Lao-Tzu, philosopher (6th century BCE)

Every human being's essential nature is perfect and faultless, but after years of immersion in the world we easily forget our roots and take on a counterfeit nature. -Lao-Tzu, philosopher (6th century BCE)

A nice thought, but not true of our postlapsarian state. It seems to me that a clear-eyed look at a child growing up would make this clear. That this philosopher makes such a claim perhaps is a sign that what he describes is what ought to be but is not.