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