无性则伪之无所加,无伪则性不能自美。
与孟子不同,荀子主张“性恶”,认为人性本恶。因而更强调人为的作用,通过后天的人为的努力才能达到“善”。没有本性那么人为的努力就不能对症下药,没有人为的努力,本性就不能改善。所以主张“性伪合”,天生的本性和后天的努力对人都有重要影响,而后天的努力更为重要,它是我们能够自己掌控的,“学不可以已”的意义就更大。
The only way to do great work is to love what you do.
We die containing a richness of lovers and tribes, tastes we have swallowed, bodies we have plunged into and swum up as if rivers of wisdom, characters we have climbed into as if trees, fears we have hidden in as if caves.