Learning must never cease.
学不可以已。
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Philosophers
Xunzi
A Confucian scholar born in the state of Zhao during the late Warring States period, 3rd century BCE. Xunzi directly opposed Mencius's doctrine of innate human goodness, declaring that 'human nature is evil; its goodness is the result of deliberate effort.' He argued that only acquired self-cultivation — through ritual practice and ceaseless study — can elevate human beings into moral agents. Through his pupils Han Fei and Li Si he exerted a decisive influence on Legalist thought, making him both the greatest heretic and the greatest innovator in the history of Confucianism.
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Xunzi's Other Quotes
Human nature is evil; its goodness is the result of deliberate effort.
Blue dye is extracted from the indigo plant, yet it is bluer than indigo itself.
The course of Heaven is constant: it does not prevail because of Yao, nor does it cease because of Jie.
If you carve without ceasing, even metal and stone can be engraved.
Related Quotes
In the pursuit of learning, one gains daily. In the pursuit of the Tao, one loses daily -- losing and losing until one arrives at wu wei. Through non-action, nothing is left undone.
-- Laozi
Blue dye is extracted from the indigo plant, yet it is bluer than indigo itself.
-- Xunzi
If you carve without ceasing, even metal and stone can be engraved.
-- Xunzi
Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.
-- Confucius
When three walk together, one is surely my teacher. I follow what is good and correct what is not.
-- Confucius
Knowing it is less than loving it; loving it is less than delighting in it.
-- Confucius