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

Man's nature is evil; goodness is the result of conscious activity.

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

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.

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

The noble person uses things; the lesser man is used by things.

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.