Great Throughts Treasury

"It is traditionally said that the ruler is like a boat and the common people are the water. Water supports the boat but may also upset it."

"A person is born with a liking for profit."

"A person who is shallow aspires to depth; one who is ugly aspires to beauty; one who is narrow aspires to breadth; one who is poor aspires to wealth; one who is humble aspires to esteem. Whatever one lacks in oneself he must seek outside."

"A person is born with desires of the eyes and ears, and a liking for beautiful sights and sounds. If he gives way to them, they will lead him to immorality and lack of restriction, and any ritual principles and propriety will be abandoned."

"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."

"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."

"A questioner asks: If human nature is evil, then where do ritual and rightness come from? I reply: ritual and rightness are always created by the conscious activity of the sages."

"Human nature refers to what is in people but which they cannot study or work at achieving."

"Human nature is evil; its goodness derives from conscious activity. Now it is human nature to be born with a fondness for profit. Indulging this leads to contention and strife, and the sense of modesty and yielding with which one was born disappears. One is born with feelings of envy and hate, and, by indulging these, one is led into banditry and theft, so that the sense of loyalty and good faith with which he was born disappears. One is born with the desires of the ears and eyes and with a fondness for beautiful sights and sounds, and, by indulging these, one is led to licentiousness and chaos, so that the sense of ritual, rightness, refinement, and principle with which one was born is lost. Hence, following human nature and indulging human emotions will inevitably lead to contention and strife, causing one to rebel against one?s proper duty, reduce principle to chaos, and revert to violence. Therefore one must be transformed by the example of a teacher and guided by the way of ritual and rightness before one will attain modesty and yielding, accord with refinement and ritual, and return to order."

"A person who is transformed by the instructions of a teacher, devotes himself to study, and abides by ritual and rightness may become a noble person, while one who follows his nature and emotions, is content to give free play to his passions, and abandons ritual and rightness is a lesser person."

"Human nature is what Heaven supplies."

"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."

"I once tried thinking for an entire day, but I found it less valuable than one moment of study. 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."

"If an action ... involves little profit but much righteousness, do it."

"If knowledge and foresight are too penetrating and deep, unify them with ease and sincerity."

"If the quickness of the mind and the fluency of the tongue are too punctilious and sharp, moderate them in your activity and rest."

"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?"

"If the blood humor is too strong and robust, calm it with balance and harmony."

"If the gentleman has ability, he is magnanimous, generous, tolerant, and straightforward, through which he opens the way to instruct others."

"If the impulse to daring and bravery is too fierce and violent, stay it with guidance and instruction."

"In order to properly understand the big picture, everyone should fear becoming mentally clouded and obsessed with one small section of truth."

"In antiquity the sage kings recognized that men's nature is bad and that their tendencies were not being corrected and their lawlessness controlled."

"Mencius said that human nature is good. I disagree with that."

"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."

"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."

"Learning proceeds until death and only then does it stop. ... Its purpose cannot be given up for even a moment. To pursue it is to be human, to give it up to be a beast."

"One whose intentions and thoughts are cultivated will disregard wealth and nobility. One whose greatest concern is for the Way and righteousness will take lightly kings and dukes. It is simply that when one examines oneself on the inside, external goods carry little weight. A saying goes, "The gentleman makes things his servants. The petty man is servant to things.""

"Music is a fantastic peacekeeper of the world, it is integral to harmony, and it is a required fundamental of human emotion."

"Sacrifices are concerned with the feelings of devotion and longing."

"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."

"Pride and excess bring disaster for man."

"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."

"Tell me and I forget. Show me and I remember. Involve me and I understand."

"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."

"The coming of honor or disgrace must be a reflection of one's inner power."

"The gentleman knows that whatever is imperfect and unrefined does not deserve praise. ... He makes his eyes not want to see what is not right, makes his ears not want to hear what is not right, makes his mouth not want to speak what is not right, and makes his heart not want to deliberate over what is not right. ... For this reason, power and profit cannot sway him, the masses cannot shift him, and nothing in the world can shake him."

"The learning of the gentleman enters through his ears, fastens to his heart, spreads through his four limbs, and manifests itself in his actions. ... The learning of the petty person enters through his ears and passes out his mouth. From mouth to ears is only four inches?how could it be enough to improve a whole body much larger than that?"

"The rigid cause themselves to be broken; the pliable cause themselves to be bound."

"The person attempting to travel two roads at once will get nowhere."

"There are successful scholars, public-spirited scholars, upright scholars, cautious scholars, and those who are merely petty men."

"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."

"The straightening board was created because of warped wood, and the plumb line came into being because of things that are not straight. Rulers are established and ritual and rightness are illuminated because the nature is evil."

"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."

"Those whose character is mean and vicious will rouse others to animosity against them."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"When people lack teachers, their tendencies are not corrected; when they do not have ritual and moral principles, then their lawlessness is not controlled."

"When you locate good in yourself, approve of it with determination. When you locate evil in yourself, despise it as something detestable."

"When you concentrate on agriculture and industry and are frugal in expenditures, Heaven cannot impoverish your state."