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.
Human nature is what Heaven supplies.
There are successful scholars, public-spirited scholars, upright scholars, cautious scholars, and those who are merely petty men.
The rigid cause themselves to be broken; the pliable cause themselves to be bound.
If the gentleman has ability, he is magnanimous, generous, tolerant, and straightforward, through which he opens the way to instruct others.
Human nature is evil, and goodness is caused by intentional activity.
