When people lack teachers, their tendencies are not corrected; when they do not have ritual and moral principles, then their lawlessness is not controlled.
XunziRead
A person is born with feelings of envy and hate. If he gives way to them, they will lead him to violence and crime, and any sense of loyalty and good faith will be abandoned.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the dangers of succumbing to negative emotions like envy and hate, which can lead to destructive behavior.
Xunzi highlights the inherent emotional tendencies of humans, suggesting that feelings such as envy and hate are natural but must be controlled. If an individual allows these emotions to govern their actions, they risk engaging in violence and abandoning their morals, such as loyalty and good faith, ultimately leading to a breakdown of their character and society.
Themes
EnvyHateViolenceMoralityEmotion
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion about human nature in a philosophy class.
More from Xunzi
All quotes βWhen 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.
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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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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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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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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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