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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."

— Xunzi Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy (2001)

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Notes from Wikiquote

A similar phrase to the saying is found in the 3rd millennium BCE Sumerian text Instructions of Shuruppak by Šuruppak: "You should not serve things; things should serve you."

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Xunzi (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.