A friend is a person with whom you dare to be yourself
Money talks—mostly lies.
If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed; if you do read the newspaper, you're misinformed.
The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.
We too often love things and use people, when we should be using things and loving people.
Choose a job that you like, and you will never have to work a day in your life.
It is good pride to desire to be the best of men.
A nation reveals itself not only by the people it produces, but also by the people it honors and remembers.
For one rich person that is content, there are a hundred who are not.
Thirty is the turning point in a person’s life.
You gain power over another person by winning his heart or by breaking his spirit.
The gods delight to see a man struggling to succeed.
(1672-1719) essayist, poet, playwright and politician
The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.
When men are easy in their circumstances, they are naturally enemies to innovations.
A little nonsense now and then
Is relished by the wisest men.
No Vices are so incurable as those which Men are apt to glory in. (Spectator 569)
Who loves, labors.
There are twenty-five uncaught birds for a penny.
Everyone thinks his own thoughts are best.
When the heart acts, the body is its slave.
The world doesn't make promises to anybody.
Send a boy where he wishes to go, and you'll see his best pace.
A man who pays respect to the great paves his own way for greatness.
Tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.
If you live next to the cemetery, you can’t cry for everyone.
Anxiety will not let you die of hunger.
God conceals himself from the mind of man, but reveals himself to his heart.
Even if all spiritual fathers, patriarchs, hierarchs, and all the people forgive you, you are unforgiven if you don’t repent in action.
The human mind is fickle. Man wants to fulfill all his desires—[a task] as impossible as filling a sieve with water. (1:3:2:7)
I have heard and experienced that bondage and liberation are within yourself. 2:15:53
Influenced by greed, a person resorts to untruth.
A day without work, a night without sleep.
In nature, there's no such thing as a lawn.
(1935-) movie director, actor, screenwriter, and author
Life is full of misery, loneliness, and suffering; and it’s all over much too soon.
Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan.
After all is said and done, more is said than done.
The opportunity of a lifetime is seldom so labeled.
An ounce of proof is worth a ton of assertions.
Boys will be boys.
The road to the head lies through the heart.
You made your bed, now lie in it.
Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill.
Scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.
There are two sides to every story—and then there’s the truth.
We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.
If you make yourself into a doormat, people will wipe their feet on you.
Don’t count your chickens before they’ve hatched.
We may give advice, but we cannot give conduct.
A smile is worth a thousand words.
There’s no use asking the cow to pour you a glass of milk.
When the bait’s worth more than the fish, it’s time to stop fishing.
The only normal people are the ones you don’t know very well.
People who have no knowledge at all, none, about a subject will stand around talking about what is and isn't true. It is really crazy. I can never figure out what is going through their minds. I envision them thinking "I don't know anything at all about this subject. I have no clue. Never cared about it, never will. But that doesn't mean I don't have an opinion, and my opinon is right"
I communicate by having a friendly conversation and trying to awaken a person's imagination and thought processes. The scientific people here have no imagination. They can only handle cut and dried facts that are exactly square at 90 degree angles. They have no ability to change.
A good lie contain 80% of the truth. A good newspaper front shows both sides, with an obvious slant towards one side.
The world is a very complicated place with many layers to it. It is naive to dismiss something offhand that you really know nothing about, and you have never thought about until I posted about it a few days ago.
Jalon Anderson / Happeh Quotes
General Grant had a simple, childlike [recipe] for meeting life ... “I am terribly afraid, but the other fellow is afraid, too.”
(1939-) physician, author, former editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine
Nowadays treatment [for mental illnesses] by medical doctors nearly always means psychoactive drugs... In fact, most psychiatrists treat only with drugs, and refer patients to psychologists or social workers if they believe psychotherapy is also warranted. ... [A]bout 10 percent of Americans over age six now take antidepressants.
The price for the top-selling drugs now averages about $100 for a month's prescription of that drug. It's well over $1,000 a year. The price per drug is increasing about three times the rate of inflation.
For all of life's discontents, according to the pharmaceutical industry, there is a drug and you should take it. Then for the side effects of that drug, then there's another drug, and so on.
[C]hildren are often treated with drugs that were never approved by the FDA for use in this age group and have serious side effects. The apparent prevalence of "juvenile bipolar disorder" jumped forty-fold between 1993 and 2004, and that of "autism" increased from one in five hundred children to one in ninety over the same decade. Ten percent of ten-year-old boys now take daily stimulants for ADHD—"attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder"—and 500,000 children take antipsychotic drugs.
It is simply no longer possible to believe much of the clinical research that is published, or to rely on the judgment of trusted physicians or authoritative medical guidelines. I take no pleasure in this conclusion, which I reached slowly and reluctantly over my two decades as an editor of The New England Journal of Medicine.
(c444 BC-c365 BC) philosopher
The most useful piece of learning for the uses of life is to unlearn what is untrue.
A madman is not cured by another running mad also.
(1225-1274) Catholic priest, theologian, philosopher
Beware of the person of one book.
It is requisite for the relaxation of the mind that we make use, from time to time, of playful deeds and jokes.
Example is better than precept.
A sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to our steps as we walk the tightrope of life.
Trust God, but tie up your camel.
Throw a resourceful man into a river, and he’ll probably come out with a fish in his hand.
If you stop every time a dog barks, then your road will never end.
If man’s mouth were silent, then another part would speak.
Many wars have been caused by a single word.
How can the eater of dates prohibit the eating of dates?
It’s better to have a thousand enemies outside of the tent than one inside the tent.
Don’t pour away your water due to a mirage.
If you wonder often, the gift of understanding will come.
May our thoughts reach the sky where there is holiness.
A dog that always barks gets little attention.
A man who develops himself is twice born.
(384 BC–322 BC) philosopher
The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work.
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
If you chase two rabbits [at the same time], you will not catch either of them.
When someone’s wealth improves, their home’s columns suddenly appear crooked.
If you speak too much, you will learn too little.
There is no reason for war that reasonable men can’t settle.
On a rainy day, many people volunteer to water the chickens.
(1918-2001) businesswomen who founded cosmetics powerhouse Mary Kay Inc
There are two things people want more than sex and money... recognition and praise.
Most people live and die with their music still unplayed. They never dare to try.
Mary Kay Ash Biography and Quotes
(1862-1932) New Thought philosopher
…Rather than assume the responsibility of directing their own footsteps, they [people] wait until someone takes the lead, and then away they stampede after him.
…the occultist should proceed to kill out the lower desires that he finds within his nature, and also to kill out the “attachment” for things. Regarding this last we would say that all true occultist know that even the best “things” are not good enough to rule and master one—nothing is good enough for the soul to allow itself to be unduly attached to it so that the thing rules the soul instead of the should mastering the thing. That is what the teachings mean—avoidance of “attachment.”
Desire is a frightful master—like fire it sweeps away the supports of the soul, leaving nothing but smoldering ashes. But, also like Fire Desire is a splendid servant and by its harnessed power we are able to generate the steam of the Will and Activity, and to accomplish much in the world. Without proper Desire the world would be without activity.
Man acts not upon EVERY desire, but upon the STRONGEST Desire, or the Average of his Strongest Desires. This Average of Desires is that which constitutes his Nature or Character.
And here is where the Mastery of the “I” comes in! Man need not be a slave or creature of his Desires if he will assert his Mastery. He may control, regulate, govern and guide his Desires in any directions that he pleases. Nay, more, he may even CREATE DESIRES by an action of his Will…
Students of history find a continuous chain of reference to the mysterious influence of one human mind over that of others. In the earliest records, traditions and legends may be found giving reference to the general belief that it was possible for an individual to exert some weird uncanny power over the minds of other persons, which would influence the latter for good or evil. And more than this, the student will find an accompanying belief that certain individuals are possessed of some mental power which bends even “things” and circumstances to its might.
William Walker Atkinson Biography and Quotes
(354-430) philosopher and Christian bishop
Trust not the world, for it never pays that it promises.
Miracles are not contrary to nature; they are only contrary to what we know about nature.
To many, total abstinence is easier than perfect moderation.
If two friends ask you to judge a dispute, don’t accept, because you will lose one friend. But if two strangers approach you with the same request, accept, because you will gain one friend.
Those who lose dreaming are lost.
The clash of ideas brings forth the spark of truth.
We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love; and then we return home.
(Also see German Proverbs)
A light is still a light, even though the blind man cannot see it.
Even limited knowledge of scriptures is beneficial to a person whose inner eye as opened, just as the light of even one lamp is sufficient to show the path to a person whose eyes are open. (99)
Just as when the water becomes clearer, one is able to view the reflection with greater clarity, so when the self becomes inspired to know the reality, one starts acquiring knowledge with greater consistency. (1169)
Collection of Zoroastrian scriptures
Doing good to others is not a duty—it is a joy, for it increases your own health and happiness.
Laughter is the remedy for 1001 illnesses.
(1561-1626) philosopher, statesman, and lawyer
If money be not thy servant it will be thy master.
Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed.
The price one pays for pursuing any profession or calling is an intimate knowledge of its ugly side.
(1771-1852) Universalist preacher
Real happiness is cheap enough, yet how dearly we pay for its counterfeit!
(1800-1891) historian
In nine times out of ten, the slanderous tongue belongs to a disappointed person.
One may know how to gain a victory, and know not how to use it.
I hate mankind, for I think myself one of the best of them, and I know how bad I am.
They fancy they are so wonderfully economical in saving a half-penny where they ought to spend two pence, that they think they can afford to squander in other directions. A few years ago, before kerosene oil was discovered or thought of, one might stop overnight at almost any farmer’s house in the agricultural districts and get a very good supper, but after supper he might attempt to read in the sitting-room, and would find it impossible with the inefficient light of one candle. The hostess, seeing his dilemma, would say: “It is rather difficult to read here evenings; the proverb says ‘you must have a ship at sea in order to be able to burn two candles at once;’ we never have an extra candle except on extra occasions.”
These extra occasions occur, perhaps, twice a year. In this way the good woman saves five, six, or ten dollars in that time; but the information which might be derived from having the extra light would, of course, far outweigh a ton of candles.
But the trouble does not end here. Feeling that she is so economical in tallow candles, she thinks she can afford to go frequently to the village and spend twenty or thirty dollars for ribbons and furbelows, many of which are not necessary. This false economy may frequently be seen in men of business, and in those instances it often runs to writing-paper. You find good business men who save all the old envelopes, and scraps, and would not tear a new sheet of paper, if they could avoid it, for the world. This is all very well; they may in this way save five or ten dollars a year, but being so economical (only in note paper), they think they can afford to waste time; to have expensive parties, and to drive their carriages. …
I never knew a man to succeed by practising this kind of economy.
*The safest plan, and the one most sure of success for the young man starting in life, is to select the vocation which is most congenial to his tastes. Parents and guardians are often quite too negligent in regard to this. It is very common for a father to say, for example: “I have five boys. I will make Billy a clergyman; John a lawyer; Tom a doctor, and Dick a farmer.” He then goes into town and looks about to see what he will do with Sammy. He returns home and says “Sammy, I see watch-making is a nice, genteel business; I think I will make you a goldsmith.” He does this, regardless of Sam’s natural inclinations, or genius.
We are all, no doubt, born for a wise purpose. There is as much diversity in our brains as in our countenances. …
After securing the right vocation, you must be careful to select the proper location. You may have been cut out for a hotel keeper, and they say it requires a genius to "know how to keep a hotel." You might conduct a hotel like clock-work, and provide satisfactorily for five hundred guests every day; yet, if you should locate your house in a small village where there is no railroad communication or public travel, the location would be your ruin. It is equally important that you do not commence business where there are already enough to meet all demands in the same occupation. I remember a case which illustrates this subject. When I was in London in 1858, I was passing down Holborn with an English friend and came to the "penny shows." They had immense cartoons outside, portraying the wonderful curiosities to be seen "all for a penny." Being a little in the "show line" myself, I said "let us go in here." We soon found ourselves in the presence of the illustrious showman, and he proved to be the sharpest man in that line I had ever met. He told us some extraordinary stories in reference to his bearded ladies, his Albinos, and his Armadillos, which we could hardly believe, but thought it "better to believe it than look after the proof." He finally begged to call our attention to some wax statuary, and showed us a lot of the dirtiest and filthiest wax figures imaginable. They looked as if they had not seen water since the Deluge.
"What is there so wonderful about your statuary?" I asked.
"I beg you not to speak so satirically," he replied, "Sir, these are not Madam Tussaud's wax figures, all covered with gilt and tinsel and imitation diamonds, and copied from engravings and photographs. Mine, sir, were taken from life. Whenever you look upon one of those figures, you may consider that you are looking upon the living individual."
Glancing casually at them, I saw one labelled "Henry VIII," and feeling a little curious upon seeing that it looked like Calvin Edson, the living skeleton, I said:
"Do you call that `Henry the Eighth?'"
He replied, "Certainly, sir; it was taken from life at Hampton Court, by special order of his majesty, on such a day."
He would have given the hour of the day if I had insisted; I said, "Everybody knows that `Henry VIII.' was a great stout old king, and that figure is lean and lank; what do you say to that?"
"Why," he replied, "you would be lean and lank yourself, if you sat there as long as he has."
There was no resisting such arguments. I said to my English friend, "Let us go out; do not tell him who I am; I show the white feather; he beats me."
He followed us to the door, and seeing the rabble in the street, he called out, "ladies and gentlemen, I beg to draw your attention to the respectable character of my visitors," pointing to us as we walked away. I called upon him a couple of days afterwards; told him who I was, and said:
"My friend, you are an excellent showman, but you have selected a bad location."
He replied, "This is true, sir; I feel that all my talents are thrown away; but what can I do?"
"You can go to America," I replied. "You can give full play to your faculties over there; you will find plenty of elbow-room in America; I will engage you for two years; after that you will be able to go on your own account."
He accepted my offer and remained two years in my New York Museum. He then went to New Orleans and carried on a traveling show business during the summer. To-day he is worth sixty thousand dollars, simply because he selected the right vocation and also secured the proper location.
Things used to be that way, now they’re this way, and who knows what they will be like later?
A strong attack is half the battle won.
The poor search for food, and the rich search for hunger.
You can have your nose broken easily if you put it in other people’s business.
(1859-1941) philosopher
The emotion felt by man in presence of nature certainly counts for something in the origin of religions.
(1891-1995) advertiser, propagandist
[I]n almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons--a trifling fraction of our hundred and twenty million-who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind, who harness old social forces and contrive new ways to bind and guide the world.
[the] average citizen is the world’s most efficient censor. His own mind is the greatest barrier between him and the facts. His own ‘logic proof compartments,’ his own absolutism are the obstacles which prevent him from seeing in terms of experience and thought rather than in terms of group reaction.
[P]hysical loneliness is a real terror to the gregarious animal, and that association with the herd causes a feeling of security. In man this fear of loneliness creates a desire for identification with the herd in matters of opinion. ... [Once within the "herd," the "gregarious animal" still wishes to express his or her opinion. Therefore, the public relations counsel must] appeal to individualism [which] goes closely in hand with other instincts, such as self-display.
Human desires are the steam which makes the social machine work. Only by understanding them can the propagandist control that vast, loose-jointed mechanism which is modern society.
Propaganda is of no use to the politician unless he has something to say which the public, consciously or unconsciously, wants to hear.
Those who manipulate the unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society. In almost every act of our lives whether in the sphere of politics or business in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires that control the public mind.
If you can influence the leaders, either with or without their conscious cooperation, you automatically influence the group which they sway. But men do not need to be actually gathered together in a public meeting or in a street riot, to be subject to the influences of mass psychology. Because man is by nature gregarious he feels himself to be member of a herd, even when he is alone in his room with the curtains drawn. His mind retains the patterns which have been stamped on it by the group influences.
Trotter and Le Bon concluded that the group mind does not think in the strict sense of the word. In place of thoughts it has impulses, habits and emotions. In making up its mind its first impulse is usually to follow the example of a trusted leader. This is one of the most firmly established principles of mass psychology. It operates in establishing the rising or diminishing prestige of a summer resort, in causing a run on a bank, or a panic on the stock exchange, in creating a best seller, or a box-office success.
We are governed, our minds molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society.
In theory, everybody buys the best and cheapest commodities offered him on the market. In practice, if every one went around pricing, and chemically tasting before purchasing, the dozens of soaps or fabrics or brands of bread which are for sale, economic life would be hopelessly jammed. To avoid such confusion, society consents to have its choice narrowed to ideas and objects brought to it attention through propaganda of all kinds. There is consequently a vast and continuous effort going on to capture our minds in the interest of some policy or commodity or idea.
It might be better to have, instead of propaganda and special pleading, committees of wise men who would choose our rulers, dictate our conduct, private and public, and decide upon the best types of clothes for us to wear and the best kinds of food for us to eat. But we have chosen the opposite method, that of open competition. We must find a way to make free competition function with reasonable smoothness. To achieve this society has consented to permit free competition to be organized by leadership and propaganda.
But when the example of the leader is not at hand and the herd must think for itself, it does so by means of clichés, pat words or images which stand for a whole group of ideas or experiences. Not many years ago, it was only necessary to tag a political candidate with the word interests to stampede millions of people into voting against him, because anything associated with "the interests" seemed necessary corrupt. Recently the word Bolshevik has performed a similar service for persons who wished to frighten the public away from a line of action.
By playing upon a old cliché, or manipulating a new one, the propagandist can sometimes swing a whole mass group emotions.
It is evident that the successful propagandist must understand the true motives and not be content to accept the reasons which men give for what they do.
The voice of the people expresses the mind of 3 the people, and that mind is made up for it by the group leaders in whom it believes and by those persons who understand the manipulation of public opinion. It is composed of inherited prejudices and symbols and clichés and verbal formulas supplied to them by the leaders.
The unenlightened uses millions of lives to eliminate the effects of karma, whereas the disciplined and spiritually wise person destroys them in one moment. (10) M
The frenzied elephant is controlled and held captive by the chains, so also the unstable mind is controlled and held captive by the chains of knowledge. (763)
On the battlefield, there is no distinction between upper and lower class.
You must first walk around a little before you can understand the distance from the valley to the mountain.
(1818-1885) humorist and philosopher
As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand.
(1863-1950) holy man
Grown men can learn from very little children—for the hearts of little children are pure. Therefore, the Great Spirit may show them many things that older people miss.
(1769-1821) French emperor
The only one who is wiser than anyone is everyone.
The best cure for the body is a quiet mind.
The human race is governed by its imagination.
True heroism consists in being superior to the woes of life, in whatever shape they may challenge us to combat.
There is no place in a fanatic’s head where reason can enter.
A celebrated people lose dignity upon a closer view.
Men are lead by trifles.
A leader is a dealer in hope.
A throne is only a bench covered with velvet.
Men are more easily governed through their vices than through their virtues.
The crowd that follows me with admiration would run with the same eagerness if I were marching to the guillotine.
Power is founded upon opinion.
Nothing is more important in war than unity in command.
t. With trifling considerations, small vanities, and petty passions, it is never possible to accomplish anything great.
t. There are no precise or fixed rules. Everything depends upon the character nature has bestowed upon the general, on his qualities and faults, on the character of the troops, on the range of arms, on the season, and on a thousand circumstances that are never the same.
War is composed of nothing but accidents, and, although holding to general principles, a general should never lose sight of everything to enable him to profit from these accidents; that is the mark of genius. In war there is but one favorable moment; the great art is to seize it.
In war, nothing is accomplished except through calculation… If I take so many precautions, it is because my habit is to leave nothing to chance.
Sometimes the good plans fail as a result of accidental circumstances, and occasionally bad ones succeed through some freak of fortune.
The art of being sometimes audacious and sometimes very prudent is the secret of success.
A general should say to himself many times a day: “If the hostile army were to make its appearance in front, on my right, or on my left, what should I do?” And is he is embarrassed, hi arrangements are bad; there is something wrong. He must rectify his mistake.
Clean your own yard first before asking others to clean theirs.
Two things rule the world: reward and punishment.
Someone who lies for you will also lie against you.
A person in solitude is subject to all kinds of doubts and uncertainties at every moment. Hence, the company of the holy and virtuous should be sought. (5719)
(1920-2003) broadcast journalist
People have the illusion that all over the world, all the time, all kinds of fantastic things are happening; when in fact, over most of the world, most of the time, nothing is happening.
(1645-1696) writer
The great gift of conversation is less about displaying it ourselves than in drawing it out of others. Anyone who leaves your company pleased with himself and his own cleverness is very well pleased with you.
Two people cannot remain friends for long if they cannot forgive each other’s little failings.
Men blush less for their crimes than for their weaknesses and vanity.
You think he is your dupe; but if he pretends to be so, then who is the greater dupe: him or you?
(563 BC-483 BC) founder of Buddhism
Surely if living creatures saw the results of all their evil deeds, they would turn away from them in disgust. But selfhood blinds them, and they cling to their obnoxious desires. …
Thus they continue to move in the coil and can find no escape from the hell of their own making. And how empty are their pleasures, how vain are their endeavors!—hollow like the plantain-tree, and without contents like the bubble.
Water surrounds the lotuses, but does not wet its petal. On the other hand, sensuality of all kinds is enervating. The sensual man is a slave of his passions, and pleasure-seeking is degrading.
But to satisfy the necessities of life is not evil. To keep the body in good healthy is a duty, for otherwise we shall not be able to trim the lamp of wisdom, and keep our mind strong and clear.
This is the Middle Path, O bhikshus, that keeps aloof from both extremes.
The wise man will use the light he has to receive more light. He will constantly advance in the knowledge of truth.
…Let your happiness depend, not upon external things, but upon your own mind.
The man who walks in the noble path lives in the world, and yet his heart is not defiled by worldly desires.
… If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him, as the wheel follows the foot of the ox that draws the carriage. …. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.
He who lives looking for pleasures only, his senses uncontrolled, immoderate in his food, idle, and weak—Mara will certainly overthrow him, as the wind throws down a weak tree.
As a fletcher makes straight his arrow, a wise man makes straight his trembling and unsteady thought, which is difficult to guard, difficult to hold back.
Let the wise man guard his thoughts, for they are difficult to perceive, very artful, and they rush wherever they list: thoughts well guarded bring happiness.
If one man conquers in battle a thousand times a thousand men, and another conquers himself, the second man would have a far greater conquest. For one’s own self conquered is better than victory over other people. Not even the gods in heaven or the demons in hell can change into defeat the victory of such a man.
He who lives a hundred years, ignorant and unrestrained, a life of one day is better if a man is virtuous and reflecting.
He who lives a hundred years, idle and weak, a life of one day is better if a man has courage and earnest striving.
Let no man think lightly of evil, saying in his heart: "It will not come to me." As water drop by drop fills a jar, the foolish man soon becomes full of evil, even as he gathers it little by little. 9: / 121
Let no man think lightly of good work, saying in his heart: "It will not come to me." As water drop by drop fills a jar, the wise man soon becomes full of goodness, even as he gathers it little by little.
Let a man avoids evil deeds like a merchant who carries much wealth but with a small escort, avoids a dangerous road, or like a man who loves his life avoids poison.
He who has no wound on his hand may touch poison because it does not affect him; the man who has no evil, cannot be affected by evil. 9: / 124
There is an old saying, Atula, which is not a saying of today: They blame him who is silent, they blame him who speaks much, they also blame him who says little; no one can escape blame in this world.
If by forsaking a small pleasure one finds a greater pleasure, he who is wise will leave the small and look for the great.
The disciples of Gotama are ever awake and vigilant, and their thoughts day and night are always set on the Dhamma, their law.
A gentle word opens an iron gate.
(1831-1891) British poet and diplomat
There is a great pleasure that is born of pain.
If you haven’t been to two different bazaars, you don’t know the best value.
(1643-1715) theologian, historian, Bishop of Salisbury
That is not the best sermon which makes the hearers go away talking to one another, and praising the speaker, but which makes them go away thoughtful and serious, and hastening to be alone.
(1896-1996) actor, comedian
I’d rather be a failure at something I love than a success at something I hate.
Everyday happiness means getting up in the morning, and you can’t wait to finish your breakfast. You can’t wait to do your exercises. You can’t wait to put on your clothes. You can’t wait to get out. And you can’t wait to come home, because the soup is hot.
The fetus that fears criticism will never be born.
(1924-1998) self-help guru
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which has the potential to turn a life around.
(1788-1824) Poet
Truth is stranger than fiction. (“Don Juan”)
(1864-1936) Christian radio preacher
A little experience often upsets a lot of theory.
(101 BC-44 BC)
Men willingly believe what they wish to be true.
(1868-1940) educator
My childhood was wasted by being entirely committed to becoming a successful candidate in the imperial examinations. My youth was devoted to pedantic learning, a scholasticism confined to explaining the classics and annotating historical works. I began to discover its limitations at the age of 30.
We must follow the general rule of freedom of thought and freedom of expression, and not allow any one branch of philosophy or any one tenet of religion to confine our minds, but always aim at a lofty universal point of view which is valid without regard to space or time. For such an education I can think of no other name than education for a world View.
Whereas in the past we boasted of our own superiority, now, as a result of repeated defeats and humiliations, we have begun to worship everything foreign and depreciate everything native. We have willingly adopted theories and practices accepted by other nations but refused to experiment for ourselves.
(1904-1987) writer on mythology
People say that what we are all seeking is meaning for life. I think that what we’re really seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonance within our innermost being and reality, so that we can actually feel the rapture of being alive.
(1913-1960) writer
Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal.
(1795-1881) Scottish historian
The courage we desire and prize is not the courage to die decently, but to live manfully.
Do the duty which lies nearest to you, the second duty will then become clearer.
(1835-1919) businessmnan
…We have a master mind here in our business, and that mind is made up of more than a score of people who constitute my personal staff of superintendents and managers and accountants and chemists and other necessary types. No one person in this group is the master mind of which I speak, but the sum total of the minds in the group, coordinated, organized and directed to a definite end in a spirit of harmonious cooperation is the power that got my money for me.
No two minds in the group are exactly alike, but each person in the group does the thing that he is supposed to do and he does it better than any other person in the world could do it.
Andrew Carnegie Biography and Quotes
(1888-1955) lecturer, public speaking expert, and success guru.
Most men begin, not by thinking about the other fellow’s views and desires, not by trying to find a common ground of agreement, but by unloading their own opinions.
For example, I have heard hundreds of speeches on the hotly contested subject of prohibition. In almost every instance, the speaker, with all the tact of a bull in a china shop, opened with some positive and perhaps belligerent statement. He showed once and for all which direction he faced and under which flag he fought. He showed that his mind was made up so firmly that there was not the slightest chance of it being changed; yet he was expecting others to abandon their cherished beliefs and to accept his. The effect? About the same that results from all arguments: no one was convinced. Instantly, he lost by his blunt, aggressive opening the sympathetic attention of all who differed with him; instantly, they discounted all he said and would say; instantly, they challenged his statements; instantly, they held his opinions in contempt. His talk served but to entrench them more strongly behind the bulwark of their own beliefs.
You see, he made, at the very outset, the fatal mistake of prodding his listeners, of getting them bending backwards and saying through their shut teeth: “No! No! No!”
Is not that a very serious situation if one wishes to win converts to his way of thinking?
“A ‘No’ response is a most difficult handicap to overcome. When a person has said ‘No,’ all his pride of personality demands that he remain consistent with himself. He may later feel that the ‘No’ was ill advised; nevertheless, there is his precious pride to consider!
… [The main] problem of getting people to accept our beliefs or to act upon our suggestions, is just this: to plant the idea in their minds and to keep contradictory and opposing ideas from arising. He who is skilled in doing that will have power in speaking and profit in business. *
Liken what you wish people to accept to something they already believe.
Interest is contagious. The audience is sure to catch it if the speaker himself has a bad case of it. But it cannot be won by the mechanical adherence to mere rules. *
Don’t trust a hungry man to watch your rice.
By trying repeatedly, the monkey learns how to jump from the tree.
If the fight is tomorrow, why clench your fist today?
(1873-1944) surgeon
One must train oneself, by small and frequent efforts, to dominate one’s feelings.
(1859-1951)
The average strong, competent man thinks—“I am independent. I am on my own. I have my own firm and my own employees. I must concentrate upon my own interests and pay attention to my own affairs.”
Quite true—up to a point. Be independent, but don’t stand up against the whole world. No matter how strong you are, the world can easily roll over you. (Tips on Leadership)
Herbert N. Casson Biography and Works
Men whose counsels you would not take as individuals lead you with ease in a crowd.
It requires as much reflection and wisdom to know what is not to be put into a sermon as what is.
(1547-1616) writer best known for his novel Don Quixote
He preaches well that lives well.
The money paid, the work delayed.
The best sauce is hunger, and that is never wanting to the poor.
It requires a long time to know anyone.
You are a king by your own fireside, as much as any monarch is in his throne.
The only comfort of the miserable is to have partners in their woes.
Make hay while the sun is shining.
One swallow alone does not make a summer.
Until death, all is life.
Miguel De Cervantes Biography and Quotes
A man with too much ambition cannot sleep in peace.
(1741-1794) writer
It must be admitted that it is impossible to live in the world without playing an act from time to time. What distinguishes the honest man from the rogue is that he plays an act only if he must, and to escape danger; whereas the other actively seeks out occasions to do so.
Though it is commonly thought that the “art of pleasing” is a great way to achieve wealth, there is something that works far better: knowing how to be bored. In fact, the talent of acquiring wealth, like the one for succeeding with women, can be reduced practically to that.
He who cannot resort to the use of a joke, and who is inflexible in the spirit, is very often placed between the need for being false or pedantic—an annoying alternative from which an honest man withdraws himself, for the ordinary one, by grace and cheerfulness. (113)
It must be admitted that in order to live happily in the world, there are sides of your soul that must be completely paralyzed. (130)
If you want to discover how much people are corrupted by their social calling/status, it is only necessary to observe what people are like when they are old and have been long exposed to its influence. Observe old courtiers, priests, judges, lawyers, and doctors. (130)
In this world, I have seen people unceasingly sacrifice the regard of decent people for the consideration, and rest with the celebrity. (116)
Not being worked by anyone’s hand, being no one’s person, and drawing one’s principles and feelings from no one else—this is the rarest thing I have seen. (120)
We obliterate our character out of fear of being noticed and stared at, and fling ourselves headlong into nullity in order to escape the threat of portrayal.
There are two classes of moralists and statesmen: those who see human nature only from its unpleasant or ridiculous side—these make up the majority: Lucian, Montaigne, La Bruyere, La Rochefoucauld, Swift, Mandeville, Helvetius, etc—and those who see only the beautiful side and its perfections, such as Shaftesbury and some others.
The former do not know the palate of which they saw only the latrines, the latter are romantics who divert their eyes far from what offends them but nevertheless exists.
Est in medio verum [the truth lies somewhere in between].
Philosophy, like medicine, has many drugs, very few good remedies, and almost no specific [cures].
It would be interesting to have a book containing all the corrupting ideas—intellectual, social, and moral—that are developed themes in the most famous writings of the most venerated authors; ideas that propagate/favor religious superstition, bad political maxims, despotism, the vanity of rank, and all kinds of popular prejudices.
It would become readily apparent that almost all books are corrupters, and that the best do almost as much evil as good.
Oftentimes, a customary opinion seems absurd in our early youth, but appears less absurd when we advance in life and discover its reason. Must we then conclude that certain customs are less ridiculous? At times, you might be led to think that they were established by people who had read the whole book of life, and are judged by people who—in spite of their spirit—had only read some pages of it. (114)
All passions lead to exaggeration—that is why they are passions.
Nowadays, people who love nature are accused of being romantic.
The most wasted of all days is one where you did not once laugh.
Oftentimes the mind is to the heart just what the chateua library is to the lord of the manor.
A man who is poor but independent of others is at the command of necessity alone. A man who is rich but dependent may be at the command of another or others.
The great calamity of the passions is not the torments they cause, but the wrongs and base actions they lead to committing, and which degrade people. Without such hindrances, the advantages of the passions would greatly outweigh those of cold reason, which makes no one happy.
The passions make a person live; wisdom only makes him endure.
It is not true, as Rousseau claimed, following Seneca, that the more you think, the less you feel.
However, it is true that the more you judge, the less you love. Few people tempt you to make any exception to this rule.
People’s ideas are like card-playing or any other game: ideas that in the past I have seen considered reckless, have since become commonplace, almost trivial, and adopted by people unworthy of sharing them; and ideas that now seem extraordinary will be regarded as feeble and totally ordinary by our descendants.
We are happy or unhappy for a multitude of reasons that are never mentioned and never can be mentioned.
A person of foresight is a rather sad figure. He disturbs his friends by predicting the problems likely to arise as a result of their imprudence, and they refuse to believe him. And when he is proved correct, they are amazed at the accuracy of his prediction, and they feel offended and have their pride hurt. And when they meet this friend, who otherwise would have been able to console them, and who they would have approached if they had not felt shamed, they feel humiliated.
They say that every day you must make an effort to reduce your needs. This principle applies specially to our conceit, whose demands are the most insistent, and thus need to be most strongly resisted.
Man arrives as an apprentice at all the times of his life.
Man arrives as a novice at each age of his life.
When a man and a woman have an overwhelming passion for each other, it seems to me, in spite of such obstacles dividing them as parents or husband, that they belong to each other in the name of Nature, and are lovers by Divine right, in spite of human convention or the laws.
Whatever evil a man may think of women, there is no woman but thinks more.
Success makes success, like money makes money.
If we would please in society, we must be prepared to be taught many things we know already by people who do not know them.
(1954-) actor, stutman, martial artist
Don’t try to be like Jackie. There is only one Jackie.
I’m crazy, but I’m not stupid.
So it is with those who employ themselves exclusively in the attainment of intellectual wealth. Faith that this is the one great good incites them to unwearied labor,—causes them to forget food, sleep, friends, everything, in order that they may acquire abundant stores of learning; and all because they have taken as their creed, “I believe that learning is better than all beside, and for this will I labor day and night.”
(1780–1842) Unitarian preacher, theologians
A man was not made to shut up his mind in itself; but to give it voice and to exchange it for other minds.
A clean, comfortable dwelling, with wholesome meals, is no small aid to intellectual and moral progress. A man living in a damp cellar or a garret open to rain and snow, breathing the foul air of a filthy room, and striving without success to appease hunger on scanty or unsavory food, is in danger of abandoning himself to a desperate, selfish recklessness. Improve, then, your lot. Multiply comforts, and, still more, get wealth if you can by honorable means, and if it do not cost too much.
Disciple of Confucius
The chun tzu venerates the high/worthy, but tolerates all. …. If I am high/worthy, whom should I not tolerate? And if I am lower, who should put me away? 19:3
(1889-1977) comedian, actor, producer, director, and writer
I don’t believe that the public knows what it wants; this is the conclusion that I have drawn from my career.
(1860-1904) playwright and short story writer
Love, friendship, and respect do not unite people as much as a common hatred for something.
Don't allow yesterday to spend up too much of today.
(1694–1773) British statesman
...With regard to mankind, we must not draw general conclusions from certain particular principles, though, in the main, true ones. We must not suppose that, because a man is a rational animal, he will therefore always act rationally; or, because he has such or such a predominant passion, that he will act invariably and consequentially in the pursuit of it. No. We are complicated machines: and though we have one main-spring, that gives motion to the whole, we have an infinity of little wheels, which, in their turns, retard, precipitate, and sometimes stop that motion.
A favor may make an enemy, and an injury may make a friend
However frivolous a company may be, still, while you are among them, do not show them, by your inattention, that you think them so… [and do not manifest] your contempt for them. There is nothing that people bear more impatiently, or forgive less, than contempt; and an injury is much sooner forgotten than an insult. (46)
Men are much more unwilling to have their weaknesses and their imperfections known than their crimes; and if you hint to a man that you think him silly, ignorant, or even ill-bred, or awkward, he will hate you more and longer, than if you tell him plainly, that you think him a rogue. (93)
This principle of vanity and pride is so strong in human nature that it descends even to the lowest objects; and one often sees people angling for praise, where, admitting all they say to be true (which, by the way, it seldom is), no just praise is to be caught. One man affirms that he has rode post an hundred miles in six hours; probably it is a lie: but supposing it to be true, what then? Why he is a very good post-boy, that is all. Another asserts, and probably not without oaths, that he has drunk six or eight bottles of wine at a sitting; out of charity, I will believe him a liar; for, if I do not, I must think him a beast.(104)
When a man wants your advice he generally wants your praise.
We love to be pleased better than to be informed
If you will please people, you must please them in their own way.
Remember that the wit, humor, and jokes, of most mixed companies are local. They thrive in that particular soil, but will not often bear transplanting. Every company is differently circumstanced, has its particular cant and jargon; which may give occasion to wit and mirth within that circle, but would seem flat and insipid in any other, and therefore will not bear repeating.
When you go into good company… observe carefully their turn, their manners, their address; and conform your own to them. But this is not all neither; go deeper still; observe their characters, and pray, as far as you can, into both their hearts and their heads. Seek for their particular merit, their predominant passion, or their prevailing weakness; and you will then know what to bait your hook with to catch them.
If you can once engage people’s pride, love, pity, ambition (or whatever is their prevailing passion) on your side, you need not fear what their reason can do against you.
If you would convince others, seem open to conviction yourself
To govern mankind, one must not overrate them
Patience is the most necessary quality for business, many a man would rather you heard his story than grant his request.
Politicians neither love nor hate. Interest, not sentiment, directs them.
Without some dissimulation no business can be carried on at all.
Many things which seem extremely probable are not true
In order to know people’s real sentiments, I trust much more to my eyes than to my ears: for they can say whatever they have a mind I should hear; but they can seldom help looking, what they have no intention that I should know. *
People of your [young] age have, commonly, an unguarded frankness about them; which makes them the easy prey and bubbles of the artful and the experienced; they look upon every knave or fool, who tells them that he is their friend, to be really so; and pay that profession of simulated friendship, with an indiscreet and unbounded confidence, always to their loss, often to their ruin.
Have a real reserve with almost everybody; and have a seeming reserve with almost nobody; for it is very disagreeable to seem reserved, and very dangerous not to be so.
Every excellency, and every virtue, has its kindred vice or weakness; and if carried beyond certain bounds, sinks into one or the other. Generosity often runs into profusion, economy into avarice, courage into rashness, caution into timidity, and so on:—insomuch that, I believe, there is more judgment required, for the proper conduct of our virtues, than for avoiding their opposite vices. Vice, in its true light, is so deformed, that it shocks us at first sight, and would hardly ever seduce us, if it did not, at first, wear the mask of some virtue. But virtue is, in itself, so beautiful, that it charms us at first sight; engages us more and more upon further acquaintance; and, as with other beauties, we think excess impossible; it is here that judgment is necessary, to moderate and direct the effects of an excellent cause. (64)
Choose your pleasures for yourself, and do not let them be imposed upon you.
Better to understand a little than to misunderstand a lot.
Do not judge a person ‘til you have walked two moons in his moccasins.
People doing the same things might have different motives.
The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.
To make a man of yourself you must toil.
In the midst of great joy, do not promise to give a man anything. In the midst of great anger, do not answer a man’s letter.
Take merit and [use it to] mend sin.
The evil sea [i.e. the world] is vast. Turn the head [i.e. repent] and you are at the shore.
Quickly do works of repentance, and you will be upon the conscious shore. Butchers drop your knives, and become Buddhas as a result.
To believe in tao is easy; to keep tao is difficult.
If for one day one does not meditate upon goodness, all [kinds of] wickedness will spring up of themselves.
He vainly lived among people; to no purpose he walked across the plain
A pure heart has few desires.
There is a road to Paradise, but you choose not to go. There is no door to Hell, and yet you force your way to woe. [Used of one unwilling do right]
Why so anxiously and busily manage so many evil matters? Drop them all and become a good man.
Embrace every chance of laying up merit, and your daily wants will be regularly supplied.
He who stores up evil, although still living, is dead; he who stores up goodness, although dead, is still living.
Show compassion to others’ misfortunes, and rejoice in their excellences.
The door of good works is difficult to open—but when opened, it is difficult to close.
Doing good gives the greatest happiness; study gives the greatest good.
If the mirror is highly polished, the dust will not stain it; if the heart is enlightened, evil desires will not arise in it.
Putting aside virtuous deeds and not doing them—this may be styled “self-robbery.”
Entire sincerity moves spiritual beings.
If your fate is not propitious, you should nevertheless cultivate virtue. The sleeping dragon will some day ascend to Heaven. [If your time of fortune has not come, cultivate virtue and wait for your time of fortune].
The chun tzu conquers himself; the hsiao jen is envious and overbearing.
An hour may destroy the work of a hundred years.
Nowadays, people are shortsighted—they regard the outward appearance as important, but not the virtue.
Tao can be delicate or strong, soft or hard, yin or yang, obscure or clear. It can wrap up Heaven and Earth. It is sufficient for all things.
Tao does not act in vain.
As tao raises a foot, the demon raises ten. [Where truth/tao is prominent, persecution arises.]
If you wrangle over things of little importance, then you lose the great tao.
Nobody should neglect to cultivate secret virtues.
The gods are in his skill.
When you believe in them [kuei and shen], they exist. When you do not believe in them, they do not exist.
Worship the gods as if they were present; if you don’t worship them, they are but pieces of mud.
Before the thought has arisen, the gods know it.
Man reasons in a thousand ways; the spirits only in [the right] one.
How can a tiger or leopard [i.e. a superior person] put up with the insults of a dog or sheep [i.e. a lesser person]?
Listening well is as powerful as talking well, and is also as essential to true conversation.
Do not believe that you will reach your destination without leaving the shore.
If you ask for directions rudely, you might end up many miles from your destination.
Listen to all, pluck a feather from every passing goose, but follow no one absolutely.
Better to be without a book than to believe a book entirely.
Cheat your conscience, and a whole life’s happiness is destroyed.
To do evil is to transgress the laws of Heaven.
Let people despise me [as they like]—but if Heaven does not spurn me, then loss is gain.
Set yourself as the standard.
Let us fulfill our own parts, and await the will of Heaven.
The hearts of the people are the only legitimate foundations of the Empire.
Have but few friends, though much acquaintance.
Close to a blacksmith, learn to hammer out nails; close to a carpenter, learn how to use a saw.
When you converse, let it be with the wise; when you give food, let it be to the hungry.
Man combs his hair every morning. Why not his heart?
One man spreads a false report, and a hundred report it as truth.
Some people want to be praised for the rest of their lives for what they did well for one day.
Great truths cannot penetrate rustic ears.
You can’t talk of the ocean to a well-frog.
The melon seller does not announce, “Bitter melons.”
Solve one problem, and you keep a hundred others away.
If you want to avoid being cheated, ask for prices at three different stores.
If a girl seems as shy as a mouse, you still have to look out for the tiger within her.
To be totally at leisure for one day is to be immortal for one day.
Some study shows the need for more.
A wise man adapts himself to circumstances as water shapes itself according to the vessel that contains it.
Whoever undertakes a task cannot repudiate the responsibility.
Near vermilion one gets stained pink; near ink one gets stained black.
Near putrid fish you’ll stink; near the epidendrum you’ll be fragrant.
[One takes the color and odor of one’s company.]
Heaven and Earth will not be angry with one who will correct his faults.
One sincere thought can influence Heaven and Earth.
You may deceive people. You cannot deceive Heaven.
Let each one go his own tao.
The error of one moment becomes the sorrow of a whole life.
He who waits for a roast duck to fly in his mouth must wait a very long time.
It is easier to visit friends than to live with them.
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is today.
A hobbling cat is better than a fast horse when rats swarm the palace.
In a group of many words, there is bound to be a mistake.
Heaven knows and Earth knows—how can I alone know?
Heaven, having let me be born as a man, requires me to follow its doctrines.
The smallest desire to do good is—though not seen by man—certainly known to Heaven.
It is for me to put forth the utmost effort; it rests with Heaven to give success to my plans.
If your principles are not good, you sin against Heaven and Earth; if your words and actions are good, you leave an example for sons and grandsons.
It is after a hundred battles that heroes are produced.
[Even] with half of the Lun Yu [put into use], the country can be [well] ruled.
If one plants in the springtime, one will harvest in the fall.
He prayed for rain and received fire instead.
A good heart influences Heaven and Earth.
Arrogance costs a fortune.
With a helmsman [i.e. leader] that is not nervous, the passengers [i.e. followers] [will feel] secure.
A hundred foot bamboo can progress yet another step.
Don’t go thirty miles to sell firewood, or three hundred miles to purchase grain.
If you don’t scale the mountain, you can’t view the plain.
All language is not in books, nor all thoughts in language.
He who has seen little is astonished at much.
If a man keeps his mouth shut, his words become proverbial.
The way to close the mouth of a slanderer is to treat him with contempt.
Great profits, great risks.
Who is the greatest liar? Who talks most of himself.
A man without a smiling face must not open a shop.
Joy is not a horse. You cannot harness it.
When economy goes south, people get political.
If you want to find out about the road ahead, then ask about it from those coming back.
Easy to open a shop, hard to keep it open.
There are two kinds of perfect people: those who are dead, and those who have not been born yet.
A man who cannot tolerate small misfortunes can never accomplish great things.
If you want your children to have a peaceful life, let them suffer a little hunger and a little coldness.
One beam, no matter how big, cannot support an entire house on its own.
The people who talk the best are not the only ones who can tell you the most interesting things.
The people sitting in the free theatre seats are the first ones to boo.
Ripe fruit falls by itself, but it doesn’t fall in your mouth.
To know another is not to know that person’s face, but to know that person’s heart.
He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.
Better the cottage where one is merry than the palace where one weeps.
Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for life.
He who has never been cheated cannot be a good businessman.
He who thinks too much about every step he takes will always stay on one leg.
Tenacity and adversity are old foes.
Of all female qualities, a warm heart is the most valuable.
Before preparing to improve the world, first look around your own home three times.
All things change, and we change with them.
Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself.
The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.
Do not do all you can, do not spend all that you have, do not believe all that you hear, and do not tell all that you know.
Do not tear down the east wall to repair the west wall.
If you are standing upright, don’t worry if your shadow is crooked.
If you want an audience, start a fight.
Everyone should carefully observe which way his heart draws him, and then choose that way with all his strength.
Learning is a weightless treasure you can always carry easily.
Married couples tell each other a thousand things without speech.
Heaven has a road, but no one travels it; Hell has no gate, but people bore into it.
If there were no gods or demons in the world, man would do all kinds of things
[Without the fear of the gods, man would be uncontrollable]
An accidental meeting is more pleasant than a planned one.
‘Tis foolish to seek/want credit for your ancestor’s achievements.
(1890-1976) writer of detective novels and plays
Every murderer is probably somebody’s old friend.
(347-407) Christian bishop and preacher
Poor human reason, when it trusts in itself, substitutes the strangest absurdities for the highest divine concepts.
Ching [mind concentration] is a virtue that is vital for all people. Each person comes in the course of his life to a crossroad where, if his thoughts are confused and he loses a grip over himself, he can go the wrong way and even become insane. But if he controls himself, he can take the right way and become a Sage.
One can learn everywhere.
(1130-1200) philosopher
But in our daily affairs there needs to be ethical nurture, so that when the time comes for action we may act intelligently. If we act hastily and without self-control, delaying preparation until it is too late, then by sheer neglect we fail to keep pace with events.
t. I have always maintained that each and every thing under T’ien has its own distinct standard/way/pattern.
Han and Wei were contending about some territory that one of them had wrested from the other. Tzu-hwa Tzu went to see the marquis Kao-hsi [of Han], and, finding him looking sorrowful, said, “Suppose now that all the states were to sign an agreement before you to the effect that ‘Whoever should with his left hand carry off [the territory in dispute] should lose his right hand, and whoever should do so with his right hand should lose his left hand, but that, nevertheless, he who should carry it off was sure to obtain the whole kingdom;’ would your lordship feel yourself able to carry it off?”
The marquis said, “I would not carry it off.”
Tzu-hwa rejoined, “Very good. Looking at the thing from this point of view, your two arms are of more value to you than the whole kingdom. But your body is of more value than your two arms, and Han is of much less value than the whole kingdom. The territory for which you are now contending is further much less important than Han. So, your lordship, since you feel so much concern for your body, you should not be endangering your life by indulging your sorrow.”
The marquis Kao-hsi said, “Good! Many have given me their counsel about this matter; but I never heard what you have said.”
Tzu-hwa Tzu may be said to have known well what was of great importance and what was of little.
Lieh Tzu was reduced to extreme poverty, and his person had a hungry look. A visitor mentioned the case to Tzu-yang [the premier] of Kang, saying, “Lieh Yu-khau, I believe, is a scholar who has attained tao . Is it because our ruler does not love [such] scholars, that he should be living in his state in such poverty?”
Tzu Yang immediately ordered an officer to send to him a supply of grain.
When Lieh-Tzu saw the messenger, he bowed to him twice, and declined the gift, on which the messenger went away.
On Lieh-Tzu’s going into the house, his wife looked to him and beat her breast, saying, “I have heard that the wife and children of someone who possesses tao enjoy plenty and ease. And yet, now we look starved, and although the ruler has seen his error and sent you a present of food, you would not receive it. Is this [your so-called] ‘Destiny.’?”
Lieh Tzu smiled and said to her, “The ruler does not himself know me. Because of what someone said to him, he sent me the grain; but should another person speak [differently] of me to him, he may look on me as a criminal. This was why I did not receive the grain.”
In the end it did come about, that the people, on an occasion of trouble and disorder, put Tzu-Yang to death.
The way of the superior man may be compared to what takes place in traveling, when to go to a distance we must first traverse the space that is near, and in ascending a height, when we must begin from the lower ground. 15:1
When we have intelligence resulting from ch’eng, this condition is to be ascribed to nature; when we have ch’eng resulting from intelligence, this condition is to be ascribed to instruction. But given the ch’eng, and there shall be the intelligence; given the intelligence, and there shall be the ch’eng. 21
Where he falls short, ‘tis Nature’s fault alone;
Where he succeeds, the merit’s all his own.
Modern man is frantically trying to earn enough to buy things he’s too busy to enjoy.
It’s hard to detect good luck—it looks so much like something you’ve earned.
We ought to be on our guard, in case our conscience has stopped troubling us, not so much because of its being clear but because of its being immersed in sin.
(1886-1961) baseball player
Every great batter works on the theory that the pitcher is more afraid of him than he is of the pitcher.
(1762-1835) journalist and politician
It is by attempting to reach the top in a single leap that so much misery is produced in the world.
(1650-1726) bishop and theologian
Learning gives us a fuller conviction of the imperfections of our nature; which one would think, might dispose us to modesty.
(1848-1908) writer
Half of our mistakes in life arise from feeling where we ought to think, and thinking where we ought to feel.
(1780-1832) author, clergyman, sportsman, gambler, and wine merchant
If you are under obligations to many, it is prudent to postpone the recompensing of one, until it be in your power to remunerate all; otherwise you will make more enemies by what you give, than by what you withhold.
We hate some persons because we do not know them; and we will not know them because we hate them.
Imitation is the sincerest of flattery. (Lacon I. 183)
It is always safe to learn, even from our enemies, seldom safe to venture to instruct, even our friends.
There is a paradox in pride: it makes some men ridiculous, but prevents others from becoming so.
We should pray with as much earnestness as those who expect everything from God; we should act with as much energy as those who expect everything from themselves.
He who gives away his belongings will slowly become a beggar.
Those who trust to chance must abide by the results of chance.
We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once.
Rather than caring about whether or not you have a position, care about being fit to occupy a position. Rather than caring about whether or not you are known, strive to be worth knowing. 4:14
The chun tzu values te; the hsiao jen values land. The chun tzu values fairness; the hsiao jen values [unfair] exemptions/generous treatment. 4:11
… Recognizing that you know what you know, and recognizing that you do not know what you do not know—this is knowledge. 2:17
Learning without thinking is misleading. Thinking without learning is confusing. 2:15
When kindness is returned for kindness, the people are stimulated. When injury is returned for injury, the people are warned. (Li Chi 29:11)
The small man is not ashamed of what is not benevolent [jen], nor does he fear to do what is not righteous. Without the prospect of gain he does not stimulate himself to what is good, nor does he correct himself without being moved. (I Ching Appendix 3:2:5:37)
Once, Duke Ai of Lu said to Confucius, “Despite the well know saying ‘getting *bewildered due to a lack of advice,’ why is it that in my own experience administering the state affairs, consulting with my body of officials tends to lead to disorder?”
Confucius said, “When an enlightened sovereign asks ministers abut state affairs, one minister might know while another might not—and if that is the case, an enlightened sovereign can preside over a conference while the ministers earnestly discuss the affairs before him.
“But nowadays, the officials of Lu all conform their words to Chi Sun’s opinion, and the whole sate of Lu falls under the sway of the same bias—and thus, even though you consult with everybody within the state boundaries, the state cannot help but become disorderly.” (Han Fei Tzu<)
T’an T’ai appeared to be a superior person. Confucius regarded him as having great potential, so he took him in as a disciple. However, after interacting with him for a while, Confucius discovered that his conduct did not match what he appeared to be.
Ts’ai Yu’s speech was brilliant and cultivated. Confucius regarded him as having great potential, so he took him in as a disciple. However, after interacting with him for a while, Confucius discovered that his wisdom did not match his speaking skill.
Thus, Confucius said, “Should I pick people based on their appearance? I made a mistake with T’an-t’ai. Should I pick people based on their speech? I made a mistake with Ts’ai Yu.” HFT
Tzu Hsia said to Confucius, “What do you think of Yen Hui?”
Confucius said, “Yen Hui has compassion—more than I do.”
“And Tzu Kung?”
“Tzu Kung is a better speaker than I am.”
“And Tzu Lu?”
“Tzu Lu is incredibly brave—much more than I am.”
“And Tzu Chang?”
“Tzu Chang he can keep dignity better than I can.”
Tzu Hsia then remarked, “So how come all four of them study under you?”
Confucius said, “Sit down and let me tell you. Yen Hui is compassionate, but is also inflexible about it. Tzu Kung is a great speaker, but he does not know when to stop talking. Tzu Lu is very brave, but he lacks prudence. Tzu Chang is very dignified, but unpleasant in social interaction.
“Even if I could, I would not exahnge their virtues for my own. And that is why they are intent on learning from me.” LiehT
The chun tzu is multi-perspectived and not one-sided. The hsiao jen is one-sided and not multi-perspectived. 2:14
Though the chung yung has supreme te , the people seldom follow it for long. 6:27
Excess native substance and deficient wen results in an uncultivated person. Excess wen and deficient native substance results in a superficial person. Only a proper blend of native substance and wen can result in a chun tzu. 6:16
Confucius was gracious yet grave, imposing yet un-abusive, and respectful yet composedly calm. 7:37
Respectfulness without li becomes petty. Prudence without li becomes timid. Intrepidity without li becomes rash. Uprightness without li becomes intolerance. 8:2
When people fear the dangers of a path that has killed one in ten men, then fathers and sons, elder brothers and younger, warn one another that they must not go out on a journey without a large number of retainers—and is it not a mark of wisdom to do so? But there are dangers which men incur on the mats of their beds, and in eating and drinking; and when no warning is given against them—is it not a mark of error? (Chuang Tzu)
The superior man does not confine himself to praising men with his words; and so the people prove loyal to him. Thus, when he asks about men who are suffering from cold, he clothes them; or men who are suffering from want, he feeds them; and when he praises a man’s good qualities, he confers rank on him. (Li Chi 29:48)
Therefore the superior should by all means be careful in what he likes and dislikes. This will make him an example to the people. (LC 30:4)
He does not [hastily] agree with those who think like himself, nor condemn those who think differently. So does he stand out alone among others and take his own solitary course. Thus he takes his stand alone, and pursues his course, unattended. (Li Chi 38:15)
The scholar is not cast down, or cut from his root, by poverty and mean condition; he is not elated or exhausted by riches and noble condition; he feels no disgrace that rulers and kings [may try to inflict]; he is above the bonds that elders and superiors [may try to impose]; and superior officers cannot distress him. Hence he is styled a scholar. Those to whom the multitude nowadays give that name have no title to it, and they constantly employ it to one another as a term of reproach. (Li Chi 38:19)
The chun tzu composes himself before trying to move others. (Li Chi Appendix 3, 2:5:44)
A person who lacks jen cannot abide in adversity for long, or abide in joy enduringly. The jen person is satisfied with jen . The wise person makes jen his gain. LY 4:2
Though riches and honors are what people generally desire, if they cannot be obtained with accordance to tao , they should not be held. Though poverty and disgrace are what people generally detest, if they cannot be avoided with accordance to tao , they should not be avoided.
If the chun tzu abandons jen , how can he fulfill that name? The chun tzu does not abandon jen even for the space of a meal. During haste/urgency/trials, he cleaves/adheres to it; during distress/difficulty, he cleaves to it. A4:5
When the chun tzu deals with the world, he is not [biased] for or against anything—he [just] follows what is yi . LY 4:10
Confucius was entirely free of four things. He had no foregone conclusions, no arbitrariness, no obstinacy/inflexibility/set/insist/certainly/bigotry, and no egoism. LY 9:4
The chun tzu leaves a blank space where he does not know something. …
The chun tzu avoids careless speech. LY 13:3
Only the jen person can love others and can hate others. 4:3
When you see hsien, think of emulating it.
When you see non hsien, inwardly examine yourself. LY 4:17
The chun tzu is tough, but not indiscriminately inflexible. LY 15:36
Yen P’ing Chung was good at interpersonal relations. No matter how long the acquaintance, there would always be respectfulness. LY 5:16
At first, my method/attitude/evaluation with others was to listen to what they *said, and expect them to act accordingly.
Now my method with others is to listen to what they say, and then observe what they do. 5:9
The chun tzu is in harmony, but does not merely conform.
The hsiao jen merely conforms, but is not in harmony. 13:23
Tzu Kung said, “Suppose there is someone who is extensively beneficent to the people, to the point of assisting everyone. What would you say of him? Would you call him jen ?”
Confucius said, “Why only call him jen ? Mustn’t such a person be a Divine Sage? Even Yao and Shun had difficulty living up to this.
“The jen person, wishing to be established himself, also seeks to establish others; and wishing to be enlarged/realize/arrive himself, also seeks to enlarge others. Being able to exemplify the distant from what is at hand—this is the way of jen.” 6:28
hsueh and practicing it on due occasion—isn’t this satisfying? Having friends coming from distant quarters—isn’t this delightful? But suffering no discomposure if others do not know—isn’t this characteristic of a chun tzu ? 1:1
I do not instruct those who lack eagerness, and I do not guide those whose who lack a feeling of urgency. If I present a corner and the person does not come back with the other three, I will not continue. 7:8
Be chung in urging your friend and skillful in leading him to tao. But if this does not work, stop, and do not make yourself vulnerable to indignity.” 12:23
When tao prevails in your surrounding, speak audaciously high and act audaciously high. When tao does not prevail in your surrounding, act audaciously high, but speak with reserve. 14:4
There was Yen Hui; he loved hsueh. He did not misdirect anger; he did not repeat mistakes. 6:2
Though [even] the Combined Army can have its commander taken away, there is not a single individual who can have his free will taken away. 9:25
The practice of jen comes from a person himself—can it really be from others? 12:1
Advance the upright and set aside the crooked, and the people will submit. Advance the crooked and set aside the upright, and the people will not submit. 2:19
The chun tzu is dignified/confident/self-possessed but not arrogant and vain. The hsiao jen is arrogant and vain, but not dignified. 13:26
Someone who cares not about what is distant will soon encounter worries at hand. 15:11
*By tao them with laws/rules/government and controlling/regulating/ordering them with punishments, the people will [merely] seek to avoid/escape/evade them, but have no sense of shame [over wrongdoing]. 2:3
Warming up the old and acquiring the new—this can be an adequate teacher. 2:11
4:8
If you hear tao in the morning, you can die content in the evening.
The ancients were uneager to say things*, because they considered it shameful for their actions to fail to come up to what they said. 4:22
Confucius said, “I am not seeing people who are tough.
Someone said, “Shen Ch’eng.”
Confucius said, “What Ch’eng has is much desire and emotion—how can that be the same as toughness?” 5:10
6:3
After being made governor, Yuan Ssu declined his salary.
Confucius said, “Do not do so. Can’t you distribute it to your neighbors and villagers?”
6:9
Hui is certainly very hsien.
Living in a narrow lane with a dish of rice and a bowl of water—though others could not even endure such hardship, his serenity remains entirely unaffected by it.
7:15
With simple food to eat, water to drink, and my bent arm for a pillow—I can still find joy in the midst of this.
The opportunity to acquire riches and honors through non yi — this is [something that I am content with allowing to pass and go] like a floating cloud.
7:23
Do you disciples think I conceal things? I do not conceal anything from you. There is nothing I do that I do not express to you. This is Ch’iu.
9:23
Can’t anyone agree with words of worthy/correct/exemplary/upright/just/model admonition/directives/maxims? Their value, however, is in cultivation.
Can’t anyone delight in words of gentle/kindly/choice/select/deferential/reverent promotion/praise/compliments/advice? Their value, however, is in practice/live-up-to/progress/reflection?
As for someone who delights without progressing, and agrees without cultivating—I can really do nothing with him.
12:13
In presiding over lawsuits, I may be peerless—but what is best/imperative is to avoid lawsuits.
12:20
Tzu Chang asked, “What must the shih be in order to be called ‘penetrating’?”
Confucius said, “What do you mean by ‘penetrating’?”
Tzu Chang replied, “Being famous through your state, and famous through your own private circle.”
Confucius said, “That is [mere] ‘fame,’ not ‘penetration.’ The penetrating person is upright and loves rightness. … As to the person who is [merely] famous, he assumes an outward show of jen while acting contrary to it, and remains satisfied with himself.”
13:24
Tzu Kung asked, “‘All the people in the neighborhood approve/love of him’—how about that/what do you think about such a person?”
Confucius said, “That is insufficient.”
“‘All the people in the neighborhood disapprove of/hate him’—how about that?”
Confucius said, “That is insufficient. It would be better if the good people in the neighborhood approve, and if the bad people disapprove.”
14:2
[Hsien said,] “Not being competitive, boastful, envious, or greedy—can this be considered jen ?”
Confucius said, “It can be considered difficult, but I do not know whether or not it can be considered jen .”
The ancients learned for the sake of themselves.
Nowadays people learn for the sake of others. 14:25
15:13
Tsang Wan—wasn’t he a thief of position! He knew the hsien of Liu-hsia Hui, but did not give him a position.
15:19
The chun tzu hates to die without having done anything to distinguish himself.
15:21
The chun tzu is jin er dignified, but does not fight for it.
He is sociable, but not clannish.
15:28
The individual can make tao great.
tao does not make the individual great.
15:35
When it comes to jen , we should not yield its perfomance to anyone—even our teacher.
17:8
Love of jen without a love of learning will be beclouded by foolishness/being-deceived. Love of knowledge/wisdom without a love of learning will be beclouded by vagueness/speculation/self-indulgence/instability/superficial-generalization. Love of hsin without a love of learning will be beclouded by deception/harm/insensibility. Love of straightforwardness/candor without a love of learning will be beclouded by rudeness/misdirected-judgment. Love of valor/boldness without a love of learning will be beclouded by unruliness/lack-of-control/turbulence. Love of persistence/firmness without a love of learning will be beclouded by stubbornness/foolishness/rashness.”
17:15
These base people—how can we work with them in doing our duty? When not in office, their worry is that they cannot get it; and when in office, their worry is not losing it—and with their worry being not losing it, there is nothing they are unwilling to do.
17:25
Petty people are very difficult to deal with. If you are familiar with them, they are disrespectful/immodest/insolent; if you maintain a distance, they are resentful.
He who does not like chattering woman will remain a bachelor.
A day of hunger is not starvation.
If you are too modest, you will go hungry.
The teeth are smiling, but is the heart?
You do not teach the paths of the forest to an old gorilla.
But if our unconscious is the source of many of our ills, it can also bring about the cure of our physical and mental ailments. It can not only repair the ill it has done, but cure real illnesses, so strong is its action upon our organism. (Self Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion)
If yuh ever find yurself in a hole, the first thin’ to do is stop diggin’.
There’s two theories to arguin’ with a woman—and neither one works.
Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.
Timin’ has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.
Never ask a barber if he thinks yuh need a haircut.
After weeks of beans and taters, even a change to taters and beans is good.
When you’re trying’ somethin’ new, the fewer people that know about it, the better.
It’s best to keep yer troubles pretty much to yerself, ‘cause half the people yu’d tell ‘em to won’t give a dang, and the other half will be glad to hear yu’ve got ‘em.
The length of a conversation don’t tell nothin’ ‘bout the size of the intellect.
Unless the man who works in an office is able to “sell” himself and his ideas, unless he has the power to convince others of the soundness of his convictions, he can never achieve his goal. He may have the best ideas in the world, he may have plans which would revolutionize entire industries. But unless he can persuade others that his ideas are good, he will never get the chance to put them into effect.
(1912-) author
You often get a better hold upon a problem by going away from it for a time and dismissing it from your mind altogether.
It is easy for someone to talk about fasting when he has a full belly.
The trouble with facts is that there are so many of them.
Seven sons of one mother, and each one of a different mind.
Every head is a world.
Brief encounters can result in long relationships.
When money talks, everyone else is silent.
How can you trust anyone who doesn’t know how to blush?
Life is short; but it barely takes a second to smile.
Listen to what they say about others, and you will know what they say about you.
What is soon ripe is soon rotten.
The way to be safe is to never feel secure.
Only in water can you learn to swim.
The person who God shows a treasure to must dig it out himself.
(1452-1519) artist, architect, inventor, scientist, engineer
The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions.
Whenever a wise man notices himself deviating from the path of righteousness in thought, word or deed, he should immediately withdraw himself from that misdeed like a horse controlled by tightened reigns. (2:14)
When a sinful deed is committees intentionally or unintentionally, one should immediately desist from that with a resolve not to repeat it. (8:31)
Truth must be seasoned to make it palatable.
Money is more eloquent than a dozen members of parliament.
Many a man is a good friend but a bad neighbor.
Better to ask twice than to lose your way once.
You can’t take a cow from a man that has none.
(1809-1882) naturalist, scientist
The highest possible stage in moral culture is when we recognize that we ought to control our thoughts.
Never be haughty to the humble; never be humble to the haughty.
Painting is easy when you don’t know how, but very difficult when you do.
Pythagorean Philosopher
It is beautiful to impede an unjust man; but, if this is not possible, it is beautiful not to act in conjunction with him.
It is hard to be governed by these who are worse than ourselves.
(1804-1881) British statesman, writer
Religion should be the rule of life, not a causal incident to it.
Nurture your mind with great thoughts. To believe in the heroic makes heroes.
Beware of endeavoring to become a great man in a hurry. One such attempt in ten thousand may succeed. These are fearful odds.
If you limit your actions in life to things that nobody can possibly find fault with, you will not do much.
A rainbow would be considered even more beautiful if it wasn’t free.
This world’s current nature is to celebrate the dead saints and persecute the living ones.
It’s not the load that kills—it’s the excessive load.
(1818-1895) social reformer, writer, and public speaker
As those who believe in the visibility of ghosts can easily see them, so it is always easy to see repulsive qualities in those we despise and hate.
I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false and to incur my own abhorrence.
Liberty is meaningless where the right to utter one’s thoughts and opinions has ceased to exist. That, of all rights, is the dread of tyrants. It is the right which they first of all strike down.
[On escaping slavery:] I prayed for twenty years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs.
One thing that I've learned as of late is that I'm a much better mom, and a much better person when I'm not stressed, when I've taken time to myself to go for a walk, or read a book, or just breathe a little.
(1866-1954)
The ideal never comes. Today is ideal for him who would make it so.
Efficiency is intelligent laziness.
History is so indifferently rich, that a case for almost any conclusion from it can be made by a selection of instances. (The Lessons of History)
Wise people can’t answer the most foolish questions.
Skill and assurance form/are an invincible combination/couple.
A praying pirate is definitely a sign of danger.
Nothing is so often irrevocably neglected as an opportunity of daily occurrence.
Mortal existence is an enigma. Every day is a mystery.
(1847-1931) inventor
Restlessness is discontent, and discontent is the first necessity of progress. Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure.
I find my greatest pleasure, and so my reward, in the work that precedes what the world calls success.
He has his own brain—he can solve his own problems.
(1879-1955) physicist
The culture of the individual is always, in my view, unjustified. It strikes me as unfair, and even in bad taste, to select a few for boundless admiration, attributing superhuman powers of mind and character to them. This has been my fate and the contrast between the popular estimate of my powers and achievements and the reality is simply grotesque.
Imagination is more important than knowledge.
Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.
(1630-1714) Neo-Confucian philosopher
Self-discipline is the main object, and through it, one becomes a man.
The main object of learning is to… discipline ourselves and thus become true men.
… [Let us] continue learning and be true men as long as we can breathe.
Tao is extensive and the principles of rightness are subtle, and not easy to explore or fully comprehend. Even brilliant individuals cannot do so by by their own individual talents.
We should suspend judgment and remain skeptical regarding whatever we have even the the slightest doubt about, but also avoid being overly credulous; we should value broad learning and wide experience, and avoid relying on inadequate information; we should be fair, objective, and avoid stubborn attachment to our own point of views; and we should reflect before making judgements, and avoid forming precipitate judgments.
We should not blindly regard all we has heard as true, reject what others say merely because they disagree, or be stubborn and refuse to admit mistakes. Having inadequate information, being overly credulous about what we have seen and heard, ridigly adhereing to our own interpretations, or making a determination in a precipitate manner—all of these four modes of thinking are erroneous.
Even the ancients spoke of comprehensive knowledge. However, they often made empty pronouncements, since they were not accustomed to personally testing things. And thus, many mistaken views have perpetuated. If someone speaks nonsense and it is passed on by the multitude, it will be eventually taken to be facts.
We are not Sages, and cannot always be right.
Sincerity is the mind of the kami [gods]… if one has a mind of sincerity, the kami will surely respond. (Divine Injunctions)
Yen Chih-t’ui said, “It is difficult to be born with a human body. Do not pass your time in vain.”
He said this because being born as a human and being superior to other things is truly fortunate. If people could be reborn in in this world, even if they were negligent this time and did not know the human Way, they could rely on being born next time as a human. But since we cannot be reborn, we ought to live as a human being by learning tao and morally cultivating ourselves.
We should not carelessly waste our time. If we do not know the Human Way and if we live aimlessly, it is of no avail to have been born as a human. This is lamentable.
Since it is extremely difficult to be born a human, we should not forget to relish the fact that we have received our precious body miraculously, and we should feel anxious about living aimlessly in this world and not knowing the Way of humans.
I believe that being born a human and not studying is the same as not being born; studying ant not knowing tao is the same as not studying; and knowing tso and not practicing it is the same as not knowing it.
Study is for the sake of knowing tao. Studying poorly and not knowing tao is the same as not having studied. Furthermore, knowing tao is for the sake of practicing it. Studying and knowing tao without practicing it is the same as not having learned it.
Thus, being born a human, we must study; and those who study must learn tao.
If we know the way we will inevitably practice it well. Not practicing it is still not knowing tao.
If we want to know tao, we ought to follow the method of respecting the Sages’ teachings, and using wise people’s teachings as a guide. ….
If we lack a will to know tao, if we have poor teachers, and if our path of scholarship is wrong, we will lack results even we make an effort throughout our lives and study diligently.
Thus, if we think we will study tao, we must set our minds upon learning tao at the beginning, follow illuminating teachers, associate with high caliber friends, and choose the art of learning.
The art of learning is the method of study. If it is a bad method, we will lack an understanding of tao even if we make a lifetime effort.
Once we lose tao, it is difficult to return to the correct tao.
Thus, we ought to first choose the art of learning.
Even the ancient Sages were instructed by their teachers—so how much more so should ordinary people nowadays.
The basis of learning is establishing a resolve. The resolve is the mind/heart’s direction. Establishing a resolve is knowing and practicing tao by thinking earnestly and fervently with a mind/heart with an aim of becoming a chun tzu.
If we study without a goal, we will not be successful.
Thus the ancients said, “….Establishing one’s resolve is half of learning.”
For example, establishing a one’s resolve is like shooting an arrow aiming at a target, or setting out on a road aiming at a destination.
For all tasks, we must first make an effort at the beginning. Establishing a goal is the root of learning. In establishing a goal, we must have courage and not be lazy or timid. If we are lazy or ineffectual, we will not progress. …
Thus, it is good to keep single-mindedly on tao, and not become enamored by extraneous things.
In the History, it says, “If we trifle with things we will lose our aim.”
Trifling with things means that we distort the mind/heart by pampering the sense, indulging the desires, being fond of extraneous things, or becoming overly fond of various useless skills. If we become enamored by extraneous things, we will lose the great goal of becoming a chun tzu by studying tao. By trifling with and enjoying extraneous things we will lose our resolve.
Master Ch’eng said, “Unless we are single-minded, we will not accomplish our task immediately.”
This means it is difficult to achieve something without single-mindedness.
Single-mindedness is like a cat watching for a mouse or a hen warming her eggs: they cannot have other aims.
When the mind is divided and moving here and there, learning and morality’s aim declines and falls into disuse. …
Establishing a goal can be compared to the example of a person in the west thinking “I wil go east.” Each day as he walks, he constantly thinks “Day and night I will proceed east.” This is establishing one’s resolve to go west. If he does this, he without a doubt will ulitmaltey arrive at his destination.
We must be sincerely resolute in tao.
Humankind cannot stand very much reality.
I'm not sure when my perspective changed. It might have been when I met a biologist who writes fake scientific articles for the drug industry. It could have been when a friend confided that he used to produce fake television news stories promoting new drugs, or when a physician-researcher in Alabama was sent to federal prison for faking data in a clinical trial of the antibiotic Ketek. But the real turning point probably occurred when I came across a community of professional research subjects who fake their medical histories to get into high-paying clinical studies, then fake painful side effects when they want to get out. Fake science, fake news fake researchers, fake subjects: (White Coat, Black Hat)
(1912–1994) philosopher, law professor, sociologist, theologian, and Christian anarchist
[W]hat is at issue here is evaluating the danger of what might happen to our humanity in the present half-century, and distinguishing between what we want to keep and what we are ready to lose, between what we can welcome as legitimate human development and what we should reject with our last ounce of strength as dehumanization. I cannot think that choices of this kind are unimportant.
(1803-1882) Philosopher, lecturer, essayist and poet
To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.
To the body and mind which have been cramped by noxious work or company, nature is medicinal and restores their tone. The tradesman, the attorney comes out of the din and craft of the street, and sees the sky and wood, and is a man again. In their eternal calm, he finds himself. The health of the eye seems to demand a horizon. We are never tired, so long as we can see far enough. (“Nature”)
To be great is to be misunderstood.
Peace cannot be achieved through violence; it can only be attained through understanding.
Ralph Waldo Emerson Biography Quotes
My mind to me is a kingdom.
Strike while the iron is hot.
Half the world does not know how the other half lives.
He that is warm thinks all are so.
Undertake no more than you can perform.
Do not climb the hill until you get to it.
The measure of our own sacrifice is the measure of our love.
He gains a good deal who loses a vain hope.
Better to be safe than sorry.
Actions speak louder than words.
A good example is the best sermon.
A change is as good as a rest.
If he deceives me once, shame on him; if he deceives me twice, shame on me.
In a calm sea, every man is a pilot.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
A stitch in time saves nine.
Do not triumph before the victory.
You never miss the water till the well runs dry.
A chain is no stronger than its weakest link.
Cursing the weather is never good farming.
(55-135) Stoic philosopher
No man is free who is not master of himself.
(1469-1536) Priest and reformer
It is the chiefest point of happiness that a man is willing to be what he is.
We are so vain that we even care for the opinion of those we don’t care for.
The work will teach you how to do it.
A close friend can become a close enemy.
When the hyena is gone, the dog barks.
The fool is thirsty in the midst of water.
The same man cannot be well skilled in everything. Each has his own special excellence.
When great the theme, ‘tis easy to excel.
Now there are some people out there that ain’t nothing but animals. And they make you fight them to survive. And if you don’t fight them, they just keep picking at you and picking at you until you ain’t got nothing left.
Life is like this: sometimes sun, sometimes rain.
A bark leaves no marks if you don’t let the dog bite.
Being in love is like feeling the sun from both sides.
(1868-1969), Protestant preacher, author
The resolute grappling of a man with his own life is one of the most searching tests of character, for most people are willing to grapple with anything else under heaven, from international problems to spiritualism, rather than to face squarely their individual responsibility for their own lives. (12 Tests of Character, p. 90)
(1706-1790) American statesman, writer, printer, and scientist
Would you persuade, speak of Interest, not of Reason.
Games lubricate the body and the mind.
The happiness of the human race in this world does not consist in our being devoid of passions, but in our learning to command them.
When you rely too much on reason, you end up not relying enough on feeling.
Money is a good servant but a bad master.
Vanity has no greater foe than vanity.
Promising and performing are two things.
He is past preaching who does not care to do well.
Better be envied than pitied.
Life is half spent before one knows what life is.
A hundred years of idleness are not worth one hour well employed.
A true gentleman will respect a woman even in her weakness.
Women will believe any lie that is wrapped in praise.
Do not find fault with what you do not understand.
Courtesy that is all on one side cannot last long.
Do not rely on the label of the bag.
Some think they are done when they are only beginning.
No one will get a bargain he does not ask for.
Friends are lost by calling too often and by not calling often enough.
One dog’s piss will not pollute the ocean.
I have so much to do, that I am going to bed.
You cannot be very smart if you have never done anything foolish.
A rich man has more relatives than he knows about.
A good meal should begin with hunger.
Vive la difference.
Comparison is not proof.
Tough times don’t last, but tough people do.
Late is worth more than never
Paris was not built/made in a day.
To want to forget something is to remember it.
There's no such thing as an insignificant enemy.
The meaning is best known to the speaker.
The common property donkey is the worst saddled.
Remember that everyone you ever meet is sure to fear something, to love something, and to have lost something.
Do not talk about a rope in the house of someone whose father was hung.
psychologist
Don’t count on others to hand your life to you. (On a Clear Day You Can See Yourself, p. 23)
No matter what you do in life, someone important to you isn’t going to like it. (38)
Some people are not capable of giving you what you’re trying to get from them. (38)
(1895-1983) poet, philosopher, inventor, and architect
Don’t fight forces; use them.
I am convinced all of humanity is born with more gifts than we know. Most are born geniuses and just get de-geniused rapidly.
Now there is one outstanding important fact regarding spaceship earth, and that is that no instruction book came with it.
(1914-1999) TV personality who created and hosted the show Candid Camera
… [Children are] so original, so independent. They’re everything you wish adults were. But adults are consistently herd-minded, conformant, subject to group pressure. They’re moving in the wrong direction. They’re moving away from the individual toward the herd.
Life is a risk.
Bad friends will prevent you from having good friends.
In any great organization it is far, far safer to be wrong with the majority than to be right alone.
The possession of great powers no doubt carries with it a contempt for mere external show.
(1883-1955) Influential philosopher who focused on the individual perspective
Tell me what you pay attention to and I will tell you who you are.
You have to be careful, if you’re good at something, to make sure you don’t think you’re good at other things that you aren’t necessarily so good at.
I was part of that strange race of people aptly described as spending their lives doing things they detest to make money they don’t want to buy things they don’t need to impress people they dislike.
Whomever I love is the most beautiful.
No person can like all, or be liked by all.
Confidence begets confidence.
An enemy that is surprised is already half-defeated.
To change and to change for the better are two different things.
What good is it to run when you’re on the wrong road?
It’s hard to scare someone who thinks he will benefit from dying.
“It has not” doesn’t mean “it will not.”
Great pains cause us to forget the small ones.
Your friend’s enemy might be your best friend.
If you wish to be valued, make yourself scarce.
A fence between makes love more keen.
There are plenty of preachers who don’t hear themselves.
When the thief is seen [stealing], he says he is joking; but when the thief is not seen, he steals.
No lie so gross that it does not find believers.
A good lie finds more believers than a bad truth.
An old lie is often more popular than a new truth.
Truth that is poorly timed is as bad as a lie.
Who does right is born of God.
Who is healthy and free is rich.
Repentance does not bring the lost back.
Lost time never returns.
When there is no love, all faults are seen.
Long is not forever.
Work is good, as long as you don’t forget to live.
Painted flowers have no scent.
Guard your mouth as well as you guard your chest.
Loving and singing are two things that should not be forced.
You just can't make everyone happy. It is a law. But if you try, and go a little bit out of your way, you could make someone smile. It is a law.
You must never try to make all the money that’s in a deal. Let the other fellow make some money too, because if you have a reputation for always making all the money, you won’t have many deals.
(1892-1976) oil tycoon, investor, and philanthropist
I would rather earn 1% off a 100 people’s efforts than 100% of my own efforts.
The meek shall inherit the earth, but not the mineral rights.
In times of rapid change, experience can sometimes be your worst enemy.
The tongue kills a man and the tongue saves a man. (Ashanti)
Only a fool tests the water’s depth with both feet.
One lie spoils a thousand truths.
(1058-1128) Sufi philosopher
…The distinctive aspect of mysticism is something that cannot be understood by study, but only by dhawq [tasting / immediate experience]… There is a big difference between knowing the meaning and the causes of health and satiety, and being healthy and satisfied.
Speaker and author of books such as Moneylove (1978) and Psychological Immortality (1981)
You will recognize your own path when you come upon it, because you will suddenly have all the energy and imagination you will ever need.
He benefits himself, that doth Good to others. (1813)
Man had perish’d long ago, had it not been for publick spirited Persons. (3331)
He will never get to Heaven, that desires to go thither alone. (2411)
Friendships multiply Joys, and divide Griefs. (1622)
A good Friend is my nearest Relation. (151)
He who imparts Wisdom to another, purifies and exalts his own Mind. (2389)
He teacheth ill, that teacheth all. (2035)
He that will not be saved, needs no Sermon. (2351)
Every one thinks himself able to advise another. (1452)
He hath a good Judgment, that relieth not wholly on his own. (1882)
He that walketh with the Virtuous, is one of them. (2340)
He hath no mean Portion of Virtue, that loveth it in another. (1894)
Friendship and Company are a bad excuse for ill Actions. (1615)
A Danger foreseen is half avoided. [English Proverb] (67)
A fair Booty makes many a Thief. (86)
A Friend, that you buy with Presents, will be bought from you. (121)
A gallant Man rather despises Death than hates Life. (125)
A Gift, with a kind Countenance, is a double Present. (131)
A good Life is the only Religion. (158)
A Man may be happy here and hereafter, without much Fame or Wealth. (290)
A Man may have a just Esteem of himself, without being proud. (297)
A Pot that belongs to many, is ill stirr’d and worse boil’d. (360)
A Stumble may prevent a Fall. (424)
As Virtue is its own Reward, so Vice is its own Punishment. (743)
Adversity oftentimes leads to Prosperity. (765)
Against the Wild-fire of the Mob there’s no Defence. (776)
Anger is short-liv’d in a good Man. (796)
Any thing for a quiet Life. (805)
Argument seldom convinces any one contrary to his Inclinations. (812)
Art helps Nature, and Experience Art. (814)
At the end of the Work, you may judge of the Workman. (827)
Bad Excuses are worse than none. (833)
Better go back, than lose your self. (897)
Best dealing with an Enemy, when you take him at his weakest. (970)
Bitter Pills may have wholesome Effects. (985)
Comparison, more than Reality, makes Men happy or wretched. (1133)
Correction should not respect so much what is past, as what is to come. (1165)
Dangers are overcome with Dangers. (1232)
Desire of Glory is the last Garment, that even wise Men put off. (1270)
Do all you can to be good, and you’ll be so. (1301)
Do as most do, and Men will speak well of thee. (1303) [Variation: Do as others do, and few will mock you.]
Even doubtful Accusations leave a Stain behind them. (1395)
Every Fool can find Faults, that a great many wise Men can’t remedy. (1416)
Every Man hath his weak Side. (1427)
Every Man living hath something to do. (1432)
Every one’s Faults are not written in their Foreheads. (1449)
Every thing hath its Time, and that Time must be watch’d. (1466)
Excess of Obligation may lose a Friend. (1477) [Latin Proverb]
Fear can keep a Man out of Danger, but Courage only can support him in it. (1511)
Few dare write the true News of their Chamber. (1524)
Flattery fits in the Parlour, when plain Dealing is kick’d out of Doors. (1552)
Good Actions are the best Sacrifice we can offer to God. (1697)
Good deeds remain; all things else perish. (1710)
He doth much, that doth a thing well. (1839)
He invites future Injuries, who rewards past ones. (1905)
He is a very ill Man, who retaineth not a Secret Reverence for a good Man. (1910)
He is not a virtuous Man, that loveth it not even in an Enemy. (1930)
He is no wise Man, that cannot play the Fool upon Occasion. (1929) *
He leaps into a deep River, to avoid a shallow Brook. (1963)
He shall have enough to do, who studies to please Fools. (2019) *
How can you think your self the wiser, for pleasing Fools? (2555)
He that falls to-day, may be up again to-morrow. (2097)
He that follows Nature, is never out of his Way. (2108)
He that has no Shame, has no Conscience. (2148)
He that has most Time, has none to lose. (2141)
He that hath Time, and looketh for a better Time, loseth Time. (2163)
He that listens after what People say of him, shall never have Peace. (2218)
He that lives a Knave, will hardly die an honest Man. (2219)
He that lives on Hope, has but a slender Diet. (2222)
He that resisteth his own evil Inclinations, obeys God. (2266)
He that speaks ill of his Wife, dishonoureth himself. (2309)
He that stays in the Valley, shall never get over the Hill. (2314)
He that will conquer, must fight. (2346)
He that will not sail till all Dangers are over, must never put to Sea. (2353)
He that would right understand a Man, must read his whole story. (2369)
He’s not ungrateful, that cannot; but he that will not repay. (2468)
Heaven is a cheap Purchase, whatever it cost. (2481)
Hell is full of good Meanings and Wishes; but Heaven is full of good Works. (2487)
Honest Men are justified by the Light. (2526)
How happy is he, that owes nothing but to himself! (2557)
How many things hath he to repent of, that lives long! (2559)
Hunger finds no Fault with the Cookery. (2566)
Husband, don’t believe what you see, but what I tell you. (2577)
I will be thy Friend, but not thy Vice’s Friend. (2632)
If the Counsel be good, no Matter who gave it. (2704)
If we are bound to forgive an Enemy, we are not bound to trust him. (2728)
If we be Enemies to our selves, whither shall we fly? (2729)
If you be a Jester, keep your Wit till you have use for it. (2736)
If we did not flatter our selves, no Body else could. (2730)
If you be not Content, put your hand in your pocket, and please your self (2739)
If you make Money your God, ‘twill plague you like a Devil. (2770)
If you pay not a Servant his Wages, he will pay himself. (2778)
If you sell the Cow, you sell her Milk too. (2786)
If you leap into a Well, Providence is not bound to fetch you out. (2795)
In fair Weather, prepare for foul. (2818)
It is a bad Bargain, where both are Losers. (2839)
It is a base Thing to tread upon a Man, that is down. (2847)
It is a fair degree of Plenty to have what is necessary. (2850)
It is a great Point of Wisdom, to find out one’s own Folly. (2860)
It is a miserable Thing for a wise Man to be under the Government of a Fool. (2869)
Kings have no Power over Souls. (3130)
No Tyrant can take from you your Knowledge and Wisdom. (3635)
It is a most base Thing to betray a Man, because he trusted you. (2870)
It is easier to prevent ill Habits, than to brake them. (2929)
It is in vain to cast your Net, where there is no Fish. (2966)
It is in vain to learn Wisdom, and yet to live foolishly. (2969)
It is in vain to use Words, when Deeds are expected. (2969)
It is lost Labour to sow, where there’s no Soil. (2972)
It is not Humility, but Sordidness, to be regardless of true Honour. (2998)
It is a Sin not to be angry with Sin. (3015)
It is the easiest Thing in the World, for a Man to deceive himself. (3022)
Inconsiderable Excuses are a sort of self-Accusation. (3090)
Justice will not condemn even the Devil himself wrongfully. (3116)
Make not even the Devil blacker than he is. (3320)
Life is half spent, before we know what it is. (3208)
Make the best of a bad Bargain. (3325)
Man begins to die before he is born. (3330)
Many come to bring their Clothes to Church rather than themselves. (3342)
Many get into a Dispute well, that cannot get out well. (3346)
Men are less eager for what they may have, than what they cannot obtain. (3388)
Men are more prone to revenge Injuries, than to requite kindness. (3389)
Men generally look more upon Decency than Virtue. (3393)
Men hate those they have hurt. (3395)
Men work but slowly, that have poor Wages. (3407)
Men’s Actions are not to be judg’d of at first Sight. (3408)
Modesty is not Bashfulness. (3431)
Nature will sometimes lie buried a great while, and yet revive upon occasion of a Temptation. (3509)
Natural Folly is bad enough; but learned Folly is intolerable. (3510)
No Day passeth, without something we wish not. (3558)
No Dish pleases all Palates alike. (3560)
No Happiness without Holiness. (3580)
No Man can always stand his Ground. (3591)
No Vice goes alone. (3637)
None can think so well of others, as most do of themselves. (3648)
None is a Fool always; every one, sometimes. (352)
None is so Wise, but the Fool sometimes overtakes him. (3654)
Oftentimes, to please Fools, wise Men err. (3703)
Old Men think themselves cunning. (3723)
Old Thanks pay not for a new Debt. (3728)
Once in Use, and ever after a Custom. (3733)
One cannot live by selling Goods for Words. (3741)
One cannot take true Aim at Things too high. (3742)
One Danger is seldom overcome without another. (3745)
One may as much miss the Mark, by aiming too high, as too low. (3769)
One may be confuted, and yet not convinc’d. (3771)
One may think, that dares not speak. (3783)
Our pity is often misapplied; for none can tell, what another feels. (3825)
Our whole Life is but a greater and longer Childhood. (3830)
Pain is forgotten, when Grain comes. (3836)
Patience and Pusillanimity are two Things. (3853)
Play may be good, but Folly can never be of any Use. (3883)
Praise not the Ford, till you are safe over. (3920)
Pride goes before; Shame follows after. (3938)
Prosperous Men seldom mend their Faults. (3967) [Anonymous]
Quarrels could not last long, were but Prudence on one Side. (3990)
Rashness is not Valour. (4002)
Religion is the best Armour in the World, but the worst Cloak. (4011)
Remember, thou art but a Man. (4014)
Reputation depends less upon our selves than upon Fortune. (4022)
Search not a Wound too deep, lest thou make a new one. (4084) *
Seek not to reform every one’s Dial by your own Watch. (4088)
Set a Thief to catch a Thief. (4106)
Shallow Wits censure every Thing, that is beyond their Depth. (4116) *
Sickness is felt, but Health not at all. (4160)
Sickness will spoil the Happiness of an Emperor, as well as mine. (4162)
Since you wrong’d me, you never had a good Thought of me. (4176)
Singularity always seems to have a Spice of Arrogancy in it. (4177)
So, now you act like your self; and no Body will trust you. (4199)
Solitude dulls the Thought, too much Company dissipates it. (4208)
Some are Atheists only in fair Weather. (4210)
Some injure all they fear, and hate all they injure. (4215)
Some Men*s No is better receiv’d, than others Yea. (4216)
Sometimes it’s better to give your Apple, than eat it your self. (4225)
Take Time, while Time is; for Time will away. (4313)
Teaching of others, teacheth the Teacher. (4323)
That sick Man is not to be pitied, who hath his Cure in his Sleeve. (4371)
The Envious hurts others something, but him self very much. (4500)
The first Faults are theirs that commit them; the second theirs that permit them. (4528)
The first Step to Virtue, is to love Virtue in another Man. (4532)
The greatest Barkers are not the greatest Biters. (4567) *
The greatest Business of Life is to prepare for Death. (4568)
The guilty Man fears the Law; the innocent Man, Fortune. (4584)
The maintaining of one Vice, costeth more than ten Virtues. (4645)
The Nature of Things will not be alter’d by our Fancies of them. (4682)
The only Way to know and to serve God, is to be like him. (4695)
The Race is got by running. (4728)
The Thief is sorry he is to be hanged, but not that he is a Thief. (4788)
The true Gentleman is God’s Servant, the World’s Master, and his own Man. (4805)
The two principal Things, are Wisdom and Health. (4806)
The unfortunate are counted Fools. (4811)
The usefullest Truths are the plainest. (4813)
The Vulgar will keep no Account of your Hits, but of your Misses. (4816)
The Way to be safe, is never to be secure. (4820)
The Way to live much, is to begin to live well betimes. (4821)
There are more Lords in the World, than fine Gentlemen. (4856)
There is a critical Minute for all Things. (4873)
There is a sort of Pleasure in indulging of Grief. (4883)
There is more Pleasure in loving, than in being belov’d. (4900)
There is no Piety in keeping an unjust Promise. (4915) [Anonymous]
There is no Reputation so clear, but a Slanderer may stain it. (4920)
There is no usual Rule without an Exception. (4925) *
There is some Virtue or other to be excercis’d, whatever happens. (4938)
They love dancing well, that dance barefoot upon Thorns. (4966)
They must hunger in Winter, that will not work in Summer. (4968)
They seldom live well, who think they shall live long. (4971)
They, who cannot do as they would, must do as they can. (4988)
Things not understood, are admir’d. (4992)
This, or any Moment may be your last. (5000)
Till Death all is Life. (5045)
‘Tis harder to unlearn than learn. (5085)
‘Tis in vain to speak Reason, where ‘twill not be heard. (5088) [Anonymous]
‘Tis not Liberty to live licentiously. (5098)
‘Tis not Prating but Working, that brings in the Harvest. (5100)
‘Tis the Men, not the Houses, that make the City. (5121)
‘Tis the Place, that shews the Man. (5122)
To blush at Vice shews the World, you are asham’d of it. (5140)
Too much Familiarity breeds Contempt. (5263)
Truth may sometimes come out of the Devil’s Mouth. (5308)
Truth needs not many Words; but a false Tale, a large Preamble. (5309)
Virtue is more persecuted by the Wicked, than encouraged by the Good. (5375)
We are born crying, live complaining, and die disappointed. (5417)
Those that worship God merely for Fear,
Would worship the Devil too, if he appear. (6419)
(1608-1661) speaker and well-known writer
Take this as a most certain expedient to prevent many afflictions, and to be delivered from them: meddle as little with the world, and the honors, places and advantages of them, as thou canst. And extricate thyself from them as much, and as quickly as possible. (Introductio ad Prudentiam)
Man is a being of a rational and an irrational nature.
(1749-1832) novelist, poet, theologist, philosopher, and scientist
If you want to get pleasure out of life, you must attach value to the world.
If we had to depend for our life upon the favor of others, we should never have lived at all; from their desire to appear important themselves, people gladly ignore our very existence. (Schopenhauer paraphrase)
The wisest word it is mocked, if the listener is an inclined/dull ear.
The man who is born with a talent which he is meant to use, finds his greatest happiness in using it. *
I respect the man who knows distinctly what he wants.
Secrecy has many advantages. When you tell someone the purpose of any object right away, they often think there is nothing to it.
One can be very happy without demanding that others agree with him.
All theory, my friend, is grey. But green is life's golden tree.
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe Biography and Quotes
(1853-1890) eccentric artist
Like everyone else I feel the need of relations and friendship, of affection, of friendly intercourse, and I am not made of stone or iron, so I cannot miss these things without feeling, as does any other intelligent man, a void and deep need. I tell you this to let you know how much good your visit has done me.
I am seeking, I am striving, I am in with all my heart.
I have been a citizen of two worlds, nourished from the great traditions of Western culture in my early youth, and sustained by the ancient and sacred traditions of the East, where I spent the greater part of my life. It is hoped that this book will be a bridge between these two worlds, not as a manual or a mere source of information, but an incentive for others to cross the bridge in both directions.
Keep matters for a time in suspense. Admiration at their novelty heightens the value of your achievements. It is both useless and insipid to play with your cards on the table. … A resolution declared is never highly thought of—it only leaves room for criticism. And if it happens to fail, you are doubly unfortunate. Besides, you imitate the divine way when you inspire people to wonder and watch. (3)
Do not explain too much. Most people do not esteem what they understand and venerate what they do not see. To be valued things should cost dear; what is not understood becomes overrated. You have to appear wiser and more prudent than is required by the people you are dealing with if you want to give a high opinion of yourself. Yet in this there should be moderation and no excess. (253) *
Do not condemn alone that which pleases all. There must be something good in a thing that pleases so many—even if it cannot be explained it is certainly enjoyed. Peculiarity is always hated and, when in the wrong, laughed at. (270)
Nothing depreciates a person more than to show he is just like anyone else. The day he is seen to be all too human he ceases to be thought divine. (289)
Do not waste influence. The great as friends are for great occasions. One should not make use of great confidence for little things, for that wastes a favor. The emergency anchor should be reserved for the last resort. (171)
Things pass for what they seem, not for what they are. Few see inside, many get attached to appearances. It is not enough to be right if your actions look false and ill. (99)
One half of the world laughs at the other, and fools are they all. Everything is good or everything is bad according to who you ask. What one pursues another persecutes. … We need not lose heart if something does not please someone, for others will appreciate I; nor need their applause turn our head, for there will surely be others to condemn it. (101)
What is flattery to one is offense to another, and in attempting to be useful you may become insulting. It often costs more to displease someone than it would have cost to please him—you thereby lose both gift and thanks because you have lost the compass that steers for pleasure. (233)
Know how to appreciate. There is no one who cannot teach somebody something, and there is no one so excellent that he cannot be excelled. To know how to make use of everyone is useful knowledge. Wise men appreciate everyone, for they see the good in each and know how hard it is to make anything good. (195)
Do not be the slave of first impressions. Some marry the very first account they hear, all others must live with them as concubines. (227)
Do not go with the latest speaker. There are people who go by the latest thing they have heard and thereby go to irrational extremes. (248)
Know what is lacking in yourself. Many would have been great people if they had not had something wanting, without which they could not rise to the height of perfection. It is remarkable that some people could be much better if they could be just a little better in something. They do not perhaps take themselves seriously enough to do justice to their great abilities. (238)
Do not become bad from sheer goodness—that is, by never getting angry. Such people without feeling are scarcely to be considered human. It does not always arise from laziness, but from sheer inability. To feel strongly on occasion shows personality; birds soon mock at the scarecrow. It is a sign of good taste to combine bitter and sweet. All sweets is diet for children and fools. It is a great evil to sink into such insensibility out of too great goodness. (266)
Never die of another’s bad luck. Notice those who stick in the mud, and observe how they call others to their aid so as to console themselves with a companion in misfortune. They seek someone to help them to bear misfortune, and often those who turned the cold shoulder on them in prosperity now give them a helping hand. There is great caution needed in helping the drowning without endangering oneself. (285)
Baltasar Gracian Biography and Quotes
Every story can be told in different ways.
Many pupils have gained more wealth than their masters.
Many know how to flatter; few know how to praise.
It is a great mistake to make absolute, categorical, “by the card” pronouncements concerning the things of this world. Almost all of them have some exceptional qualities and distinctions due to differences in their circumstances, making it impossible to refer everything to the same standard. Such exceptional qualities and distinctions cannot be found in books, but must be taught by discretion. (6)
It is very misleading to judge through examples—for unless they are identical in every way, their use is limited, considering how even small variations in circumstances can give rise to widest differences in effects. And discerning these minute variations requires a good and clear eye. (117)
Whatever has occurred in the past or is occurring in the present will repeat itself in the future. However, the names and surfaces of things will have changed, and unless we have a discerning eye, we will not recognize them and act or judge accordingly. (76)
…Faith breeds obstinacy—for faith is no more than believing firmly and almost with certainty things that are not in themselves reasonable; or if reasonable, believing them more unreservedly than reason warrants.
Therefore, he who has faith becomes stubborn in his belief, and goes on his way resolute and intrepid, disregarding difficulties and dangers, and ready to suffer every extremity.
And so it happens that, as the things of this world are subject to infinite changes and chances, unlooked for help may come in many ways over time to one who has obstinately persevered. And when this perseverance is the result of faith, it may well be said that faith can accomplish great things.
We currently have a great example of such stubbornness of the Florentines—a group who, contrary to all human reason, prepared themselves to await the joint attack of Pope and Emperor, with no hope of receiving help for anyone else, with disunity among themselves, and with difficulties facing them on every side. For seven months, they have managed to fight off the assaults of armies, even though it seemed impossible for them to do so even for seven days.
In fact, they have brought things to such a point that if they were to win now, no one would be surprised, whereas earlier, everyone assumed they would lose.
And this stubbornness of theirs is mainly due to the belief that—as Friar Girolamo of Ferrara told them in his sermons—they cannot be destroyed. (1)
It is a mistake to believe that success of an enterprise depends on whether or not it is just—for every day we have proof that indicates the contrary, and shows that victory is not brought by the justice of a cause, but rather, by prudence, strength, and good fortune.
However, it is undoubtedly true that having right on one’s side can beget a firm confidence founded on the belief that God favors righteous causes. And this will make a person bold and stubborn—and such boldness and stubbornness will sometimes brings victories. (147)
If princes, when all goes well with them, make little account of their servants, and slight them or set them aside for the most minor of reasons/caprice/profit, how can they be displeased or complain if their servants—so long as they do not fail in any duty of fidelity or honor—leave them and accept other more profitable employment? (4)
…Keep your eye fixed not so much on what they [people] ought in reason to do, as on what they would be expected/likely to do based on their disposition and habits. (151)
If people were as discreet or grateful as they ought to be, then a master would have benefit his servants whenever he could on any occasion that offered him to do so.
But experience shows—and I have personally found this to be the case with my own servants—that as soon as they are fulfilled, or as soon as the master can;t continue providing the benefits he did at first, they will be quick to abandon him.
Thus, the master who looks after his own interests shouldn't be too generous, and incline more to frugality than liberality, working on his servants by exciting their hopes rather than by satisfying them.
But in order for this to work, he must be lavishly bountiful to one of them every once in a while. This will be enough—for people by nature are moved more by hope than by fear, and are more exited and encouraged by the example of one person they see abundantly rewarded, than they are discouraged by the sight of many who have not been well treated. (5)
Even though many people prove to be ungrateful, don;t let that stop you from benefitting others—for not only is beneficence in itself a noble and almost divine quality, it may also happen that while you practice it, you will encounter someone so grateful that he will make up for all the others’ ingratitude. (11)
There is nothing people are less likely to remember than the benefits they've received. And thus, we should depend more on people who have no option of failing us, than on those who we have benefited. For oftentimes, the latter will either forget the benefit rendered to them, or think of them as less significant than they really were, or believe they had a right to receive them. (24)
If you wronged someone, never be tricked into thinking you have a good reason for trusting or confiding in him again—even when he has something to gain in the way of honor or profit should he come through. After all, due to certain people’s nature, their memory of a wrong can be so dominant that it will make them willing to harm themselves for revenge’s sake—either because they value this satisfaction more, or because their passion blinds them from recognizing what would really be in their best interests. (150)
Be careful of pleasing one person if it must cause equal displeasure in another—for the person who becomes slighted will be sure to remember, and will exagerate the severity of the offence since it benefits someone else; whereas the person who receives the pleasure will either forget it, or will consider the favor to be less than it was. And thus, assuming other conditions equal, you lose in this way far more than you gain. (25)
Beyond all others, let a prince beware of those whose nature it is never to be satisfied—for no load of benefits he may heap upon them will ever secure him against them. (130)
It is indeed great to have authority. If rightly used, it will make you feared even beyond your actual resources. Your subjects, not knowing how far your authority reaches, will usually choose to give way to you almost at once, rather than test if you can do what you threaten. (40)
Those governors I commend who, while they inflict few severities or punishments, yet know how to acquire and preserve a name for strictness. (341)
The discontented person will not lightly expose himself to danger, no matter how much he may want to harm you. Instead, he will await opportunities that might not ever never come. The desperate person, on the other hand, will seek out such opportunities, and plunge headlong into all kinds of revolutionary hopes and schemes. Thus, you seldom have much to fear from the discontented, but always must be on your guard against the desperate. (131)
When people see you in a position where you have no choice but to do what they want, they will hold you cheap and make little account of you. After all, people generally are influenced more by their interest or the indulgence of their spite than by what is right, what you deserve, what they owe you, or the thought that you have been brought low because of them or to help them in their distress.
Thus, you should flee this humiliation as you would flee fire.
Many people who are now exiled would have avoided such a fate if they had taken this counsel to mind—for, though a person will not be helped much by the fact that he was driven out due to his fidelity to a certain prince, he will certainly be harmed much by the fact that the prince, seeing him an outlaw, will think, “This man can do nothing,” and will thereby treat him however he wants and without much consideration. (196)
Do what you may, but you cannot prevent your subordinates stealing. Consider my own case: though I have gone far in being caring and setting a good example, I have never been able to put a stop to the dishonesty of the governors and other officers I have had under me. (204)
How true is that ancient saying “Place reveals the man”! Nothing so clearly reveals a person’s qualities as to give him place and power. How many are there who speak well, yet do not know how to do! And how many are there in the streets and marketplaces who seem to be capable people, but turn out to be shadows when employed! (163)
That “place show man” was a saying much applauded by the ancients, not only because place makes it plain whether someone’s capacity is great or small, but also because power and freedom from restraint more fully displays the bent of his mind and demonstrates what his true character is. For the higher the station someone fills, the less check or hindrance has he in indulging his natural temper. (253)
In conducting my various government positions, I have noticed that when I desired to bring about a reconciliation, civil accord, etc., it was advantageous, before moving in myself, to allow both sides to discuss and debate over them at great length. In the end, out of weariness, they would both join in begging me to adjust their differences; and when appealed to like this, I could accomplish—with credit, and without impeachment of obtrusiveness—something that I would have attempted in vain at first. (43)
We should place far more store on the real and substantial than on the ceremonial.
And yet it is unbelievable just how greatly courteous manners and pleasing words influence everyone. And this because all people believe they deserve to be greatly esteemed, and thus will feel hurt if they find you withholding the deference they are sure is their due. (6)
When ambassador in Spain, I observed that whenever the Catholic King, Don Ferdinand of Aragon, a most prudent and powerful prince, wanted to engage in any new enterprise, he would go about it in such a way so that even before his intention was made public, the whole court and people would be crying out and urging him that he ought to do that thing. (77)
Here is a good way to get support for some scheme of your own contriving from one who might otherwise oppose it: commit its conduct to him, and make him, as it were, sponsor for its adoption and success. Light men especially are often won over by this device, for many of them are so tickled by vanity as to prefer the like of empty honors to the solid advantages that it should be their object to seek. (200)
If you want people’s goodwill, take heed that, when a request is asked of you, you do not refuse it point-blank, but instead answer by generalities. For it may chance that he who makes the request shall not afterwards stand in need of your help, or that circumstances shall arise which will afford you abundant excuse for withholding it. Moreover, many people are so foolish and vulnerable to being fooled with words, that often, even without doing what you have no mind or power to do, you may contrive by a smooth answer to leave a person contented; whereas, had you denied that person, he would have been displeased with you whatever turn events had taken. (36)
It is honest and manly to never promise what you do not intend to do. However, people are unreasonable--and thus, even if you have a valid reason to deny someone, he will be dissatisfied. … Therefore, seek to amuse with answers of general encouragement, and as far as possible, avoid committing yourself by positive engagements. (309)
As long as it brings you no loss or discredit, it is a wise course, though little followed, to hide the displeasure that you feel against others. After all, you might have to make use of such people in the future--something that will be difficult to do if if they consider you an enemy. I have frequently had to seek assistance from people I hate--and they, believing the opposite, or at least not knowing about my dislike, have served me with the utmost alacrity. (133)
In your talk, be careful not to needlessly say what, if repeated to others, might offend them. For often at unlooked-for times and in unforeseen ways, saying such things can cause much harm to you. Be very careful, I tell you, for many people—even prudent ones—are guilty of this error, and it is difficult to refrain from it. But if the difficulty is great, so much greater is the gain to him who knows to overcome it. (7)
Should necessity or anger move you to speak sharply to anyone, at least be careful to say what will offend him only. For instance, if you want to taunt someone, don't vilify his country, family, or kinsfolk. It is a great folly to incur the resentment of many, when your purpose is to only vex one person. (8) More
Do not let the fear of making enemies or of causing displeasure to others keep you from doing what you ought to do. Doing one’s duty brings a person reputation, and this will help him far more than the making of a few enemies will hurt him. In this world we must either be dead outright, or must sometimes do things that give offence.
But the same tact that guides us in bestowing pleasure is also shown in knowing when and how to do what displeases—that is, these things must be done on just occasion, at fit season, with modesty, for honorable causes, and in creditable ways. (217)
At every turn, you can see the advantages you draw from having a good name and reputation. Firthermore, these advantages are almost nothing compared to those that are unseen, and that, led by the good opinion that prevails concerning you, come on their own, without your knowing why. (158)
Since there is nothing so well worth having as friends, never lose a chance to make them—for people are brought into constant contact with one another, and friends help and foes hinder at times and in places where you least expect it. (14)
From friends and kinsmen, you draw advantages that neither you nor they are aware of—advantages far in excess of those recognized as coming from them. After all, occasions when you need their help are rare in comparison with the day-to-day benefits of knowing you can have their support when you will. (87)
Like others, I have sought honors and preferment. Moreover, I have often obtained them beyond my wishes or hopes. But they've always been less satisfying than I epxected. And this, if we well consider it, is a strong reason why we should disencumber ourselves from vain desires. (15)
Greatness and honors are universally sought, because whatever is good or fair in them lies on the surface and is seen when they are looked at superficially, whereas the anxiety, weariness, fatigues, and risks that attend them are unseen and hidden. But if their inherent evils were as apparent as the good, we really would have no motive to desire them, other than this: the more a person is feared, reverenced, and honored, the more he seems to approach and resemble God. And who would not wish to obtain such a likeness? (16)
Be skeptical of those who tell you they chose to give up their position and powe, due to their love of quiet. In almost every case, they have ultimately been forced into to their position of retirement—and experience shows us that as soon as the narrowest opening offers a return to their former mode of life, nearly all of them forsake their “much prized” tranquility, and throw themselves into the opportunity as eagerly as fire rushes upon dry or resinous fuel. (17)
Ambition itself is not evil; nor should he be condemned whose spirit prompts him to seek fame by worthy and honorable ways. In fact, people like this achieve the noble and loft, whereas those untouched by the passion for fame are generally frigid souls that are more disposed for ease than effort.
But hateful and pernicious is the ambition that makes self-aggrandizement its sole end and aim, as we find in most princes, who, having this as their goal, and wanting to clear the path that leads to it, will put aside conscience, honor, humanity, and all else that is good. (32)
Pursuits that are not pushed forward by this fiery spur [fame] are lifeless and empty. (118)
…Even if there are many proofs and almost a certainty indicating the very opposite, a confident assertion or denial will often to some extent perplex and puzzle your listeners’ minds. (37)
People who are involved in important matters and seeking to rise in the world should conceal their failures and magnify their successes. Though this is a type of charlatanism abhorrent to my nature, nowadays worldly advancement depends more on people’s opinions than reality, and it is beneficial to create the impression that things are going well, but harmful for the contrary to be believed. (86)
If you want to conceal or misrepresent one of your intentions, try to show others—with the strongest and gravest reasons possible—that you intend the opposite. When people think you are convinced that reason favors a particular course, they will readily persuade themselves that you will base your decisions on what reason dictates. (199)
Open sincerity is universally exalted and praised, whereas deception is detested and condemned. But for an individual, deception is usually more useful, while sincerity tends to advance the interests of others.
However, since deception is without a doubt not a good thing, I would commend someone who is usually open and sincere, and only resorts to deception in certain rare and important matters.
Furthermore, in this way, he will gain a reputation for honesty and sincerity as well as the accompanying advantages of such a reputation; and when he does resort to deception in those matters of extreme emergency, he will benefit even more from it, being that is reputation for honesty will make other believe him more easily. (104)
Even after someone has obtained a reputation for feigning and dissembling, we often find that his frauds sometimes succeed. (105)
A prince or anyone else who is employed in state affairs should not only conceal what is undesirable to have known, but he and his ministers should also be in the habit of being silent about anything at all that he would not have made public—including even very minor and insignificant matters. If your subjects and those about you are thus kept in the dark as to your intentions, and abide in suspense and wonder, they will watch even your slightest movements and gestures. (88)
Though you have much to gain by conducting your affairs secretly, you have even more to gain by contriving not to appear secretive to your friends. After all, most people feel slighted and offended when they see you unwilling to impart your affairs to them.
It is not desirable to gain a reputation for being suspicious and distrustful. And yet, people are so false and crafty, resort to so many deep and ambiguous devices, and are so selfish and uncaring, that we can hardly err in believing little and distrusting much. (157)
Though I wouldn’t go so far as to suggest that people should avoid ordinary conversation or talking together in pleasant and kindly amity, I will say that it is prudent to speak of your own affairs only when absolutely necessary, and when speaking them, to limit them to what is necessary for the present conversation or purpose, keeping as much to yourself as possible.
It is more pleasant to do otherwise, but more useful to do this. (184)
I am slow to believe news that in itself seems likely, unless it comes from a reliable source. After all, it is easy to fake what people are already prepared to accept, whereas things in themselves improbable and unlooked for are seldom invented. And since this is the case, I am also less apt to discredit unlikely news. (89)
It would by all means be desirable to do things or cause things to be done exactly as they ought to be, and so that they should be flawless down to the smallest detail. But this is very difficult to do, and it is a mistake to spend much time in over-refining—for other opportunities will often escape us while working to attain this perfection. And even when we think we have succeeded in our efforts, we will later come to see that we have been deceived—for due to the nature of things in this world, it's almost impossible to find something that has no imperfection or blemish whatsoever. Thus, we must be content to take things as they are, and to consider the least evil as good. (126)
In all decisions and actions that we can make, there will be reasons that support the contrary—for nothing is perfect enough to be entirely free of blemishes. Nothing is so bad that it does not contain some good, and nothing is so good that is does not contain some bad. And thus it happens that many people, being perplexed by every trifling difficulty, rest always in suspense. These are the persons we speak of as over-scrupulous, because they entertain doubts about everything.
Rather than being this way, we should, after balancing the disadvantages on both sides, accept those that weigh the least, remembering that no course we can take will be clear and perfect in each and every way. (213)
Though we must be cautious in our undertakings, we are not therefore to conjure up so many difficulties in respect of them as shall make us stop short from thinking success hopeless. On the contrary, we are to reflect that greater facilities may disclose themselves in the execution of our designs, and that as we proceed, obstacles may disappear of themselves. (194)
Small and almost imperceptible beginnings are often the cause of great disasters or successes—and thus, maximum prudence lies in noting and weighing well all circumstances, even if small. (82)
How often we hear it said, “Had this been done or that left undone, this or the other result would have followed.” And yet, were it possible to test these opinions, we should find them false. (22)
How many acts are blamed when done, which, if we could see what would have followed had they not been done, would have been praised! And likewise, how many things are praised that under like circumstances would have been blamed!
Therefore, do not be hasty in either commending or condemning based on a mere superficial view of things. To form a just and solid judgment, look carefully below what appears to the eye/the apparent surface. (215)
Though I am naturally firm and settled in my resolutions, I often experience some sort of regret after making an important decision. And not because I believe I'd choose differently were to choose again. Rather, it's because before I chose, I had the difficulties of each choice better in view; whereas after my resolution is formed, I no longer fear the difficulties of the options I didn't take, and I only consider those that I still have to deal with, which, looked at alone, seem far greater than they would have appeared if contrasted with the others.
In order to free myself from this torment, I have to carefully recall in my mind those other difficulties I had previously set aside. (156)
Princes have an infinite number of secrets, and an endless number of matters to take into account. Thus, it is mere rashness to hastily judge their actions—for often it happens that what you suppose a prince to have done for one reason, he has in fact been done for another; and what seems to you done at random and imprudently, has been done designedly and with consummate wisdom. (154)
Messer Antonio of Venafra was wont to say, and with justice, that if some six or eight sensible men are brought together to consult, they become that many fools. For, disagreeing among themselves, they rather promote disputes than arrive at conclusions. (112)
Do not work to effect changes that do not remove the grievances under which you suffer, but merely substitute one oppressor for another. Changes of this kind only leave you where you were.
For example, what profits it to have banished John of Poppi from the service of the Medici, if Bernard of S. Miniato, a person of like character and condition, enters in his room? (50)
Future matters are so deceptive and subject to so many accidents that even the wisest of all people regularly make miscalculations. In fact, if we were to track their predictions, particularly those regarding particular events—for in their general conclusions they are less apt to be misled—we would find them as inaccurate as people who are considered less discerning.
Therefore, it's usually unwise to give up a present good in due to apprehension of a future evil, unless the evil is either very certain and near, or far greater in degree than the good. Otherwise, due to a fear that may afterwards turn out to have been groundless, you may lose the good that lay within your grasp. (23)
Never assume anything will happen, no matter how certain it may seem. As long as you can do so without upsetting your plans, keep something in reserve to be used in case the opposite of your expectations occurs. After all, since things often turn out so differently from what was looked for, it is only prudent to act in this way. (81)
In narrating current events, some writers will enter on a discussion of what is likely to happen hereafter.
However, even when such forecasts are made by well-informed people and seem admirable to the reader, they are actually very misleading—for these types of logical conclusions are like chain links: they depend on one another, and if any of them fail, the other deductions will all fall to the ground. Even the smallest variation in the circumstances can be enough to cause an error in the conclusion.
Thus, it is impossible to form a judgment of the course of events that are still remote. Our opinions must be formed and modified from day to day. (114)
I have noticed that when men of great sagacity have to decide on an important matter, they almost always end up distinguishing the various courses it may take, and, after considering two or three probable contingencies, form their final decision on the assumption that one of these will indeed happen.
Be warned that this is a dangerous method to follow—for in almost all cases, some other contingency will turn up that was not taken into account by these deliberations and met by these decisions.
Thus, in forming decisions, it much wiser to assume that the unlikely might happen, and only limit your deliberations when necessary. (182)
Whoever well-considers it will hardly deny that in human affairs, Fortune rules supreme. After all, we constantly find the most momentous result springing from fortuitous causes that were not within human power to either foresee or escape. And although discernment and vigilance may temper many things, they cannot do so un-helped, but always stand in need of favorable Fortune. (30)
As for those who ascribe everything to prudence and capacity, and exclude as much as they can the influence of Fortune, even they must admit that much depends on being born at a time when your virtues or qualities are in demand. …
But of course, if someone could change his nature to suit the circumstances of the times, then he would be so much the less under Fortune’s control. However, this is difficult if not downright impossible to do. (31)
Neither wise men nor fools can in the end escape what has to be. And thus, nothing I have ever read seems to me more true than that saying of Seneca: “Ducunt volentes fata, nolentes trahunt” [Fate leads the willing; drags the unwilling.] (138)
The truest test of someone’s courage is his behavior when overtaken by unforeseen dangers. He who shows a good front to these—as we find very few do—really deserves to be called resolute and intrepid. (70)
Things we do not anticipate move us beyond comparison more than those that are foreseen—and thus, I pronounce it to be a great and resolute spirit that stands undismayed amid sudden dangers and disasters; for this in my judgment is the rarest excellence.
The person who rushes blindly into dangers without discerning their true character—he is merely foolhardy.
The person who recognizes dangers and fears them no more than he should—he is the type of person that ought to be called brave. (95)
Those who govern states must not be daunted by seeming dangers, however great, near, and imminent they look. For, like the proverb says, “The Devil is never so black as he is painted.” Many things may come about that will cause dangers to disappear of themselves. And even of those that do arrive, some un-thought of remedy or alleviation will be found to accompany them. (116)
Anything that is destined to perish by a gradual wasting away rather than sudden violence will end up enduring longer than you might suppose at first sight.
An example of this is hectic patient, who, after his case has been pronounced hopeless, will sometimes linger on not just for days, but even for weeks or months. And likewise, in the city that has had to be reduced by blockade, the unconsumed stores are constantly in excess of what all had reckoned them to be. (34)
Do not attempt any [local] innovation in the hope that the people will second you—for this is a dangerous foundation to build on*. The people will either lack the courage to stand by you, or, as is so often the case, will cherish views that differ greatly from what you imagine.
Consider the case of Brutus and Cassius: after murdering Caesar, not only did they not receive the public support they had counted on*, they even had to flee to another city out of fear of that very public. (121)
Wise economy consists not so much in knowing how to avoid expenses—for these are often unavoidable—as in knowing how to spend to advantage and get extra value for your money. (56)
In wars, those who attempt to spend the least always end up spending the most—for nothing demands a larger or more unstinted/lavish outlay of money than war. The more complete the preparations are, the sooner will the war be over; and since the failure to spend money will prolong the enterprise, it will ultimately cost far more [than not trying to have saved money in the first place].(149)
Too subtle an intellect is a gift that brings torment and unhappiness to its possessor, since it only serves to involve him in scruples and anxieties unknown to people of duller perceptions. (6)
Distrust those who talk loudly of liberty. Nearly all of them—nay, all of them without exception—have their own ends to serve; and we are often shown by experience—which is our surest guide—that these fellows will rapidly rush to an absolute government if they think it will allow them to push their fortunes better. (66)
One who has sound sense can make great use of another who has fine parts; much more so than the other can make of him.
If you observe closely, you will find that not only the manners of people, but also their language and modes of speech, dress, style of building, methods of cultivation, and the like, alter from age to age; but, what is more remarkable, their sense of taste also alters, so that a kind of food that is relished by one generation is often displeasing to the next. (69)
There is nothing in life that should be more desirable or that brings more glory than seeing your enemy prostrate in the dust and at your mercy. And this glory is doubled by he who uses the occasion well—that is, he who shows mercy, and is content with having had the victory. (72)
Revenge does not always spring from hatred or a cruel disposition—it is sometimes necessary, in order to set an example that will teach others they must not harm us.
And likewise, it is not necessarily improper to get revenge without feeling rancor against the person revenged. (74)
If someone takes revenge in such a way that the person who is hurt does not know where the injury comes from, then the act must have been done out of a motive of rancor and hatred. It would be more generous/honest to work openly so that everyone may know who did the act—for then that person will be thought to have acted not so much from hatred and vindictiveness, but more from a motive to clear his honor—or in other words, to be known as the type of person who will not put up with offenses. (202)
What does it matter to me if the person who injures me is acting out of ignorance and not from ill will? In fact, this can make it all the worse—for ill will has definite ends, works by its own rules, and thus does not always inflict the hurt it might; whereas ignorance, having neither rule, nor aim, nor measure, behaves like a madman, and deals its blows in the dark. (168)
Happy/lucky are they to whom the same opportunity offers itself twice. Even a wise person may neglect or misuse it on the first occasion—but to fail to recognize and profit by it the second time is certainly foolish. (80)
If you would be someone employed in [worldly] affairs, never allow such affairs to leave your hold. You will not be able to recover them at your convenience.
But if you continuously retain your hold on them, one will lead to another, even without your using any special diligence or industry to get them. (84)
With a tyrant, it is safer to stand fairly well with him than share his closest intimacy. This way, if you are generally esteemed [in the community], not only will you profit by his greatness—and sometimes more than those people he feels close to—you may also hope to save yourself in the event of his downfall. (100)
To protect yourself against a brutal and bloodthirsty tyrant, no rule or remedy can be prescribed that will avail anything to you, except what is recommended in the case of the plague: Flee as fast and as far as you can. (101)
There is no man so prudent as to not sometimes make mistakes. Good fortune lies in our making fewer than others do, or in matters of lesser importance. (108)
He who would be loved by his superiors should be sure to show them respect and reverence. And if he errs on this point, let it be on the side of excess rather than the opposite—for there is nothing that offends a superior more than the notion that he has not received the attention or consideration he thinks his due.
See the extent people deceive themselves! They regard the sins they do not commit as heinous, and those they do commit as trivial. (122)
During wartime, I have often received news that seemed to indicate our affairs were desperate, but was followed shortly later by other news of a reassuring kind; or sometimes the good news came first and the bad news later.
In fact, these contrary rumors were not uncommon at all—a lesson to a wise captain not to be too easily depressed or elated. (127)
To speak of “the people” is in truth to speak of a beast, mad, mistaken, perplexed, and lacking taste, discernment, or stability. (140)
It is no wonder we are ignorant of what has happened in past ages, or of what is currently happening in distant countries and remote cities. After all, if you note it well, you will see that we lack true knowledge even when it comes to what is presently going on day to day in our own town. In fact, between the palace and the marketplace there often lies so dense a mist or so thick a brick wall that no eye can penetrate it; so that the people know as much of what their rulers are dong, or their reasons for doing it, as they know of what is being done in China. And thus, the world is readily filled with empty and idle beliefs. (141)
All historians—without, as it seems to me, a single exception—are at fault in omitting to relate many things known in their times, due to the fact they considered them matters known by everyone. (143)
The very same things that readily succeed and “accomplish themselves” when undertaken at the proper moment, will, if attempted prematurely, not only fail, but will often become impossible to succeed when their time does come.
Thus, rather than rushing things hastily or precipitating events, we should await their season and maturity. (78)
Unless rightly understood, the proverb that bids the wise man to take advantage of time might be dangerous.
By failing to use an opportunity when it offers itself, it might be lost forever; and for many for many things we must decide and act quickly.
However, when we are surrounded by difficulties and trouble, procrastinating and gaining time can either extricate ourselves from troubles, or at least allow us to understand them better.
By putting this meaning on the proverb, it is wholesome; but interpreted otherwise, it might frequently prove harmful. (79)
He who is in too great haste to bring a war to a conclusion will often prolong it, by failing to await the necessary supplies and the right time for the enterprise.
Such a person makes what might have been easy quite difficult—and for every day he thought he would gain, he often loses a month or more. Plus, his haste often causes many additional disasters. (148)
Both in wars and in many other important matters, I have often seen preparations neglected due to impression that they were too late, and yet it has been seen afterwards that they would have been in time, and that the omission to make them has caused much loss.
This results from the fact that things often move slower than we anticipate them to, and that what we imagine will be over in a month often is still ongoing after a few months.(162)
Though human life is short, rest assured that he will find it long enough who knows to make wise use of his time, and does not unprofitably waste it; for a man’s nature fits him for great efforts, and anyone who is diligent and resolute will get through an incredible amount of work. (145)
Everyone has defects—some more, some fewer. It follows then that no friendship, fellowship/service, or dependent-relation/companionship can endure unless both sides have some tolerance towards each other.
Therefore, we ought to understand one another, and remember that change will never free us from all imperfections, but only introduce us to new and perhaps greater ones.
So we should try to tolerate one another.
However, let us be careful to be compliant only in such matters that can be put up with, and in themselves are not of great importance. (214)
Pray to God that you are always found on the winning side—for in being so, you will be credited even for what you had no part in; whereas he who stands with the losers is baled for an endless number of ___ he is wholly guiltless of. (176)
Trades and industries are at their best when they are not yet generally understood to be profitable. When seen by all to be so, they fall off; because, from many resorting to them, the competition prevents them from being any longer lucrative. In all things, it profits to be up betimes. (178)
In matters of business, take this as a maxim: it is not enough to give things their beginning, direction, or impulse; we must also follow them up and never slacken our efforts until they are brought to a conclusion. Whoever conducts business on this system contributes in no small measure to its settlement; while he who follows a different plan will often assume things to be ended which in truth are hardly begun, and the difficulties whereof are not yet reached; such are the heedlessness, futility, and perversity of men, and such the lets and hindrances that things present in their own nature. (192)
When enemies who usually have been leagued together against you chance to fall out, to attack one of them in the hope to dispose of him separately is often the occasion for all to unite afresh. It behoves you, therefore, to note carefully what the differences that have arisen between them are, together with all the other conditions and circumstances in which they stand, that you may judge whether it is more for your interest to single out one of them for attack, or to stand aloof and look on while they fight it out among themselves. (221)
In my youth, I made light of such superficial accomplishments as dancing, singing, and playing; nay, even of writing a fair hand, knowing how to ride, how to dress becomingly, and all other like arts, which savor more of show than substance.
Since then, however, I have seen reason to change my mind. For though it is undoubtedl a mistake to waste too much time in cultivating these graces, or to make a lad’s entire training consist in acquiring them to perfection, still I have found by experience that these gifts and the knack of doing everything confer honor and reputation even among men of good birth; and that too in so marked a degree that we may say he lacks something who is without them. Moreover, excellence in matters of this sort opens the way to the favor of princes, and offers a beginning or occasion to him who is a proficient therein to obtain high and lucrative preferment—for the world and its rulers are what they are, and not what they should be. (179)
Wars have no greater peril than he who has just entered upon them should take their success for certain. For however safe and easy they may seem, they are subject to a thousand accidents, and these will lead to still greater disorder if he whom it concerns is not ready to put forth both strengths and courage; as he will be where preparations have been made from the first on the footing that difficulties will have to be encountered. (180)
Prosperity/good-fortune is often our worst enemy, making us vicious, frivolous, and insolent—and thus, bearing it well is a better test of person than bearing adversity. (164)
Far higher satisfaction will be found in controlling than in gratifying the passions. For such gratification is brief, and of the body; whereas the satisfaction we feel when passion has been subdued is lasting, and is of the mind and conscience.
Though venting our feelings—whether of pleasure or discontent—is a great case to a man’s heart, it is also dangerous wherefore, however hard it may be, it is wise to abstain.
No two men could have been more unlike in character than the Popes Julius and Clement. For while the former was of great and even excessive courage, ardent, impulsive, frank, and open, the latter was of a temper inclining rather to timidity, most patient, moderate, and withal deceitful. And yet from natures so opposite the same results, in the shape of great achievements, could be looked for. Because in the hands of great masters patience and impetuosity are alike fitted to effect important ends; the one operating by a sudden onslaught, breaking down all opposition; the other seeking to wear out by delay and to conquer with the aid of time and opportunity. So that where the one hinders, the other helps, and conversely. But were it possible for a man to combine the two natures, he would indeed be divine. As this, however, can hardly happen, I believe that, all things considered, greater results are to be obtained by moderation and patience than by impetuosity and daring.
Although we act on the best advice, yet, so uncertain is the future, the results are often uncertain. Still, we are not on that account to give ourselves up like beasts a prey to Fortune, but like men to walk by Reason. And he who is truly wise should be better pleased to have been guided by good advice though the result be untoward, than to have prospered in following evil counsel.
I have ever been of a most open nature, and the sworn foe of all quirks and cavils, so that anyone dealing with me has always felt himself much at his ease. Nevertheless, I have recognized that in negotiating, this artifice is of signal service, namely, never to come at once to those questions that are of most moment, but postponing these to the last, to allow yourself to be drawn towards them only step by step and reluctantly. Whose does this often succeeds beyond his hopes; while he who transacts business as I do, will only secure that without which no settlement were possible. (132)
(1866-1949) writer and businessman
The subconscious processes are always at work; the only question is, are we to be simply passive recipients of this activity, or are we to consciously direct the work?
…When you have learned to control yourself you will have found the “World Within” which controls the world without; you will have become irresistible; men and things will respond to your every wish without any apparent effort on your part.
…In order to express power, abundance or any other constructive purpose, the emotions must be called upon to give feeling to the thought so that it will take form. How may this purpose be accomplished? … The reply is, by exercise. Mental strength is secured in exactly the same way that physical strength is secured, by exercise.
We think something, perhaps with difficulty the first time; we think the same thing again, and it becomes easier this time; we think it again and again; it then becomes a mental habit. We continue to think the same thing; finally it becomes automatic; we can no longer help thinking this thing; we are now positive of what we think; there is no longer any doubt about it. We are sure; we know.
…[Be] still, and inhibit all thought as far as possible. … Relax, let go, let the muscles take their normal condition; this will remove all pressure from the nerves, and eliminate that tension which so frequently produces physical exhaustion.
Physical relaxation is a voluntary exercise of the will and the exercise will be found to be of great value, as it enables the blood to circulate freely to and from the brain and body.
Tensions leads to mental unrest and abnormal mental activity of the mind; it produces worry, care, fear and anxiety. Relaxation is therefore an absolute necessity in order to allow the mental faculties to exercise the greatest freedom.
Make this exercise as thorough and complete as possible, mentally determine that you will relax every muscle and nerve, until you feel quiet and restful and at peace with yourself and the world. The Solar Plexus will then be ready to function and you will be surprised at the result.
Charles F. Haanel Biography and Quotes
Beyond the mountain is another mountain.
To speak French does not mean that you are smart. [French is seldom spoken in Haiti, and usually used to try to impress others]
Montaigne’s vanity led him to talk perpetually of himself, and as often happens to vain men, he would rather talk of his own failings than of any foreign subject. (Literature Of Europe)
The road to Eden [Heaven] is difficult, but the ways to Tophet [Hell] are easy.
Don’t be too sweet, or else you’ll be eaten up; don’t be too bitter, or else you’ll be spitted out.
Don’t trust someone who tells you all of his troubles and keeps you from all of his joys.
There is no book that contains absolutely nothing bad, and there is no book that contains absolutely nothing good.
If someone is coming to kill you, get up early and kill him first.
A defendant’s confession is worth a hundred witnesses.
A good son-in-law is like the acquisition of a new son; a bad one is like the loss of your daughter.
Man is never satisfied with his life: he is forever seeking something that is better. Until he learns wisdom, he looks for it in pleasure, in sense gratification of various kinds, in wealth, luxury and possession.
…Happiness, however, is to be found in service. Not if we seek happiness in service, and serve in order to be happy, but if we serve others for the sake of serving we find the only happiness that will endure and satisfy.
One has only to observe the lives of those who are always selfishly seeking and grabbing, who are hard in their dealings, and always 'looking after number one,' in order to see how impossible it is for self-seekers to be happy. (Within You is the Power)
Man is bound to the wheel, yet at the same time, he has free will. (Within You is the Power)
(c280 BC-233 BC) Philosopher and political theorist
He who trusts others can be manipulated by others.
For the most part, the difficulty in persuading people is found in reading/knowing someone else’s mind/heart and adapting your words to conform to it.
… Those who attemps remonstration, persuasion, explanation, or discussion before the throne must be careful to first observe the sovereign's loves and hates.
Praise other people who have similar actions to the person you are talking to, and esteem tasks that are in under the same category that his tasks are. …
In ancient times, Mi Tzu Hsia became popular with the ruler of Wei State. At the time, the laws of Wei State stated, “The punishment for using the royal carriage without permission is a double foot amputation.”
One day, someone went into the palace late at night and informed Mi Tzu Hsia that his mother was sick. Upon hearing this, he forged a fake request from the ruler in order to use his carriage, and then took it to go see his mother.
When the ruler found out about this, [not only was he not offended,] he only had good things to say, and remarked, “What a filial child! Over his concern for his mother, he went so far as to risk having his feet cut off!”
Another time, Mi Tzu Hsia was walking outdoors with the ruler, and began eating a peach. Tasting how delicious it was, he offered the remaining half to the ruler, who remarked, “Your love for me is truly genuine!—so much so that you have put your own appetite aside, and instead cocnern youself with offering me tasty food!”
But many years later, when Mi Tzu Hsia’s looks had faded and the ruler was not enamored with him anymore, a charge was brought against him by the ruler, who remarked, “Don’t forget, this is the same guy who stole my carriage and offered me his half-eaten peach!”
Although Mi Tzu Hsia’s actions remained the same, he was initially praised from them, and later charged with wrongdoing—and this was all because the ruler’s love for him had converted into disdain.
If the ruler only takes advice from ministers of high rank, does not compare different opinions and testif to the truth, and uses only one person as a channel of information, then ruin is possible.
If posts and offices can be sought through influential personages, and rank and bounties can be obtained by means of bribes, then ruin is possible. …
If the ruler does not take the capable people of the country into his service, and if he does not make tests according to meritorious services but instead appoints and dismisses officials only according to their reputations, till foreign residents are exalted and enabled to surpass his old acquaintances, then ruin is possible. …
… The superior person takes the inner feelings but leaves the outer appearances, likes the inner qualities but hates the outer decorations. *
Eels are similar to snakes. Silkworms are similar to caterpillars. People are scared when they see snakes, and surprised when they see caterpillars. And yet, fishermen are willing to hold eels in their hands, and women are willing to pick up silkworms. So, when there is profit, people turn as brave as Meng Pen and Chuan Chu.
In all-under-Heaven there are three truths: Even wise people will find certain tasks unattainable; even strong people will find certain objects unmovable; and even brave people will find certain opponents unbeatable
For example, even if someone as wise as Yao cannot accomplish the great without the support of the masses; even someone as mighty as Wu Huo cannot elevate himself with other people’s assistance; and even someone as strong as Meng Pen and Hsia Yu cannot remain undefeated without upholding law or tact.
Tzu Chang was pulling a push-cart to go across the arch of a bridge, but was unable to bear the weight. So, he sat on the shaft and began singing. Meanwhile, the passers-by from the front stopped, and those from the rear ran forward to help him, until the push-cart reached the top of the arch.
Suppose Tzu Chang had no technique to attract people. Then even if he exhausted himself to death, the cart would not have been able to go across the bridge. The reason why he did not exhaust himself while the cart went up the arch of the bridge was because he had the technique to make use of people.
Tsao Fu managed four horses. He drove them at maximum speed, maneuvered them expertly, and could go in any direction he wanted. He could mange the horses in whatever way he wanted because he was in control of the whip and reins. But, when a jumping pig scared the horses, Tsao Fu lost control of the horses. This is not because the severity of the whip and rein decreased. This is because his authority over the horses was superceded by the impact of the jumping pig.
And if someone only looked at a person’s features, clothing, and speech, even Confucius would not be able to say what sort of a person he is. Yet if one tests him in government position and sees what he does, then even someone with so-so judgment would be able to know if he is wise or not.
(247 BC-183 BC) Carthaginian general
A certain peace is to be preferred to an expected victory.
We will either find a way, or make one.
Many things which nature makes difficult become easy to the man who uses his brains.
(1930-1965) playwright
Never be afraid to sit awhile and think.
Be what you are. This is the first step towards becoming better than you are. (Guesses At Truth, 1827)
It is the individual who knows how little they know about themselves who stands the most reasonable chance of finding out something about themselves before they die.
(1778-1830) writer and humanist
Cunning is the art of concealing our own defects, and discovering other people’s weaknesses.
There is a pleasure in madness, which none but madmen know.
The definition of genius is that it acts unconsciously; and those who have produced immortal works, have done so without knowing how or why. The greatest power operates unseen. (The Plain Speaker, 1826)
(1901-1987) violinist
No matter what side of the argument you are on, you always find people on your side that you wish were on the other.
(500s BC-400s BC) philosopher
Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play.
(1889-1966) author, cartoonist, and humorist
Unhappiness is not knowing what we want, and killing ourselves to get it.
When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old I admire kind people.
The truly upright is that which flows out of your genuine innermost self as a result of the sincerity shown by the kami [gods]; on all occasions, you must exert this sincerity to the utmost, even in the most minor of your activities. (Records of the Divine Wind)
It is a well known fact that one comes, finally, to BELIEVE whatever one repeats to one’s self, whether the statement be true or false.
All thoughts which have been emotionalized (given feeling) and mixed with faith begin immediately to translate themselves into their physical equivalent or counterpart.
Thoughts which are mixed with any of the feelings of emotions constitute a “magnetic” force which attracts… other similar or related thoughts.
The man who actually knows just what he wants in life has already gone a long way toward attaining it.
Some people are successful as long as someone else stands back of them and encourages them, and some are successful in spite of Hell! Take your choice.
Soldiers followed Napoleon to certain death without flinching, because of the impelling or attracting nature of his personality…
Everyone needs a change of mental environment at regular periods, the same as a change and variety of food are essential.
The mind becomes more alert, more elastic and more ready to work with speed and accuracy after it has been bathed in new ideas, outside of one’s own field of daily labor.
There are no lazy people. What may appear to be a lazy person is only an unfortunate person who has not found the work for which he is best suited.
Give a person something to do that he likes to do, and keep him busy doing it, and he will not be apt to degenerate into a disorganizing force.
Napoleon Hill Biography and Quotes
If I am not for myself, who is for me? And when I am [solely] for myself, what am I? If not now, when? (Pirke Avot 1:15 or 1:14)
… And in a place where there are no men, strive to be a man.” (Pirke Avot 2:6)
Diet cures more than the surgical knife.
Regularity is the best medicine.
No one can be a totally fair judge in his own case.
Dig your well before you are thirsty.
In a treeless country, the castor plant is a big tree.
The living things of the Earth depend on each other just like the limbs and organs of the body.
An elephant, no matter how skinny, is valuable.
physician
Doing nothing is sometimes a good remedy.
The great mass of people will more easily fall victim to a big lie than a small one.
Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it.
Sooner will a camel pass through a needle’s eye than a great man be “discovered” by an election.
The art of leadership... consists in consolidating the attention of the people against a single adversary and taking care that nothing will split up that attention.
The leader of genius must have the ability to make different opponents appear as if they belonged to one category.
By the skillful and sustained use of propaganda, one can make a people see even heaven as hell or an extremely wretched life as paradise.
I use emotion for the many and reserve reason for the few.
Some things have to be believed to be seen.
(1902-1983) writer
It is easier to love humanity than to love your neighbor.
Nonconformists travel as a rule in bunches. You rarely find a nonconformist who goes it alone. And woe to him inside a nonconformist clique who does not conform with nonconformity.
A successful social technique consists perhaps in finding unobjectionable means for individual self-assertion.
No one has a right to happiness.
He is a good time-server that improves the present for God’s glory and his own salvation.
He that falls into sin is a man; that grieves at it, is a saint; that boasteth of it, is a devil.
Don’t be afraid to weep—it will free your mind from sad thoughts.
You must live your life from start to finish; no one can do it for you.
(1809-1894) writer and physician
Life is an end in itself, and the only question as to whether it is worth living is whether you have had enough of it.
(1906-1992) American Navy Admiral, computer engineer, and mathematician
One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions.
(65 BC-8 BC) philosopher and poet
Wisdom at proper times will forget.
disciple of Confucius
Even minor taos have something worth attention—but if they are carried out to what is remote, there is a danger of their proving inapplicable/becoming fanatical. Therefore, the chun tzu does not practice them. 19:4
When someone does not transgress the ‘fence’ in major te, he should tolerate some deviations in minor te. 19:11
To a patient a doctor can say, “Before you try to satisfy any particular hunger, look well as to whether it is a hunger that can be satisfied, or one that ought to be subdued.” (30)
Every cemetery has a voice that tells living people to hurry up if they can expect to accomplish anything. (203)
(310 BC-219 BC) Confucian philosopher
The chun tzu says: Learning should never stop.
Blue [dye] comes from the indigo plant, yet it is bluer than the indigo. Ice is made from water, yet it is colder than water.
A piece of wood as straight as a plumb-line can be steamed and bent into a circle with a curvature conforming to the compass; and if it is later dried in the sun, the wood will not return to its previous straightness. This is because the bending process has caused this change in it.
Wood pressed against a plumb line will be straight. Metal put to the whetstone will be sharp.
The chun tzu makes his learning broad and examines himself daily in order to have his knowledge precise and his actions faultless.
No Divinity is greater than self-transformation with tao . No happiness is greater than being without unhappiness.
When you locate good in yourself, approve of it with determination. When you locate evil in yourself, despise it as something detestable.
Without climbing to a high mountain, you will not know T’ien’s height. Without looking down into a into a deep gorge, you will not know Earth’s depth. Wihtout hearing the words inherited from the Ancient Kings, you will not know the greatness of learning/knowledge.
“I have thought for a whole day, but it was not as effective as learning for one moment. I have stood on tiptoe, but it was not as effective as going up to a high place.”
If someone goes up on a high place and waves, his arm does not become longer, yet it can be seen distantly. If someone shouts with the wind, his voice does not become stronger, yet it can be heard more clearly. If someone uses a horse and carriage, his own feet are not aided, yet he can travel hundreds of miles. If someone uses boats and oars, even if he cannot swim, he will be able to cross rivers.
…the chun tzu is good at using [external] things [to nourish his nature and actions]
In learning, nothing is more advantageous than being near a worthy learner. Next best is exalting li.
Someone who is unable to devoted to such people or honor li will merely be learning disordered information or mechanically following texts, and thus will never be anything more than an unlearned/absurd Aspirant.
Do not answer a person whose questions are vulgar. Do not question a person who is vulgar. Do not listen to a person whose theories are vulgar. Do not engage in disputation with a person who is merely looking to quarrel.
He who correctly criticizes me is my teacher; he who correctly tells me I am right is my friend; and he who flatters me is my culprit.
Not having heard it is not as good as having heard it. Having heard it is not as good as having seen it [be done]. Having seen it is not as good as knowing it. Knowing it is not as good as doing it.
Learning reaches its pinnacle in putting it into practice [for the sake of yi]. By putting it into practice, one understands it. By understanding it, one becomes a Sage.
The best horse can't cover ten paces in one stride. A worn out nag can do so in ten periods.
Achievement depends on using time.
By carving incompletely, a piece of rotten wood cannot be cut through. By carving steadfastly, metal and stone can be carved.
An earthworm does not have claws and teeth, nor is it strong, but it can eat dirt and drink spring water. It has heart purposefulness. A crab has six legs and two claws, but it has no home unless it finds the hole of a snake or eel. It has heart misdirection.
Thus, without a steadfast purpose, clear perception, and determined striving, there will be no illustrious accomplishment.
The person attempting to travel two roads at once will get nowhere. The person attempting to serve two masters will not be favored by either. The eye cannot look at two directions [simultaneously] and see clearly. The ear cannot listen to two things [simultaneously] and hear clearly.
A cloud dragon has no feet, but flies. A squirrel has five talents [flying, climbing, swimming, digging, running], but is reduced [because it does not utilize and perform any of them well.] …
Thus, the chun tzu has knot-like [and noble] steadfastness.
Thus, by moving steps followed by steps and by continuing, a lame turtle can travel hundreds of miles; by piling up mounds and mounds and by continuing, a high mound will be formed; and by blocking sources and breaking down banks, great rivers will be dried.
But with one going forward and another going back, and with one moving left and another moving right, even the [royal thoroughbred] Six Horses would get nowhere.
People’s abilities are by no means as widely differing as a lame turtle and the Six Horses—yet the lame turtle reaches the goal, and the Six Horses do not.
The only reason is this: one does, the other does not do.
Even if the tao is short, if a person does not travel on it, he will never arrive. Even if a matter is small, if a person does not do it, it will never be accomplished.
If a person takes many days resting, he will not progress much on tao.
A thoroughbred can cover hundreds of miles in a day, but even an old nag can cover great distances over time. Will you attempt to exhaust the inexhaustible, and pursue the endless [i.e. the courses of logicians and mystics that do not go anywhere]? If you do, then even if you wear out your bones and muscles until the day you die, you will most certainly fail to reach your goal.
In matters of conduct, the chun tzu does not esteem indecorous yet difficult feats. In explanations, he does not prize improper investigations. In matters of reputation, he does not value unsuitable traditions.
Instead, he only esteems what is fitting to the occasion.
The chun tzu uses learning in order to purify himself. The hsiao jen uses learning in order to gain others’ attention.
…he [the chun tzu] cannot be subverted by considerations of power and profit, swayed by cliques and common masses, or deterred by all the world. He follows it from life to death.
Discipline your will, and you will have greater nobility than wealth and eminence. Consider tao to be your riches, and you will not need to be discomposed standing before kings and dukes. Thoroughly examine yourself internally, and you will disregard external things.
The chun tzu is able to make himself worthy of honor, but cannot necessarily cause others to honor him. He is able to make himself trustworthy, but cannot necessarily cause others to trust him. …
Thus the chun tzu is ashamed of remaining uncultivated, but is not ashamed of being publicly reviled.
Proceeding along tao, unswervingly committed to rectifying himself and not allowing himself to be deflected by things—such a person might be called a ch’eng chun tzu.
The chun tzu is unvigilant in pursuing profit, but vigilant in avoiding harm. He is timid in avoiding disgrace, but intrepid in practicing tao requirements.
The chun tzu is easy to come to know, but difficult to be familiar with. He is easily made apprehensive, but difficult to intimidate. He dreads suffering, but will not avoid what is required by his moral duty, even at the risk of death. He desires what is beneficial, but will not do what is wrong. He is considerate in his interpersonal relations, but not partial. He makes discriminations in his discussions, but not disordered formulations.
When it comes to his abilities, the chun tzu is magnanimous, generous, tolerant, and straightforward—thus opening the way to instruct others. When it comes to his in-capabilities, he is respectful, reverent, moderate, and modest—and thus he is awe-inspired, and undertakes to serve others.
When it comes to his capabilities, the hsiao jen is rude, arrogant, perverted, and depraved—thus, he is filled with an overwhelming pride around others. When it comes to his in-capabilities, he is envious, jealous, resentful, and given to backbiting—thus he subverts and undermines others.
The chun tzu is magnanimous, but not negligent. He is scrupulous, but does not inflict suffering. He debates, but does not cause quarreling. He is critical, but does not provoke others.
When he upholds an upright position, he is not merely interested in victory. When hard and strong, he is not haughty. When flexible and tractable, he does not merely drift with the demands of the occasion.
He is respectful, reverent, attentive, and cautious, but still remains inwardly at ease.
When seeing something desirable, think of whether it also could eventually involve what is detestable. When seeing something beneficial, think of whether it also could eventually involve harm.
Weigh the total of one against that of the other, maturely calculate, and then determine the relative merits of choosing or reusing your desires and aversions. This way, you will regularly avoid failure and becoming ensnared by your choices.
In general, the calamities that beset mankind result from prejudices and the damages they cause.
The chun tzu is cautious about untried doctrine, actions which have not been previously seen, and plans that may have been unheard among people.
The common people’s standard of te is that goodness consists of following custom, that life’s superlative treasure is possessions and wealth, and that supporting/nurturing parents/life is to be already taking the supreme tao.
Rather than regarding seniority, advance the worthy and the able, dismiss the incompetent and the incapable at once, put incorrigible ringleaders to death without trying to reform them, and develop the common people without waiting to compel them by laws. …
Even if someone is the descendant of a king, duke, prefect, or officer, relegate him to the common ranks if he does not observe li and yi.
Even if someone is the descendant of a commoner, elevate him to prime minister, officer, or prefect if he has acquired learning, developed good character, and is able to observe li and yi.
As for lewd people, scandal-mongers, evildoers, people of perverted abilities, shirkers, and unreliable people, they should be trained, given employment, and time for reformation. Stimulate them by rewards; warn them by punishments. If they are satisfied with employment, then keep them; if they are not satisfied to work, then deport them.
The disabled, deaf, and blind should be received and cared for. If they have ability, they should be given positions. The authorities should employ them and clothe and feed them; they should all be cared for without exception.
Those who are incorrigible should be put to death without mercy. For this is what is called Heaven’s virtue; this is the government of a king.
The chun tzu avoids listenting to the praise of people who are his friends and intimates, or who are his partisans or cronies. … He avoids being close to people who are full of suspicion and envy, or those who attempt to obstruct or conceal others.
For the chun tzu to cultivate/nurture his heart, there is nothing better than ch’eng.
Someone who has attained ch’eng will need/concern nothing—he will just uphold jen and practice yi.
… The Sage purifies his T’ien ruler, rectifies his T’ien senses/facilities, makes his T’ien nourishment sufficient/complete, obeys T’ien government/rule, and nourishes his T’ien emotions, in order to develop to perfection Natural usefulness/achievement.
When he acts like this, he knows what he should/can and should not do. Then T’ien and Earth fulfill their proper function, and he can employ all things as his foot soldiers. And then his actions are completely governed, the nourishment completely obtained, and in his life he does no injury.
This is what is meant by “knowing T’ien.”
For great skill consists in “non-doing,” and great wisdom consists in “not reflecting.”
If a person who has a responsible post attends to what belongs to T’ien, the people of themselves will keep to the right tao.
The Son of T’ien does not look and yet sees, does not listen and yet hears, does not contemplate and yet know, does not act and yet is successful. Like a clod he sits alone and the whole world follows him like a single body, like four limbs following the heart.
The starting point of wisdom must be to consider the desires necessary, but to guide them. …
Although desires cannot be removed, their pursuit can be temperate. …
Although desire cannot be removed, if what he wants cannot be obtained, the person who reflects will desire to restrain his pursuit.
All things are one section of tao .
One thing is a section of all things.
The stupid person sees only one section of one thing and thinks he knows tao—but he lacks this knowledge.
Shen Tzu [said that the worthy should not be rewarded, and the able should not be given office] has insight about what is behind/leading back but none about what is before/leading the way. Lao Tzu [discussed the bent being better than the straight and the weak overcoming the strong] has insight about the bent/bending, but not about the straight/straightening. Mo Tzu [advocate of universal love] has insight about what is universal, but not about the individual. Sung Tzu has insight about the few/reducing, but not about the many/increasing.
If one considers what is behind, but not what is before, then the common people cannot enter the gate of progress/opportunity. If one considers the bent but not the straight, then the noble and base are not distinguished. If one considers the universal but not he particular, then the government cannot operate. If one considers the few but not the many, then the common people will no progress/transformed.
People tend to suffer from a proneness to being beclouded by a single corner, thereby causing the Great Order to remain hidden from them.
And thus, although princes of erring/chaotic countries and members of erring/disorderly schools may genuinely seek to be right, and consider themselves to be the judge of right and wrong, their partiality causes them to be in error, averse to tao, and misled by others who cater to what they follow.
Partial to what they have accumulated, they fear hearing its evilness. And leaning on their partialness, they fear hearing the praise of differing arts—even if they inquire into them.
The major scholars of earlier times were beclouded—and from them came the disordered schools.
Mo Tzu was beclouded by [narrow standards of] utility, and did not know life’s elegancies [that are also beneficial]. Sung Tzu [,believing that desires naturally seek little amd should be given reign to] was beclouded by desire and did not know virtue. Shen Tzu [emphasized having one prince and using laws; taught that worthy officials, honoring the worthy, and employing the able are not that important] was beclouded by law, and did not know hsien. Shen Tzu [(not the same person as the aforementioned Shen Tzu) believed that the ruler should only delegate his power to a person of talent] was beclouded by power/technique/method, and did not know wisdom. Huei Tzu [Neo-Mohist leader who stressed dialectic] was beclouded by words and did not know reality. Chuang Tzu [mystical philosopher] was beclouded by Nature, and did not know man.
If we consider tao from the standpoint/perspective of utility, it will merely be seeking gain. If we consider tao from the perspective of desire, it will merely be seeking satisfaction. If we consider tao from the perspective of law, it will merely be an art. If we consider tao from the perspective of power, it will merely be convenience. If we consider tao from the perspective of words, it will merely be dialectic. If we consider tao from the standpoint of Nature, it will merely be relying on things as they are.
These different presentations are all an aspect of tao.
But tao is constant, and includes all changes. One aspect is not sufficient to present the whole.
Those with partial knowledge perceive an aspect of tao, but are unable to know its totality—and thus, they think it is sufficient, and they gloss things over.
They confuse themselves and they mislead others.
Rulers end up beclouding inferiors, and inferiors end up beclouding superiors.
In general, when people choose, they never get only what they desired, and never lose only what they disliked.
[In other words, they always end up with some sort combination of what they desired and dislked.]
In ancient times, Yao had nine assistants, Shun seven, and Wu Wang had five. Yao, Shun and Wu Wang were not experts in any one thing, like their assistants. They sat in their offices receiving the reports of successful operations. They were, however, masters in their estimate of the abilities of men.
The excellent vision of Li Chu could see the point of a needle from the distance of more than a hundred paces; yet he could not discern the fish in a pool. The intelligence of [Master Musician] Shih Kuang could distinguish the winds from the eight quarters and harmonize the five notes of the eight scales; but his fine sense of hearing could not discern anything more than a few miles off.
Hence one man’s strength, however much, is not enough to regulate even a terrain of a mile. But the man who conforms to the art of tao, in accordance with the natural way of Heaven and Earth, would find it easy to manage the whole world.
In olden times during the days of Chao, Kung Sung Lung said to his disciples, “I have no use for men without talent.”
A guest came along, wearing rough serge and a girdle of common hemp. He said, at an interview: “Your servant has the talent of being able to shout.”
Kung Sung looked him up and down and said to his disciples “Have we any criers?”
“We have none,” was the reply, and thereupon, the King ordered this stranger to be entered on the register.
A few days later, the disciples went to call on Yen Wang for consultation: on coming to a river, the ferry boat was found to be far away at the opposite bank. So the newly-enlisted crier was ordered to vociferate his loudest. The boat came, after he shouted once.
It is written that the Sage does not readily overlook the service of any man with ability.
Once on a time, Chao Wen Tzu asked Shu Hsiang which of the six generals of Tsin would die first. He replied that it would be Chih of the center army—“because,” he said, “this man in administering, carried on his examination with harshness; he informed himself of vexatious details; he regarded loyalty to consist in being stingy to his underlings; and he reckoned that merit lay in gaining many good marks from the government.
No nature is wholly free from some shortcoming. It is enough to weigh the general purpose of the life. A trifling shortcoming must not be allowed to entangle the whole person.
Of course, if a person fails to have any great scheme or purpose in life, then he is useless for great office, even though he may be well-spoken-of in his village.
Yen Hsin Chu of Liang Fu was a bandit, but rose to be a loyal minister of Ch’i. Tuan Kan Mu was a piece-goods broker of Ts’in, and became the instructor of Baron Wen. Meng Mao married his sister-in-law and had five sons by her, but became the Prime Minister of Wei, pacified its turbulence, and dissipated the national troubles. Ching Yang was an unkempt drunkard and whoremonger, but as a General of Wei, he brought the Feudal Lords to their knees.
Now all these men had each his shortcomings; yet their work and renown have not perished.
What can be expected from one person should not be above what one man’s strength can bear.
In ancient times, Tsang Hsieh invented the written character, Yung Ch’eng made charts of the heavenly bodies and almanacs, Hu Ts’ao was the creator of clothes, Hou Chi invented the System of agriculture, I Ti made wine, and Hsi Chung was the creator of carriages.
These six men in their inventions were divinely gifted, and possessed the traditions of the wise.
The inventions that men have transmitted to posterity could not all have been done by one individual. Each man is expert in his own speciality, and concentrates on that which he desires to be proficient in. These results have become of use to the whole world.
Had these six men changed about from that in which each was superior to another, these inventions would never have accrued.
Why so?
Because creation is vast, and one person’s knowledge is not enough to compass the whole.
Pei li Hsi was a cattle-broker, I Yin a cook, T’ai Kung was a butcher, Ning Ch’i a ballad singer. But subsequently their merits as ministers are not forgotten. Before they rose to power, the multitude only saw the lowliness of their avocations and their degrading occupations. They failed to appreciate their general excellencies and thought of them as degenerates. It needed the penetration of the kingly mind to see their worth. It was only after they became the assistants of Kings and were made the Prime Ministers of the Feudal Barons, that the populace saw their worth and realized that they were exceptional men. …It required the penetration of Yao to discern their merits, whilst they were as yet undistinguished. This is the way Yao knew Shun. The populace only became cognizant of his merits after he had completed his great work and established his reputation. …
Were anyone to rely merely on his own eyes and intelligence, without having the proper methods of judging a worthy, and were he to go and try to find him in palace or hamlet, he would assuredly miss many a one. Ordinary men cannot go and imitate Yao in his discovery of Shun, since they have not the acumen for discovering men.
…Mediocre princes and governors of the world may be deceived easily by appearances. A white bone much resembles ivory; most men fail to distinguish the one from the other. So with men. The specious kind appear to have goodness—but this Is not so. The bravado kind do not really have courage.
Now, if people really appeared as distinct in character as a jade does from stone, or beauty from ugliness, it would be easy to judge them. There are four varieties of plants very much alike and difficult to be distinguished, so that people often mistake them. Similarly, a sword-maker may err in thinking a Sword is like the Mo Hsieh sword, whereas only an expert like O Yen could give an authoritative opinion; a diamond-cutter may mistake a piece of jade as being an imitation stone, the P’I, whereas only someone like I Tun would never miss the luster; the prince of An was mistaken in a wicked minister who had only the devices and sharpness of a knave.
Persons who see into the heart of things are not to be deceived by appearances.
Many men of the world esteem what is ancient and despise the modern, hence, plausible speakers make use of the authority of the God of Agriculture, or Huang Ti, to gain an entrance into men’s minds. Ignorant rulers of an anarchical age magnify these sources of antiquity and honor the speakers by giving them office. Scholars, confused by traditional hearing, captivated by the authority of distinguished names, reverently sit down, and, adjusting their dress, repeating and chanting. …
Hsiang T’o, a child of seven years, was a teacher of Confucius who paid heed to his words. A youth speaking to an elder generally gets his face slapped; but this boy was saved a castigation by the wisdom of his words. …
A man of Ts’u boiled a monkey and invited his neighbors to partake of it. When told it was broth made of dog’s flesh, they enjoyed it. But hearing later it was monkey’s broth, they vomited it all up. The symptom was governed by mental conditions.
The musician, Han Tan, composed a new tune, giving out it was the creation of li Ch’i. Everybody strove to learn it. But on hearing later that it was not his creation, they gave it up. They really didn’t judge from its merit as music. They hadn’t the taste for that. They were enamored of a name. …
However, an expert does not look on things in that light. A swordsman desires edge on his sword rather than a mere renown of name such as a Mei Yang, or a Mo Hsien sword. An organist seeks tone, volume, harmony in his instrument rather than merely a celebrated name such as Lan Hsieh, Hao Chung. What a rider wants is a horse that can travel hundreds of miles a day, not mere famous names. A poet or scholar wants reason and solid matter in his books and not merely names such as Hung Fan and Shang Sung. The Sage discriminates between the true and false in literature, just as his eye distinguishes light and dark, or as the ear discriminates bass from tenor. …
Now if a new and great writer appears and composes a book, should it be attributed to Confucius or Mencius, litterateurs thumb each sentence and finger each word. Many will accept and read it. Beauties need not all be of the kind of Hsi Shih. Savants need not be of the type of Confucius or Mencius to express clearly the knowledge they have of matters. Hence, in composing a book, a writer aims at a clear expression of ideas to gain appreciative readers. When a reader of intelligence is found whose mind reflects as in a mirror the truth expounded, he doesn’t mind whether the book he reads is of ancient or modern date. A writer could die without regret feeling that he had written his work with clearness for the information of his readers.
Of old Duke Ping of Ts’in, Shansi, ordered his foundry-man to cast a bell. When this was done, he asked the minister of music, Shih Kuang, for his opinion on its tone. Shih Kuang replied that it was imperfect. Duke Ping, in turn, said that the opinions of the expert artificers were all favorable. How then did he consider it imperfect? Shih Kuang replied that it might do if posterity were without a person who understood music: but a true musician would at once discern its imperfection. Thus the wish of Shih Kuang was for a perfect-toned bell to satisfy the ear of a musician of all times.
The Sage, then, will influence the people by that which commands their goodwill and restrain evildoers by following what the people detest. …
Similarly the Sage, by a few acts, is able to reach and rule the wide stretches of empire.
No calamity is greater than the grabbing of territory in order to satisfy the lust of an ambitious individual.
Take the cases of Chieh of Hsia and Chou of Yin. If they had been taken in hand immediately, when the people began to suffer, it would have never come about that a person would be roasted on hot irons, as happened after the iniquitous reign had gone on for long.
Again, if li of Tsin and Kang of Sung, who lost their lives and ruined their countries by unprincipled acts, had been arrested early in their evil course, it could never have come about that they robbed in their aggression and in their violence as they did.
Anarchy of the realm causes general suffering to the people. One man, by pandering to his vicious desires, fills the land with woe. Such outrages are intolerable to the law of Heaven.
The bow must be stretched on a frame to give it shape. The sword must be ground to give it edge. The jade of incomparable hardness must be carved with figures of beasts, by the application of the stone file. Wood, straight as a line, may be bent into the shape of a wheel so that it becomes exactly circular by the force of the beveling tool. The hardest quality of the T’ang jade stone may be made into serviceable utensils by scalloping and cutting. How much more so may the mind of man be improved by training.
The human spirit is plastic and impressionable, subtle and tenuous. …
The superior man, by constant application and laborious investigation, sharpens his talents: by intensive understanding and scientific review over the wide field of matter, he apprehends the complexity of the material world, seeing the clews to the beginning and the end of things: he views the illimitable frontiers; he moves in the sphere of the profound, preeminently independent and unhampered by the conventions of the world.
The farmer who is not energetic will never have overflowing granaries. The charioteer who does not train his mind, will never be an expert in his art. Generals and statesmen who are not forceful, will never bring any labor to consummation. Kings and dukes who are indolent, will have no renown in posterity.
t. When society is orderly, a fool alone cannot disturb it. When society is chaotic, a sage alone cannot bring it order.
Chi Huang, Ch’en Chung Tzu were worthy men and independent in action. They refused to enter the unwholesome atmosphere of the Court, nor would they eat the food of anarchy—and thus they died of hunger. Their idealism failed wholly to save the country and throne, because they lost the conception of the general good in a narrow view of personal integrity.
It would be useless to tell the fish in the well about the horizon of the great ocean, because it is cribbed in a narrow place. It would be vain to speak of the cold of winter to the creeping things that know only of the summer’s heat: they are cognizant only of their own seasons. It would be useless to discuss broad views with a narrow-minded scholar: he is bound to the conventional and tied to his own orthodoxy.
There is a Principle of Creation that is uncreated; there is a Principle of Change that is unchanging. The Uncreated is able to create life; the Unchanging is able to effect change. The created cannot but continue creating; the changed cannot but continue evolving. Hence, there is constant creation and constant changing. The law of constant creating and of constant changing at no time ceases to operate. So is it with the Yin and the Yang, so is it with the Four Seasons. (Lieh Tzu 1)
In business, sometimes, prospects may seem darkest when really they are on the turn. A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success.
Be yourself and speak your mind today, though it contradict all you have said before. (The Note Book)
The best way to prepare for life is to begin to live. (The Note Book, 1927)
Your enemy is one who misunderstands you—why should you not rise above the fog and see his error and respect him for the good qualities you find in him? (Love, Life and Work)
(1868-1930) journalist, cartoonist, and political commentator
The only way to entertain some folks is to listen to them.
Some folks can look so busy doing nothing that they seem indispensable.
It’s pretty hard to be efficient without being obnoxious.
The fellow that agrees with everything you say is either a fool or he is getting ready to skin you.
A habit is first a wanderer, then a guest, and finally the boss.
It’s natural to have some disagreement between husband and wife.
A bashful beggar will have an empty wallet.
(1855-1897) novelist
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. (Molly Bawn)
(1859-1938) philosopher
Merely fact-minded sciences make merely fact-minded people.
I discovered early on that by playing the scientific game I lost the PR game. As a scientist I have to qualify my answers, and this does not make for good PR or good sound bites. For example, when the CIA remote viewing experiments story broke and Nightline had a show on it, I was supposed to be on but Ed May objected to my participation so they got the head of the CIA on instead. But he didn’t really know the statistics or the research protocol. And even when I did do some shows on it, like Larry King Live, they mostly wanted to talk about the waste of tax payers money. They definitely did not want to talk about the data, the research methods, or the statistics.
Small mishaps may, if they do not discourage one, lead on to fortune.
Good people enjoy life. (5)
The chun tzu acquaints himself with many sayings of the ancients and deeds of the past, in order to strengthen his character.
When we minutely investigate the nature and reasons of things till we have entered into the inscrutable and spiritual in them, we attain to the largest practical application of them; when that application becomes quickest and readiest and personal poise is secured, our virtue is thereby exalted. Proceeding beyond this, we reach a point which it is hardly possible to comprehend; we have thoroughly mastered the inscrutable and spiritual and understand the processes of transformation. This is the fulness of virtue. Appendix 3:2:33-34
Rob/deprive the average man of his life-illusion and you rob him also of his happiness.
In that second it dawned on me that I had been living here for eight years with a strange man and had borne him three children.
When your neighbor’s wall breaks, your own is in danger.
A man’s will can be his paradise, but it can also be his hell.
Pissing in your shoes won’t keep your feet warm for very long
A sitting crow starves.
The baby has not been born yet, and yet you assert that his nose is like his grandfather’s!
When a crow is killed by a storm, the fortuneteller says, “He died by my curse.”
Even if fed milk, a snake will still emit poison.
Pearls are worthless in the desert.
Nothing is difficult when you get used to it.
Most people don’t announce their faults with a gong.
Human beings have an incredible ability to avoid work or things that require concentration, and social media has definitely fed into that.
Solved riddles look easy.
Necessity can change a lion into a fox.
The way a house is decorated will tell much about its owner.
Don’t just take love—experience it.
You can close the city gates, but you can’t close the people’s mouths.
A sword in the hands of a drunken slave is less dangerous than science in the hands of the unscrupulous.
Only a heart can find the way to another heart.
A wise man can laugh at his jokes.
The elephant dreams of one thing, and the elephant driver dreams of another.
The fox uses his tale as a witness.
The person who wants a rose must respect the thorn.
A camel that wants fodder stretches out its neck.
Injustice all around is justice!
I used to complain because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.
I used to complain because I had no shoes until I met a man who was dead.
A quality statement often gets no answer.
A greedy man is always poor.
A single rose does not mean that it is spring.
A drowning man is not bothered by rain.
Marriage is an uncut watermelon.
The joy of finding something is often worth more than what is found.
All authors should prepare to encounter criticism.
Sometimes you must sacrifice your beard in order to save your head.
A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures in the doctor’s book.
No time for your health today, no health for your time tomorrow.
He is bad that will not take advice, but he is a thousand times worse that takes every advice.
It is easier to threaten than to kill.
He that will not strive in this world should not have come into it.
Of future and contingent matters, we can have no definite knowledge.
He who offends writes on sand, he who is offended on marble.
Live and let live.
Many a true word is spoken in jest.
Not every question deserves an answer.
Better once than never.
All the brains are not in one head.
If a fox is preaching, beware of your geese.
The person who enjoys good health is rich, even if he doesn’t know it.
Beware of the person with nothing to lose.
As soon as a new law is made, a way around it is devised.
Experience runs a valuable school, but fools learn in no other.
The remedy is often worse than the disease.
Necessity is a great teacher.
Yes and no rule the world.
To the person who watches, everything reveals itself.
The sun passes over filth and is not dirtied.
Yielding is sometimes the best way of succeeding.
Preventing someone from falling is better than helping him get up.
If you stumble more than once over the same stump, you have no one to blame but yourself.
The irresolute and fleeting mind that is difficult to be controlled and conquered becomes steadfast and tranquil by meditation. (Atmavabodhakulakam 9)
The greatest and supreme science among sciences is the study that frees man from all kinds of miseries. (Isibhasiya 7:1) M
Those who eat moderate amounts of wholesome and healthy food—they do not become sick or need a doctor’s services. They are their own doctors. (Ogha-niryukti 578)
Due to wrong faith, the attitude of a person becomes perverted. Religion is as unattractive to him as sweet juice to a person suffering from fever, for he cannot relish it. (Pancastikaya 1:6)
Faith, knowledge and conduct together constitute the path of liberation; this is the path to be followed. The saints have declared that if it is followed in the right way, it will lead to the liberation; otherwise, it will lead to the bondage. (Pancastikaya 16:4 or 164) *
Poun ah fret cyaan pay ounce ah det
What good a educayshun if him got noh sens.
Howdy an tenk yu noh broke noh skware.
All kine ah fish eat man, but only shark get de blame.
Yu shek man han, yu noh shek im heart.
So be subject to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double minded. (James 4:7-8)
(1842-1910) psychologist
The deepest principle of human nature is the craving to be appreciated
Nothing is so fatiguing as the hanging on of an uncompleted task.
Whenever two people meet there are really six people present. There is each man as he sees himself, each man as the other person sees him, and each man as he really is.
Everybody should do at least two things each day that he hates to do, just for practice.
We must make automatic and habitual, as early as possible, as many useful actions as we can
If you want a quality, act as if you already had it. Try the “as if” technique.
Any object not interesting in itself may become interesting through becoming associated with an object in which interest already exists.
William James Biography and Quotes
The nail that sticks out [non-conformist] gets hammered down.
Even monkeys fall from trees.
A frog in a well does not know the great sea.
You can’t see the whole sky through a bamboo tube.
Clear sky, cultivate; rainy, read.
A few kind words can warm three winter months.
Time spent laughing is time spent with the kami.
Character can be built on daily routine.
A single arrow is easily broken, but ten in a bundle aren’t.
It’s better to lie a little than to be unhappy.
Flattery is the best persuader.
Without a smiling face, do not become a merchant.
Man cannot reach perfection in a hundred years; he can fall in a day with time to spare.
Books are preserved minds.
To a person that does not wander, there is not enlightenment.
The reputation of a thousand years may be determined by the conduct of one hour.
(4 BC-30 AD) founder of Christianity
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (Matthew 5:8)
So let your light so shine before people, that they may see your good works, and may glorify your Father who is in Heaven. (Matthew 5:16)
For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:26)
The scribes/teachers-of-the-law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’s seat. So obey whatever they tell you to do—but do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They bind heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves will not move them even with a finger. Everything they do is for the sake of being seen by others: they make their phylacteries broad and the borders of their garments enlarged, they love the honorary room at feasts and the chief seats in the synagogues, and they love to be greeted respectfully in the markets and have men call them “Rabbi, Rabbi.” (Matthew 23:2-7)
…The Kingdom of God is within you. (Luke 17:21)
Don’t be surprised that I said unto you all, “You must be ‘born again.’” (John 3:7)
There is no riches above the riches of the health of the body: and there is no pleasure above the joy of the heart. (30:16)
All wisdom comes from the Lord, and is with him forever. 1:1
All wisdom is from the Lord God, and has been always with him, and is before all time. 1:1
For there is a shame that brings sin; and there is a shame that brings glory and grace. 4:21
Be in peace with many: nevertheless have but one counsellor of a thousand. 6:6
37:11 Neither consult with a woman touching her of whom she is jealous; neither with a coward in matters of war; nor with a merchant concerning exchange; nor with a buyer of selling; nor with an envious man of thankfulness; nor with an unmerciful man touching kindness; nor with the slothful for any work; nor with an hireling for a year of finishing work; nor with an idle servant of much business: hearken not unto these in any matter of counsel.
In the midst of the unwise, keep in the word till its time: but be continually among men that think. (27:13)
...Hide your counsel from they who envy you. 37:7
If you would get a friend, try him before you take him, and do not credit him easily. For some man is a friend for his own occasion, and will not abide in the day of thy trouble. 6:7-8
9:11 Envy not the glory of a sinner: for you know not what shall be his end.
….many have been deceived by the beauty of a woman… 9:8
Many therefore have refused to lend for other men’s ill dealing, fearing to be defrauded. Yet have thou patience with a man in poor estate, and delay not to shew him mercy. 29:7-8
(1943-) pro football coach & television analyst
A losing football team looks at excuses. A championship football team looks at solutions.
(1709-1784) writer
Two men examining the same question proceed commonly like the physician and gardener in selecting herbs, or the farmer and hero looking on the plain; they bring minds impressed with different notions, and direct their inquiries to different ends; they form, therefore, contrary conclusions, and each wonders at the other’s absurdity. 107
We have less reason to be surprised or offended when we find others differ from us in opinion, because we very often differ from ourselves.
…How is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of negroes? (“Taxation No Tyrrany”)
Labor, if it were not necessary for existence, would be indispensable for the happiness of man.
Much time is lost in regretting the time which had been lost before. (The Patriot)
Such is the common process of marriage. A youth and maiden exchange meeting by chance, or brought together by artifice, exchange glances, reciprocate civilities, go home, and dream of one another. Having little to divert attention, or diversify thought, they find themselves uneasy when they are apart, and therefore conclude that they shall be happy together. They marry, and discover what nothing but voluntary blindness had before concealed; they wear out life in altercations, and charge nature with cruelty. (Rasselas)
The man who threatens the world is always ridiculous; for the world can easily go on without him, and in a short time will cease to miss him. (Pope - Lives of the Poets)
A man should be careful never to tell tales of himself to his own disadvantage. People may be amused and laugh at the time, but they will be remembered, and brought out against him upon some subsequent occasion.
A man ought to read just as inclination leads him; for what he reads as a task will do him little good.
Those who will not take the trouble to think for themselves, have always somebody that thinks for them… (Idler 3) ?
If we will have the kindness of others, we must endure their follies. He who cannot persuade himself to withdraw from society, must be content to pay a tribute of his time to a multitude of tyrants; to the loiterer, who makes appointments which he never keeps; to the consulter, who asks advice which he never takes; to the boaster, who blusters only to be praised; to the complainer, who whines only to be pitied; to the projector, whose happiness is to entertain his friends with expectations which all but himself know to be vain; to the economist, who tells of bargains and settlements; to the politician, who predicts the fate of battles and breach of alliances; to the usurer, who compares the different funds; and to the talker, who talks only because he loves to be talking. (Idler 14)
There is nothing which we estimate so fallaciously as the force of our own resolutions, nor any fallacy which we so unwillingly and tardily detect. He that has resolved a thousand times, and a thousand times deserted his own purpose, yet suffers no abatement of his confidence, but still believes himself his own master; and able, by innate vigour of soul, to press forward to his end, through all the obstructions that inconveniences or delights can put in his way. (Idler 27)
That this mistake should prevail for a time, is very natural. When conviction is present, and temptation out of sight, we do not easily conceive how any reasonable being can deviate from his true interest. What ought to be done, while it yet hangs only on speculation, is so plain and certain, that there is no place for doubt; the whole soul yields itself to the predominance of truth, and readily determines to do what, when the time of action comes, will be at last omitted.
It has been commonly remarked, that eminent men are least eminent at home, that bright characters lose much of their splendour at a nearer view, and many, who fill the world with their fame, excite very little reverence among those that surround them in their domestick privacies. (Idler 51)
The most authentick witnesses of any man’s character are those who know him in his own family, and see him without any restraint, or rule of conduct, but such as he voluntarily prescribes to himself. If a man carries virtue with him into his private apartments, and takes no advantage of unlimited power, or probable secresy; if we trace him through the round of his time, and find that his character, with those allowances which mortal frailty must always want, is uniform and regular, we have all the evidence of his sincerity, that one man can have with regard to another; and, indeed, as hypocrisy cannot be its own reward, we may, without hesitation, determine that his heart is pure. (Rambler 68)
What is read with delight is commonly retained, because pleasure always secures attention… (Idler 74)
That every day has its pains and sorrows is universally experienced, and almost universally confessed; but let us not attend only to mournful truths; if we look impartially about us, we shall find that every day has likewise its pleasures and its joys. (Idler 80)
But, however we may labour for our own deception, truth, though unwelcome, will sometimes intrude upon the mind. (Idler 80)
We are inclined to believe those whom we do not know because they have never deceived us. (Idler 80)
It is common to overlook what is near, by keeping the eye fixed upon something remote. In the same manner, present opportunities are neglected, and attainable good is slighted, by minds busied in extensive ranges, and intent upon future advantages. (Idler 91)
There would however be few enterprises of great labour or hazard undertaken, if we had not the power of magnifying the advantages which we persuade ourselves to expect of them. …
The understanding of a man, naturally sanguine, may, indeed, be easily vitiated by the luxurious indulgence of hope, however necessary to the production of every thing great or excellent, as some plants are destroyed by too open exposure to that sun which gives life and beauty to the vegetable world. (Rambler 2)
It is not often that any man can have so much knowledge of another as is necessary to make instruction useful. We are sometimes not ourselves conscious of the original motives of our actions; and when we know them, our first care is to hide them from the sight of others, and often from those most diligently, whose superiority either of power or understanding may entitle them to inspect our lives; it is, therefore, very probable, that he who endeavours to cure our intellectual maladies, mistakes their cause; and that his prescriptions avail nothing, because he knows not which of the passions or desires is vitiated. (Rambler 7)
Every thing future is to be estimated, by a wise man, in proportion to the probability of attaining it and its value, when attained… (20)
The tribe is likewise very numerous of those who regulate their lives, not by the standard of religion, but the measure of other men’s virtue; who lull their own remorse with the remembrance of crimes more atrocious than their own, and seem to believe that they are not bad while another can be found worse.
The desire of excellence is laudable, but is very frequently ill directed. We fall, by chance, into some class of mankind, and, without consulting nature or wisdom, resolve to gain their regard by those qualities which they happen to esteem. I once knew a man remarkably dimsighted, who, by conversing much with country gentlemen, found himself irresistibly determined to sylvan honours. His great ambition was to shoot flying, and he therefore spent whole days in the woods pursuing game; which, before he was near enough to see them, his approach frighted away. …
We see multitudes busy in the pursuit of riches, at the expense of wisdom and of virtue; but we see the rest of mankind approving their conduct, and inciting their eagerness, by paying that regard and deference to wealth, which wisdom and virtue only can deserve.
Criticks, like the rest of mankind, are very frequently misled by interest. The bigotry with which editors regard the authors whom they illustrate or correct, has been generally remarked. Dryden was known to have written most of his critical dissertations only to recommend the work upon which he then happened to be employed: and Addison is suspected to have denied the expediency of poetical justice, because his own Cato was condemned to perish in a good cause.
Praise, like gold and diamonds, owes its value only to its scarcity. (Rambler 136)
Every man, however hopeless his pretensions may appear to all but himself, has some project by which he hopes to rise to reputation; some art by which he imagines that the notice of the world will be attracted; some quality, good or bad, which discriminates him from the common herd of mortals, and by which others may be persuaded to love, or compelled to fear him. (Rambler 164)
No place affords a more striking conviction of the vanity of human hopes than a public library; for who can see the wall crowded on every side by mighty volumes, the works of laborious meditations and accurate inquiry, now scarcely known but by the catalogue...
Men are seldom satisfied with praise introduced or followed by any mention of defect. (Pope (Lives of the Poets)
I have often known very severe and lasting malevolence excited by unlucky censures, which would have fallen without any effect, had they not happened to wound a part remarkably tender. Gustulus, who valued himself upon the nicety of his palate, disinherited his eldest son for telling him that the wine, which he was then commending, was the same which he had sent away the day before as not fit to be drunk. Proculus withdrew his kindness from a nephew, whom he had always considered as the most promising genius of the age, for happening to praise in his presence the graceful horsemanship of Marius. And Fortunio, when he was privy counsellor, procured a clerk to be dismissed from one of the publick offices, in which he was eminent for his skill and assiduity, because he had been heard to say that there was another man in the kingdom on whose skill at billiards he would lay his money against Fortunio’s. (Rambler 40)
Sir, there is nothing by which a man exasperates most people more, than by displaying a superiour ability or brilliancy in conversation. They seem pleased at the time; but their envy makes them curse him in their hearts.
No cause more frequently produces bashfulness than too high an opinion of our own importance. ... The truth is, that no man is much regarded by the rest of the world. He that considers how little he dwells upon the condition of others, will learn how little the attention of others is attracted by himself. (Rambler 159)
A request made with diffidence and timidity is easily denied, because the petitioner himself seems to doubt its fitness… (Rambler 166) *
The same actions performed by different hands produce different effects, and instead of rating the man by his performances, we rate too frequently the performances by the man. (Rambler 166)
The folly of untimely exultation and visionary prosperity, is by no means peculiar to the purchasers of tickets; there are multitudes whose life is nothing but a continual lottery; who are always within a few months of plenty and happiness, and how often soever they are mocked with blanks, expect a prize from the next adventure. (Rambler 182)
To strive with difficulties, and to conquer them, is the highest human felicity; the next is, to strive, and deserve to conquer: but he whose life has passed without a contest, and who can boast neither success nor merit, can survey himself only as a useless filler of existence; and if he is content with his own character, must owe his satisfaction to insensibility. (Adventurer 111) *
It has been formerly remarked by The Guardian, that the world punishes with too great severity the errours of those, who imagine that the ignorance of little things may be compensated by the knowledge of great; for so it is, that as more can detect petty failings than can distinguish or esteem great qualifications, and as mankind is in general more easily disposed to censure than to admiration, contempt is often incurred by slight mistakes, which real virtue or usefulness cannot counterbalance. (131)
….He who expects from mankind, that they should give up established customs in compliance with his single will, and exacts that deference which he does not pay, may be endured, but can never be approved. …
The pride of men will not patiently endure to see one, whose understanding or attainments are but level with their own, break the rules by which they have consented to be bound, or forsake the direction which they submissively follow. All violation of established practice implies in its own nature a rejection of the common opinion, a defiance of common censure, and an appeal from general laws to private judgment: he, therefore, who differs from others without apparent advantage, ought not to be angry if his arrogance is punished with ridicule; if those whose example he superciliously overlooks, point him out to derision, and hoot him back again into the common road.
The pride of singularity is often exerted in little things, where right and wrong are indeterminable, and where, therefore, vanity is without excuse. But there are occasions on which it is noble to dare to stand alone. (Adventurer 131)
Whoever commits a fraud is guilty not only of the particular injury to him who he deceives, but of the diminution of that confidence which constitutes not only the ease but the existence of society. (Rambler 79)
Some hindrances will be found in every road of life, but he that fixes his eyes upon any thing at a distance necessarily loses sight of all that fills up the intermediate space, and therefore sets forward with alacrity and confidence, nor suspects a thousand obstacles by which he afterwards finds his passage embarrassed and obstructed. Some are, indeed, stopped at once in their career by a sudden shock of calamity, or diverted to a different direction by the cross impulse of some violent passion; but far the greater part languish by slow degrees, deviate at first into slight obliquities, and themselves scarcely perceive at what time their ardour forsook them, or when they lost sight of their original design. (Rambler 127)
The folly of desisting too soon from successful labours, and the haste of enjoying advantages before they are secured, is often fatal to men of impetuous desire, to men whose consciousness of uncommon powers fills them with presumption, and who having borne opposition down before them, and left emulation panting behind, are easily persuaded to imagine that they have reached the heights of perfection, and that now, being no longer in danger from competitors, they may pass the rest of their days in the enjoyment of their acquisitions, in contemplation of their own superiority, and in attention to their own praises, and look unconcerned from their eminence upon the toils and contentions of meaner beings. (Rambler 127)
It is true, that no diligence can ascertain success; death may intercept the swiftest career; but he who is cut off in the execution of an honest undertaking has at least the honour of falling in his rank, and has fought the battle, though he missed the victory. (Rambler 134)
Almost all absurdity of conduct arises from the imitation of those whom we cannot resemble. (Rambler 135)
Scarce any man becomes eminently disagreeable but by a departure from his real character, and an attempt at something for which nature or education has left him unqualified. (Rambler 179)
We seldom require more to the happiness of the present hour than to surpass him that stands next before us. (Rambler 164)
No estimate is more in danger of erroneous calculations than those by which a man computes the force of his own genius. (Rambler 154)
Ardour of confidence is usually found among those who, having not enlarged their notions by books or conversation, are persuaded, by the partiality which we all feel in our own favour, that they have reached the summit of excellence, because they discover none higher than themselves, and who acquiesce in the first thoughts that occur, because their scantiness of knowledge allows them little choice, and the narrowness of their views affords them no glimpse of perfection of that sublime idea which human industry has from the first ages been vainly toiling to approach. (Rambler 169)
Leisure and curiosity might soon make great advances in useful knowledge, were they not diverted by minute emulation and laborious trifles. (Rambler 177)
The world, in its best state, is nothing more than a larger assembly of beings, combining to counterfeit happiness which they do not feel, employing every art and contrivance to embellish life, and to hide their real condition from the eyes of one another.
That kind of life is most happy which affords us most opportunities of gaining our own esteem.
Sir, as a man advances in life, he gets what is better than admiration,—judgement, to estimate things at their true value.
Madness frequently discovers itself merely by unnecessary deviation from the usual modes of the world. My poor friend Smart showed the disturbance of his mind, by falling upon his knees, and saying his prayers in the street, or in any other unusual place. Now although, rationally speaking, it is greater madness not to pray at all, than to pray as Smart did, I am afraid there are so many who do not pray that their understanding is not called in question.
Those who have attempted much, have seldom failed to perform more than those who never deviate from the common roads of action: many valuable preparations of chymistry are supposed to have risen from unsuccessful enquiries after the grand elixir: it is, therefore, just to encourage those who endeavour to enlarge the power of art, since they often succeed beyond expectation; and when they fail, may sometimes benefit the world even by their miscarriages. (Adventurer #99 (October 16, 1753)
That it is vain to shrink from what cannot be avoided, and to hide that from ourselves which must sometime be found, is a truth which we all know, but which all neglect, and perhaps none more than the speculative reasoner, whose thoughts are always from home, whose eyes wander over life, whose fancy dances over meteors of happiness kindled by itself, and who examines every thing rather than his own state. (Idler 41)
Every man has something to do which he neglects; every man has faults to conquer which he delays to combat. (Idler 43)
I have now spent fifty-five years in resolving: having, from the earliest time almost that I can remember, been forming plans of a better life. I have done nothing. The need of doing, therefore, is pressing, since the time of doing is short. (Prayers)
Many things necessary are omitted, because we vainly imagine that they may be always performed; and what cannot be done without pain will forever be delayed, if the time of doing it be left unsettled. (Rambler 155)
No sooner do we sit down to enjoy our acquisitions, than we find them insufficient to fill up the vacuities of life. (Idler 73)
The desires of man increase with his acquisitions; every step which he advances brings something within his view, which he did not see before, and which, as soon as he sees it, he begins to want. Where necessity ends, curiosity begins; and no sooner are we supplied with every thing that nature can demand, than we sit down to contrive artificial appetites.
By this restlessness of mind, every populous and wealthy city is filled with innumerable employments, for which the greater part of mankind is without a name; with artificers, whose labour is exerted in producing such petty conveniencies, that many shops are furnished with instruments, of which the use can hardly be found without inquiry, but which he that once knows them quickly learns to number among necessary things. (Idler 30)
He that in the latter part of his life too strictly inquires what he has done, can very seldom receive from his own heart such an account as will give him satisfaction. (Idler 88)
Many, indeed, who enjoy retreat only in imagination, content themselves with believing, that another year will transport them to rural tranquility, and die while they talk of doing what, if they had lived longer, they would never have done. (Adventurer 126)
Of those that spin out trifles and die without a memorial, many flatter themselves with high opinions of their own importance, and imagine that they are every day adding some improvement to human life. (Idler 17)
Pleasure is ... seldom such as it appears to others, nor often such as we represent it to ourselves. Of the ladies that sparkle at a musical performance, a very small number has any quick sensibility of harmonious sounds. But every one that goes has her pleasure. She has the pleasure of wearing fine clothes, and of showing them, of outshining those whom she suspects to envy her; she has the pleasure of appearing among other ladies in a place where the race of meaner mortals seldom intrudes, and of reflecting that, in the conversations of the next morning, her name will be mentioned among those that sat in the first row. (Idler 18)
The best teachers of humanity are the lives of great men.
(1887-1929) businessman
Nothing makes you more tolerant of a neighbor’s noisy party than being there.
I never looked at the consequences of missing a big shot… When you think about the consequences you always think of a negative result.
Michael Jordan Biography and Quotes
This is the age of snap judgements; a habit greatly intensified by the press. Twenty-four hours after a sensational murder, it’s difficult to find people who have not already formulated a judgement about the case. These people have usually read and accepted the highly-colored newspaper account and have almost discovered the murderer, tried him and sentenced him.
We know nothing of the trials, sorrows, and temptations of those around us; or of the secret struggles and worries, of perhaps a life-tragedy that may be hidden behind a smile. At times we even say to one who seems calm and smiling, “You ought to be supremely happy, you have everything a heart could wish for.” And it may be that at that very moment the person is passing alone through some grief when living seems like an agony from which there is no relief. Then our misjudgements only make them feel isolated from the rest of humanity.
Let us not add to the burden of another the pain of our judgements. If we are to guard our mouths from expressing them, then we must control our minds and stop continually assessing the acts of others, even in private.
The most selfish man in the world is the one who is most unselfish with his sorrows. He does not leave a single misery untold to you, or unsuffered by you. He gives you all of them. The world becomes to him a dumping ground of his private cares, worries and trials.
Man’s conscious influence, when he is on dress-parade, when he is posing to impress those around him,--is woefully small. But his unconscious influence, the silent, subtle radiation of his personality, the effect of his words and acts, the trifles he never considers,--is tremendous.
Few there are who feel the positive joy of living, whose blood tingles and surges with the thrill of delight just at being alive. It means loving life in a big, free, unquestioning way, feeling it a wondrous, gladsome privilege, drinking it all in, with all it is and has of good or ill, not heroically from a half-filled cup but joyously and unstintedly as from some ever-gushing spring.
The greatest things in life are the commonplace. Their very profuseness, their wide distribution, their unfailing constancy have in a way cheapened them in our eyes as some people unconsciously grow to think too little of a friend they see too often. Familiarity throws an obscuring veil of illusion over them that hides from us their wonder and their revelation. The more we know them the less we know of them.
(1840-1904) Nez Perce Native American leader
The earth and myself are of one mind.
I believe much trouble and blood would be saved if we opened our hearts more.
(1754-1824) philosopher
A thought is often original, though you have uttered it a hundred times. It has come to you over a new route, by a new and express train of associations. (Pensees)
Children need models more than they need critics.
In order to be happy, think of the ills you have been spared.
We begin life with the world presenting itself to us as it is. Someone—our parents, teachers, analysts—hypnotizes us to “see” the world and construe it in the “right” way. These others label the world, attach names and give voices to the beings and events in it, so that thereafter, we cannot read the world in any other language or hear it saying other things to us. The task is to break the hypnotic spell, so that we become undeaf, unblind and multilingual, thereby letting the world speak to us in new voices and write all its possible meanings in the new book of our existence. Be careful in your choice of hypnotists.
(1875-1961) influential psychologist
Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.
The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.
Men who are unequal to the labor of discussing an argument or wish to avoid it, are willing enough to suppose that much has been proved because much has been said.
No sooner is it a little calmer with me than it is almost too calm, as though I have the true feeling of myself only when I am unbearably unhappy.
Do you think that, by bearing with insulting persons, I shall fall into dishonor?
Though at the height of fame, you ought in the watches of the night to lay your hand on your breast and ask yourself, "Have I cause of shame or not?"
(1724-1804) philosopher
Men can never acquire respect by benevolence alone…
It takes more courage to reveal insecurities than to hide them, more strength to relate to people than to dominate them, more “manhood” to abide by thought-out principles rather than blind reflex. Toughness is in the soul & spirit, not in muscles & an immature mind.
Saving the mustard seeds in your hand might cause you to miss out on getting a watermelon.
The healthy person experiences a healthy world.
The message spoken to the daughter is often aimed at the daughter-in-law.
(1880-1968) writer and social reformer
Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.
Many people have the wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.
I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and [just] because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. (Hale?)
Helen Keller Biography and Quotes
(1379-1471) Christian monk and theologian
Habit is overcome by habit.
(1918-1986) artist
Love the moment and the energy of that moment will spread beyond all boundaries.
The enemy you know is better than the one you don't know.
(1921-1995) personal growth author and lecturer
When you accept yourself completely you do not have to maintain a phony front, drive yourself to achieve or feel insecure if people tune-in to you and what you are doing.
People who postpone happiness are like children who try chasing rainbows in an effort to find the pot of gold at the rainbow's end.
(1882-1927) Sufi teacher and musician
Reason is a gift given to us like any other faculty of mind, like imagination. But it is a part of mind: if it becomes all the mind, it spoils it all.
A responsible person is worth more than a thousand men who labor.
Overlook the greatest fault of another, but do not partake of it in the smallest degree.
Every soul has a definite task, and the fulfillment of each individual purpose can alone lead man aright; illumination comes to him through the medium of his own talent. *
One single moment of a sincere life is worth more than a thousand years of a life of falsehood.
Reality itself is its own evidence.
The more a man explores himself, the more power he finds within.
He is an unbeliever who cannot believe in himself.
The first birth is the birth of man; the second birth is the birth of God.
Life confuses man so much that there is hardly one among a thousand who really knows what he wants; and perhaps there is one among a million who knows what he wants; and perhaps there is one among a million who knows why he wants it; and even among millions you will not find one with the knowledge of why he should want it, and why he should not want it.
My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, “You’re tearing up the grass.” “We’re not raising grass,” Dad would reply. “We’re raising boys”
(1929-1968) social activist
People who have a stake in their society protect that society—but when they don’t have it, they unconsciously want to destroy it.
(1949-) golf pro
Discipline and concentration are a matter of being interested.
(1932-) pro football coach
You can concede to an opponent something he hasn’t earned. It’s one thing to underestimate an opponent. But maybe the worst thing is to overestimate. You always play your strengths. But that doesn’t mean you become predictable.
(1879–1950) philosopher and scientist
When we overgeneralize, we render ourselves unsane.
Anyone who goes hungry for three days will be inclined to steal.
Put something off for one day, and ten days will pass.
Even if the sky falls on you, there is a hole you can escape from.
He who trusts petty men will lose gentelmen of worth.
Kung-sun Ch’ao of Wei asked Tzu Kung, “From whom did Confucius get his learning/warning?”
Tzu Kung said, “Wen and Wu’s tao has not totally fallen—it can be found among people. The worthy remember the greater principles, and others of less hsien remember small parts—thus all possess Wen and Wu’s tao. There was no one * Confucius could not learn from, yet there was no one who was his only teacher.” 19:22
Be swift if you are a hammer; be patient if you are an anvil.
A good companion shortens the longest road.
Dealing with yourself is harder than dealing with the rest of the world.
Search yourself, and you will find God.
The satiated do not understand the concern of the hungry.
To the person who takes, six is not enough; to the person who gives, five is too much.
One who is extremely intelligent might turn crazy.
(1621-1695) poet
It is a double pleasure to deceive the deceiver.
The wise distrust the unknown.
It is never becoming to mock the miserable.
Everyone has his faults which he continually repeats; neither fear nor shame can cure them.
We must laugh before we are happy, for fear we die before we laugh at all.
(1613-1680) soldier and writer
We do not wish ardently for what we desire only through reason. 469
Reason alone is insufficient to make us enthusiastic in any matter.
A man often believes himself leader when he is led; as his mind endeavors to reach one goal, his heart insensibly drags him towards another.
When our hatred is too bitter, it places us beneath those we hate. 338
Self love is more cunning than the most cunning man in the world. 4
Neither the sun nor death can be looked at steadily. 26
Jealousy is in a manner just and reasonable, as it tends to preserve a good which belongs, or which we believe belongs to us. Envy, on the other hand, is a fury that cannot endure the happiness of others.
Interest blinds some and makes some see.
Those who apply themselves too closely to trifling things often become incapable of great things.
A clever man ought to so regulate his interests that each will fall in due order. Our greediness so often troubles us, making us run after so many things at the same time, that while we too eagerly look after the least, we miss the greatest. 66
We are never as happy or as unhappy as we suppose. 49
Sincerity is an openness of heart; we find it in very few people. What we usually see is only an artful dissimulation to win the confidence of others. 62
If there is a pure love, exempt from the mixture of our other passions, it is that which is concealed at the bottom of the heart and of which even ourselves are ignorant. 69
True love is like a ghost: everyone speaks of it, but few have seen it. 76
Men would not live long in society were they not the dupes of each other. 87
The head is ever the dupe of the heart. 102
Those who know their minds do not necessarily know their hearts. 103
The head cannot play the part of the heart for long. 108
It is as easy to unknowingly deceive yourself as to deceive others. 115
The most subtle of our acts is to simulate blindness/unawareness for snares that we know are set for us. We are never so easily deceived as when trying to deceive. 117
We are so accustomed to disguising ourselves to others that we end up disguising ourselves from ourselves. 119
If we never flattered ourselves, we should have but scant/insufficient pleasure. 123
It is sometimes necessary to play the fool in order to avoid being deceived by cunning men. 129
It is far easier to be wise for others than to be so for oneself. 132
We are never so ridiculous from the habits we have as from those that we affect to have. 134
One reason why we find so few people who are rational and agreeable in conversation is that there is harldly anyone who does not think more about what he wants to say than about responding to what is said. The most clever and polite people are content with merely seeming attentive—and we can can perceive in their eyes and mind that they are wandering from what is said, and want to return to what they want to say; instead of considering that the worst way to persuade or please others is to try to please ourselves [this way], and that listening well and answering well are some of the greatest charms we can have in conversation. 139
147
Few are wise enough to prefer useful censure to treacherous praise.
The modesty that pretends to refuse praise is but in truth a desire to be praised more highly.
150
The desire that urges us to deserve praise strengthens our good qualities; and praise given to wit, valor, and beauty, tends to increase them.
163
Numberless acts appear foolish whose secret motives are most wise and weighty.
164
It is much easier to seem fitted for posts we do not fill, than for those we do.
165
Ability wins us the esteem of the true individuals, luck that of the people.
166
The world oftener rewards the appearance of merit than merit itself.
168
However deceitful hope may be, yet she carries us on pleasantly to the end of life.
199
The desire to appear clever often prevents our being so.
Virtue would not go far without vanity to escort her. (200)
201
He who thinks he has the power to be content without the world greatly deceives himself, but he who thinks that the world cannot be content without him deceives himself even more.
He who thinks he can find in himself the means of doing without others is much mistaken; but he who thinks that others cannot do without him is still more mistaken.
212
* Most people judge men only by success/fashionable-appeal or by fortune.
217
Intrepidity is an extraordinary strength of soul that raises it above the troubles, disorders, and emotions that the sight of great perils can arouse in it. By this strength, heroes maintain a calm aspect and preserve their reason and liberty in the most surprising and terrible predicaments.
225
What makes false reckoning, as regards gratitude, is that the pride of the giver and the receiver cannot agree as to the value of the benefit.
Lucky people are often bad hands at correcting their faults; they believe that they are right when luck backs up their vice or folly. 227
It is great folly to wish only to be wise. 231
Doing wrong to others is often less dangerous than doing them too much good. 238
Flirtation is at the bottom of woman’s nature, though all do not practice it, some being restrained by fear, others by sense. (241)
242
We often bore others when we think we cannot possibly bore them.
249
There is at least as much eloquence in the voice, eyes, and air of a speaker as in his choice of words.
251
There are people whose faults become them, and others whose very virtues disgrace them.
We credit judges with having the meanest motives, and yet we desire our reputation and fame should depend upon the judgment of men, all of whom—either from their jealousy, pre-occupation, or want of intelligence—are opposed to us. And yet, it is merely for the sake of making these men decide in our flavor, that we peril in so many ways both our peace and our life. (268) *
No man is clever/discerning enough to know all the evil he does. (269)
272
To men who have deserved high praise, nothing should be more humbling than the lengths to which they will still go to get credit for petty things.
284
There are wicked people who would be much less dangerous if they were wholly without goodness.
We may forgive those who bore us; we cannot forgive those whom we bore. (304)
Interest, which is accused of all our misdeeds, often should be praised for our good deeds. (305)
319
If we take the liberty to dwell on their faults, we cannot long preserve the feelings we should hold towards our friends and benefactors.
We are nearer loving those who hate us, than those who love us more than we desire. 321
347
We hardly find any persons of good sense, save those who agree with us.
We rarely ever perceive others as being sensible, except for those who agree with us.
[We find very few people of good sense, except those who are of our own opinion.]
There are few virtuous women who are not tired of their part.
[A good woman is a hidden treasure; he who discovers her will do well not to boast about it.]
Most young people think they are natural when they are only boorish and rude.
There may be talent/virtue without position, but there is no position without some kind of talent. *
405
We are quite inexperienced as we reach the different stages of life, and we often lack experience even in spite of the number of our years.
Nothing prevents our being natural as much as our desire to seem so.
433
The most certain sign of being born with great qualities is to be born without envy.
436
It is much easier to know men than it is to know a man.
439
We should earnestly desire but few things if we clearly knew what we desired.
440
The cause why the majority of women are so little given to friendship is, that it is insipid after having felt love.
441
As in friendship so in love, we are often happier from ignorance than from knowledge.
442
We try to make a virtue of vices we are loth/unwilling to correct.
453
In great matters we should not try so much to create opportunities as to utilize those that offer themselves.
478
Fancy/imagination does not enable us to invent so many different contradictions as there are by nature in every heart.
482
The mind attaches itself by idleness and habit to whatever is easy or pleasant. This habit always places bounds to our knowledge, and no one has ever yet taken the pains to enlarge and expand his mind to the full extent of its capacities.
However wicked men may be, they do not dare condemn virtue openly. Thus, when they want to attack virtue, they pretend it is false or charge it with crimes. 489
Few things are needed to make a wise man happy; nothing can make a fool content; that is why most men are miserable.
We concern ourselves less with becoming happy than making others believe we are.
Before strongly desiring anything, we should examine the happiness of those who already posses it.
A true friend is the greatest of all goods, and that of which we think least of acquiring.
It is more necessary to study men than books.
It is most difficult to speak when we are ashamed of being silent.
A man who no one is pleasing is much unhappier than a man who pleases nobody.
Most things are praised or condemned only because it is fashionable to praise or condemn them.
Hope and fear are inseparable.
It is very hard to separate the general goodness spread all over the world from great cleverness.
The reason why so few persons are agreeable in conversation is that each thinks more of what he desires to say, than of what the others say, and that we make bad listeners when we want to speak.
Yet it is necessary to listen to those who talk, we should give them the time they want…We should enter into their mind and taste, illustrate their meaning, praise anything they say that deserves praise, and let them see we praise more from our choice than from agreement with them. …
After having in this way fulfilled the duties of politeness, we can speak our opinions to our listeners when we find an opportunity without a sign of presumption or opinionatedness. …
We cannot give too great study to find out the manner and the capacity of those with whom we talk, so as to join in the conversation of those who have more than ourselves without hurting by this preference the wishes or interests of others.
Then we should modestly use all the modes abovementioned to show our thoughts to them, and make them, if possible, believe that we take our ideas from them. …
It is not wrong to retain our opinions if they are reasonable, but we should yield to reason, wherever she appears and from whatever side she comes, she alone should govern our opinions, we should follow her without opposing the opinions of others, and without seeming to ignore what they say.
It is dangerous to seek to be always the leader of the conversation, and to push a good argument too hard, when we have found one. Civility often hides half its understanding, and when it meets with an opinionated man who defends the bad side, spares him the disgrace of giving way. …
Every kind of conversation, however witty it may be, is not equally fitted for all clever persons; we should select what is to their taste and suitable to their condition, their sex, their talents, and also choose the time to say it. …
There is an eloquent silence which serves to approve or to condemn, there is a silence of discretion and of respect. In a word, there is a tone, an air, a manner, which renders everything in conversation agreeable or disagreeable, refined or vulgar.
For many reasons we may be disgusted with life, but for none may we despise it. Not even those who commit suicide regard it as a light matter, and are as much alarmed and startled as the rest of the world if death meets them in a different way than the one they have selected. The difference we observe in the courage of so many brave men is from meeting death in a way different from what they imagined when it shows itself nearer at one time than at another. Thus it ultimately happens that having despised death when they were ignorant of it, they dread it when they become acquainted with it.
1665-301
Women for the most part surrender themselves more from weakness than from passion; and by that reason, bold and pushing men succeed better than others, even though they are not so loveable.
Men only blame vice and praise virtue from interest.
Ms., Fol. 310, Max. 494
God has permitted, to punish man for his original sin, that he should be so fond of his self-love, that he should be tormented by it in all the actions of his life.
It is more easy to extinguish the first desire than to satisfy those which follow.
Lovers do not wish to see the faults of their mistresses until their enchantment is at an end.
There is nothing more natural, nor more deceptive, than to believe that we are beloved.
A man to whom no one is pleasing is much more unhappy than one who pleases nobody.
(1924-2000) one of the winningest pro football coaches of all time
Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence, seeing how you react. If you’re in control, they’re in control.
When the water rises, the fish eat the ants; when the water falls, the ants eat the fish.
The tao that can be tao is not the absolute tao. The name that can be named is not the absolute name. 1
Therefore, the Sage abides by wu wei [ non-action] in his activities, and practices with no-words in his teachings. He produces but does not possess, acts but does not assume, and accomplishes but does not wallow/take credit. And not wallowing, there is no departing. 2
tao is empty. Its use is inexhaustible.
So deep, it is the source of all things.
It dulls sharpness, untangles tangles, dims light, and unites with dust.
Deep and present —
I do not know whose child it is.
It preceded God. 4
T’ien endures and Earth is lasting. Why can T’ien and Earth endure and be lasting? Because they do not live selfishly. That is why they endure.
Thus, the Sage goes back and is in front, detaches/outside and is preserved/within.
Not self-fixated, her Self is fulfilled. 7
Filling to the extreme is not as good as stopping at the right amount/in time. Sharpening too much can wear away.
Filling the hall with gold and jewels will result in less safety. Wealth and approval are slavery.
When work is accomplished, a person walks away: T’ien’s tao. 9
When the Great tao is abandoned, [external superficial forms and labels of] “jen” and “yi” appear.
When “knowledge” and “wisdom/circumspection/reason/shrewdness” appear/professed, we have great hypocrisy.
When families are inharmonious/forgotten, “filialness” and “love/affection” begin.
When the country and clans become chaotic, “loyalty”? and “patriotism” are born. 18
Throw out "holiness/saintliness/reason" and "wisdom/reason," and people will live a hundred times better. Throw out "jen" and "yi," and people will return to social harmony and love. Throw out industry/cleverness" and profit/greed, and there will be no thieves.
These three are not enough.
Thus, it is said: Hold fast to what will endure. Reveal your simple self. Preserve you pureness. Check/lessenyour selfishness with desires fewer. ?Throw away knowledge, and problems will disappear?. 19
If you would take, you must first give—this is the beginning of intelligence. 36
Fame or the self: which is more important? Money or the self: which is more valuable? Success of failure: which is more dangerous?
A wrong perspective leads to loss. Obsession with wealth leads to a lack of security.
If I have ever so little knowledge, walk in the great tao. It is but expansion that I must fear.
The Great tao is very simple, but people are fond of side paths.
When the palace is very splendid, the fields are very weedy and the granaries very empty.
Wearing ornaments and fine clothing, carrying sharp swords, eating and drinking excessively, and having many costly items—this is the vanity of robbers, and is surely not tao. 53
Take [preventive] action before things happen. Control/order before disorder has begun.
The tree that fills the arms grows from a small sprout. The tower of nine levels starts with a heap of dirt. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. 64
There are occasions that seem worthless, and the average person thinks he is wasting time while he is passing through such states, but no matter how worthless the occasion may seem to be the one who makes the best use of it while he is in it will get something of real value out of it; in addition, the experience will have exceptional worth, because whenever we try to turn an occasion to good account we turn everything in ourselves to good account.
The average person is full of artificial desires, desires that have been suggested by what other people possess or require. But the question is not what we need now to compete with other people so as to make more extravagant external appearances than other people. The question is, what do we need now to make our present life as full, as complete and as perfect as it possibly can be made now.
Ask yourself this question and your artificial desires will disappear.
Happiness, however, is not the result of any one single cause. It is the result of many ideal states of being grouped together into one harmonious whole. …
He who seeks a reason for everything subverts reason.
We are born; we die.
While we live, let us live.
He that has time and looks for more, loses time.
Toil is prayer.
The good hate to sin from love of virtue; the bad hate to sin from fear of punishment.
Some things are better praised by silence than remark.
It is necessary to risk something.
Danger can never be overcome without taking risks.
It is better to be always prepared than to suffer once.
If you desire peace, be ever prepared for war.
The office shows the man.
Every virtue is but half way between two vices.
Every advantage has its disadvantage.
You teach the dolphin to swim.
He who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
The hatred of knaves is preferable to their company.
Many will hate you if you love yourself.
Never descend to vulgarity, even in joking.
Attempt nothing beyond your strength.
Times change, and we change with them.
You may drive Nature out with a pitchfork, but she will inevitably return.
No matter how much you eat, save some seeds for sowing.
If the fool has a hump, no one notices it; if the wise man has a pimple, everybody talks about it. (Livonian)
(1741-1801) theologian, mystic, and poet
He who reforms himself, has done more toward reforming the public, than a crowd of noisy, impotent patriots.
He knows very little of mankind who expects, by any facts or reasoning, to convince a determined party-man.
He who has not forgiven an enemy has not yet tasted one of the most sublime enjoyments of life.
Act well at the moment, and you have performed a good action to all eternity.
Beware of him who hates the laugh of a child.
Say not you know another entirely, till you have divided an inheritance with him.
The more honesty a man has, the less he affects the air of a saint.
Trust not him with your secrets, who, when left alone in the/your room, turns over your papers. (Aphorisms on Man)
If you wish to appear agreeable in society, you must consent to be taught many things which you know already.
(1841–1931) social psychologist, sociologist
In a crowd every sentiment and act is contagious, and contagious to such a degree that an individual readily sacrifices his personal interest to the collective interest.
There is not a summing-up of or an average struck between the element of a crowd. What really takes place is a combination followed by the creation of new characteristics…
Whoever be the individuals that compose a crowd, however like or unlike be their mode of life, their occupations, their character, or their intelligence, the fact that they have been transformed into a crowd puts them in possession of a sort of collective mind which makes them feel, think, and act in a manner quite different from that in which each individual of them would feel, think, and act were he in a state of isolation.
As soon as a certain number of living beings are gathered together, whether they be animals or men, they place themselves instinctively under the authority of a chief.
…[a crowd] knows neither doubt nor uncertainty. … A suspicion transforms itself as soon as announced into incontrovertible evidence.
The violence of the feelings of crowds is also increased, especially in heterogeneous crowds, by the absence of all sense of responsibility.
Crowds are only cognisant of simple and extreme sentiments; the opinions, ideas, and beliefs suggested to them are accepted or rejected as a whole, and considered as absolute truths or as not less absolute errors. This is always the case with beliefs induced by a process of suggestion instead of engendered by reasoning.
Personal interest is very rarely a powerful motive force with crowds, while it is almost the exclusive motive of the conduct of the isolated individual. It is assuredly not self-interest that has guided crowds in so many wars, incomprehensible as a rule to their intelligence—wars in which they have allowed themselves to be massacred as easily as the larks hypnotised by the mirror of the hunter.
Even in the case of absolute scoundrels it often happens that the mere fact of their being in a crowd endows them for the moment with very strict principles of morality.
As soon as a certain number of living beings are gathered together, whether they be animals or men, they place themselves instinctively under the authority of a chief.
Affirmation pure and simple, kept free of all reasoning and all proof, is one of the surest means of making an idea enter the mind of crowds. The conciser an affirmation is, the more destitute of every appearance of proof and demonstration, the more weight it carries.
Affirmation, however, has no real influence unless it be constantly repeated, and so far as possible in the same terms. It was Napoleon, I believe, who said that there is only one figure in rhetoric of serious importance, namely, repetition. The thing affirmed comes by repetition to fix itself in the mind in such a way that it is accepted in the end as a demonstrated truth. *
In literature, art, and philosophy the successive evolutions of opinion are more rapid still. Romanticism, naturalism, mysticism, &c., spring up and die out in turn. The artist and the writer applauded yesterday are treated on the morrow with profound contempt.
The possession of prestige does not suffice, however, to assure the success of a candidate. The elector stickles in particular for the flattery of his greed and vanity. He must be overwhelmed with the most extravagant blandishments, and there must be no hesitation in making him the most fantastic promises. If he is a working man it is impossible to go too far in insulting and stigmatising employers of labour. As for the rival candidate, an effort must be made to destroy his chance by establishing by dint of affirmation, repetition, and contagion that he is an arrant scoundrel, and that it is a matter of common knowledge that he has been guilty of several crimes. It is, of course, useless to trouble about any semblance of proof. Should the adversary be ill-acquainted with the psychology of crowds he will try to justify himself by arguments instead of confining himself to replying to one set of affirmations by another; and he will have no chance whatever of being successful.
Love overlooks defects; hatred magnifies them.
The person who knew you when you were young will seldom respect you as an adult.
Some men build a wine cellar after only finding one grape.
When you return from a trip, bring back something for your family—even if it is only a stone.
If anyone is not willing to accept your point of view, try to see his point of view.
Lower your voice and strengthen your argument.
Character played by actor Jackie Chan in the movie Rush Hour
I am not responsible for your assumption.
(1876-1931) writer
The mystery of life is not a problem to be solved; it is a reality to be experienced.
(1929-) science fiction author of such books as The Left Hand of Darkness
Almost anything carried to a logical extreme becomes depressing.
...The modern marketplace is a conspiracy to confuse, to trick the mind into believing that our most banal choices are actually extremely significant. Companies spend a fortune trying to convince us that only their toothpaste will clean our teeth, or that only their detergent will remove the stains from our clothes, or that every other cereal tastes like cardboard.
(1940-1980) musician
Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.
Statistics are like a bikini. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital.
Worthies can be familiar with others and yet respect them; can stand in awe of others and yet love them. They love others and yet acknowledge the evil that is in them. They accumulate [wealth], yet can part with it. They rest in what gives them satisfaction, yet can seek satisfaction elsewhere [when it is desirable to do so]. 1:1:1:[4]:3
Do not positively affirm what you have doubts about; and [when you have no doubts], do not let what you say appear [simply] as your own view. 1:1:1:[4]:5
The practice of right living is deemed the highest, the practice of any other art lower. Complete virtue takes first place; the doing of anything else whatsoever is subordinate. 18:3:5
(1527-1602) philosopher
What others consider right and wrong can never serve as a standard for me. (Fen-shu)
Once people’s minds have been given over to received opinions and moral principles… What else can there be but phony people speaking phony words, doing phony things, and writing phony writings? And when the people become phonies, everything becomes phony. And then is someone speaks phony talk to the phonies, the phonies are pleased; if one does phony things like the phonies do, the phonies are pleased; and if one discourses with the phonies through phony writings, the phonies are pleased. Everything is phony, and everybody is pleased. (Fen-shu)
Confucius, in teaching people, taught them only to [personally] seek jen. If they sought it and failed to achieve it, that was that—nothing more could be said. (Tsang shu)
Each human being T’ien gives birth to has his own individual function, and he does not need to learn this from Confucius. (Letter to Keng Ting-hsiang)
Do not look where you fell; look where you slipped.
Gossiping about the enemy can result in a war.
Every head must do its own thinking.
Each trip gives you its own uniqueness.
If everyone thought the same way, no goods would ever be sold.
(1906-2001) aviator and author of Gift From the Sea
The most exhausting thing in life is being insincere. This is why so much of social life is exhausting.
Only in growth, reform, and change—paradoxically enough—is true security to be found.
(1807-1882) poet
If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we shall find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.
We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while other judge us by what we have already done.
Just as the indigenous residents of Hispaniola could not “see” Columbus’ ships because the concept did not exist in their reality or experience, we choose to ignore facts right before our eyes if they conflict with our personal version of reality. We don’t see things as they are, we see thing as WE are.
There is danger in assuming that it is possible to do any research with the expectation of total objectivity. There is a phenomenon called the “Hawthorne effect” which (to paraphrase) results in subtle changes in research outcomes based on just the act of being studied. The observer introduces another variable into the equation by their mere presence. In addition, it is extremely difficult (if not impossible) to design human research due to the countless permutations of variables in such a complex biological system. For example, how can you make such a sweeping statement as, “Show me the data that proves the efficacy of acupuncture in treating female infertility.”? Are we talking about infertility due to PCOS, or endometriosis, or PID, or endocrine imbalance, or fibroid tumors, or the myriad other causes including idiopathic?
The refusal to acknowledge as valid anything that originated outside of western culture is typical of the ethnocentric imperialistic paternalistic view of the world and nature as something to be conquered and dominated. Western medicine has been notorious in its stubborn resistance to such generally accepted practices such as sterile technique, introduced by Semmelweis in 1847, for which he was persecuted and ostracized by his peers.
Western biomedical science continues to insist on more of a Newtonian, linear, mechanistic view of the universe with their insistence on “one cause, one cure”.
As much as we would like to think of scientific research as a pure and honest search for the truth, in reality it is rife with outright lying, cheating, cherry picking and distortion of facts for less than honest motives.
What we see depends mainly on what we look for.
(1800-1859) historian, author, poet, and statesman
The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.
If my neighbor is happy, my own work will go easier, too.
(1469-1527) political philosopher
Here arises the question: whether it is better to be loved than feared, or feared than loved. Obviously, it can be answered that one should choose to be both, but since the two rarely come together for one person… [anyone who must choose between the two] will find it safer to be feared than to be loved…
Love is preserved by an obligatory link in which men, being mean, may break whenever it is advantageous for them to do so. But fear is preserved by the dread of punishment, which never fails.
…Men love according to their own will, and fear according to the will of the prince. [Thus,] A wise prince should establish himself on that which is in his own control, and not in that of others.
Nevertheless, a prince ought to inspire fear in such a way that, if he does not win love, he avoids hatred; because he can endure very well being feared whilst he is not hated.
…Anyone who seeks to deceive will always find someone who will allow himself to be deceived.
…To keep his servant honest, the prince ought to study him, honoring him, enriching him, doing him kindnesses, sharing with him the honors and cares; and at the same time let him see that he cannot stand alone, so that many honors not make him desire more, many riches make him wish for more, and that many cares may make him dread changes. When, therefore, servants and princes are this way, they can trust each other; but when it is otherwise, the end will always be disastrous for either one or the other.
…[The only way to guard oneself from flatterers is by] letting men understand that telling you the truth doesn’t offend you. However, when every one is allowed to tell you the truth, the respect for you lessens.
Therefore, a wise prince should hold a third course by choosing the wise men in his state, and giving only them the freedom of speaking the truth to him, and only on those things that he inquires of, and of none others. But he [the prince] should question them upon everything, listen to their opinions, and then form his own conclusions.
With these councilors… [the prince] should carry himself in a way that will let each one of them understand that the more freely he [the councilor] speaks, the more he will be preferred. Outside of these [councilors], he [the prince] should listen to no one, and pursue what is resolved on, and be firm in his resolutions. He who does otherwise is either overthrown by flatterers, or is so frequently changed by varying opinions that he falls into being disrespected [by the people].
Niccolo Machiavelli Biography and Quotes
(1958-) singer, actress, businesswoman
I am my own experiment. I am my own work of art.
The dread of ridicule extinguishes originality in its birth.
There are subjects upon which we cannot reason, we can only feel.
(1879-1950) Hindu yogi and philosopher
Mind control is not one’s birthright. The successful few owe their success to their perseverance.
While the sun is shining, bask in it!
If you are too shy to ask, you might lose your way.
When you go away, the conversation changes.
If you plant grass, you won’t get rice
No matter how big the whale is, a tiny harpoon can kill him.
To truly love your wife, leave her alone every once in a while.
No matter how many house chores you complete, there are always more to be done.
If the rabbit is your enemy, admit he can sprint fast.
(1918-) South African leader and civil rights advocate
To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.
He who thinks about his own grief forgets about the grief of others.
The law is not made for the rich.
Enjoy yourself, for there is nothing in the world we can call our own.
(1850-1924) writer
Unless you are prepared yourself to profit by your chance, the opportunity will only make you ridiculous. A great occasion is valuable to you in proportion as you have educated yourself to make use of it.
…Most people’s gaze is fixed upon something beyond, something to come. They are not really settled today, do not really live in the now, but they are sure they will live tomorrow or next year when business is better, their fortune greater, when they move into their new house, get their new furnishings, their new automobile, get rid of things that now annoy, and have everything around them to make them comfortable. Then they will be happy.
The trouble with us is that we expect too much from the great happenings, the unusual things, and we overlook the common flowers on the path of life, from which we might abstract sweets, comforts, delights.
Real happiness is so simple that most people do not recognize it. It is derived from the simplest, the quietest, the most unpretentious things in the world.
If we get the good that belongs to us here and now, we must extract the sweetness of each passing minute while it is ours. That is the real art of living in the today.
A man can have no greater delusion than that he can spend the best years of his life coining all of his energies into dollars, neglecting his home, sacrificing friendships, self-improvement, and everything else that is really worthwhile, for money, and yet find happiness at the end!
No man can be happy when he despises his own act…
Play is as necessary to the perfect development of a child as sunshine is to the perfect development of a plant.
He alone is the happy man who has learned to extract happiness, not from ideal conditions, but from the actual ones about him.
One of the saddest things in life is to see men and women who started out with high hopes and proud ambitions settle down in mediocre positions, half satisfied just merely to get a living, to plod along indifferently.
There are scores of people in our great cities who do not really live at all. They merely exist. They are the slaves of a morbid ambition and a greed that has grown to be a monster. Many of these people take very little comfort; they are always on a strain to keep up appearances, to “Keep up with the Jones,” and they keep themselves constantly worried over it, killing their legitimate comfort and enjoyment through the exhaustion of the strain and stress—and all for nothing that is real or permanent, nothing that adds to their character or well being. …
Everything about them is deceiving. They live masked lives. Few people know them as they really are. They only know them as they pretend to be.
Do you know that nothing is more demoralizing to the life, weakening to the character, than to be constantly wishing and dreaming of the great things we are going to do without a corresponding effort to actualize our dreams? Wishing without a corresponding effort to realize degenerates the mind, destroys initiative.
It often occurs that a man marries a beautiful, bright, cheerful girl who is always bubbling over with animal spirits, and in a short time everybody notices a complete change in her character, brought about by the perpetual suppression of her husband, who is severe in his criticisms and unreasonable in his demands.The wife is surrounded with this atmosphere of sharp criticism or severity until she entirely loses her naturalness and spontaneity, and self-expression becomes impossible. The result is an artificial, flavorless character.
Everywhere we see people starving for love, famishing for affection, for some one to appreciate them.
On every hand we see men and women possessing material comfort, luxury, all that can contribute to their physical well-being—who are able to gratify almost any wish—and yet they are hungry for love. They seem to have plenty of everything but affection. They have lands and houses, automobiles, yachts, horses, money—everything but love.
How many completely exhaust themselves in needless worrying and bickering over things which are not worth while! How many burn up their life force in giving way to a hot temper, in quibbling over trifles, in bargain hunting, in systemless work, in a hundred ways, when a little thought and attention to the delicate human instrument on which they are playing would prevent all this attrition and keep the instrument in splendid tune!
The passion for conquest, for power, the love of achievement, is one of the most dominant and persistent characteristics of human nature.
We have an instinctive feeling that we have been set in motion by a Higher Power; that there is an invisible spring within us—the imperious must—which impels us to weave the pattern given us in the Mount of Transfiguration of our highest moment, to make our life-vision real. A divine impulse constantly urges us to reach our highest ideal. There is something back of our supreme ambition deeper than a mere personal gratification. There is a vital connection between it and the great plan of creation, the progress, the final goal, of the race. …
These promptings of humanity and the yearning of every normal man and woman for a fuller, completer life the craving for expansion, for growth; the desire to objectify our life-visions, to give birth to the children of our brain, to exercise our inventiveness, our ingenuity, to express our artistic temperament, our talents, whatever they maybe; the inherent, instinctive longing to become that which we were intended to be; to weave the life-pattern given us at birth—these are the impelling motives for a creative career.
One man expresses himself, or delivers his message to humanity, through his inventive ability to give his fellow men that which will emancipate them from drudgery; another delivers his message through his artistic ability; another through science; another through oratory, through business, or his pen, and so on through all the modes of human expression, each delivers himself according to his talent. In every case the highest motive is beyond the question of mere living-getting.
The great artist does not paint simply for a living, but because he must to express that divine thing in him that is struggling for expression. He has an unconquerable desire to put upon canvas the picture that haunts his brain. We all long to bring out the ideal, whatever it may be, that lives within us. We want to see it; we want the world to see it.
It is a most unfortunate thing for a boy to look upon his father as a taskmaster instead of a companion; to dread meeting him because he always expects criticism or scolding from him.
Some fathers constantly nag, find fault, and never think of praising their sons or expressing any appreciation of their work, even when they do it well. Yet there is nothing so encouraging to a boy, especially if he finds it hard to do what is right, as real appreciation of his effort.
Not long ago a young man whom I had not seen for several years called on me, and I was amazed at the tremendous change in him. When I had last seen him he was pessimistic, discouraged, almost despairing; he had soured on life, lost confidence in human nature and in himself. During the interval he had completely changed. The sullen, bitter expression that used to characterize his face was replaced by one of joy and gladness. He was radiant, cheerful, hopeful and happy.
The young man had married an optimistic wife, who had the happy faculty of laughing him out of his “blues” or melancholy, changing the tenor of his thoughts, cheering him up, and making him put a higher estimate on himself. His removal from an unhappy environment, together with his wife’s helpful, “new thought” influence and his own determination to make good, had all worked together to bring about a revolution in his mental make-up. The love-principle and the use of the right thought-force and had verily made a new man of him.
Are not some people so unfortunately constituted that they are unable to remember pleasant, agreeable things? When you meet them they always have some sad story to tell, something that has happened to them or is surely going to happen. They tell you about the accidents, narrow escapes, losses and afflictions they have had. The bright days and happy experiences they seldom mention.
Orison Swett Marden Biography and Quotes
We must shift America from a needs to desire culture. People must be trained to desire, to want new things, even before the old have been entirely consumed. We must shape a new mentality. Man's desire must overshadow his needs...
Be sure that he who speaks evil of us does not wish us well.
When Shun was living amid the deep retired mountains, dwelling with the trees and rocks, and wandering among the deer and swine, the difference between him and the savages of those remote hills appeared very small. But when he heard a single good word, or saw a single good action, he was like the swollen/bursting torrent of the Yang Tzu or Yellow River, which flows out in flood and cannot be restrained. 7:1:16
When any one told Tzu Lu of his faults, he rejoiced. When Yu heard good words, he bowed. Shun was even greater in this. He regarded virtue as the common property of himself and others, delighting to make the virtue of others his own. While he was a farmer, a potter, a fisherman, and then Emperor, he was continually learning from others. Taking an example from others to practice virtue—this is helping them in the same practice. Thus, there is no attribute in the chun tzu greater than his helping people practice virtue.
Only when someone does not do [certain] things will he be capable of [properly] doing [great] things.
Only the shih is capable of maintaining a fixed/steady/constant heart/mind even without a certain/constant livelihood. As to the people, if they do not have a certain livelihood, they will not have a fixed heart/mind—and without a fixed heart/mind, they will be willing to participate in any depravity and abandonment. And if all the sovereign does is follow up and punish them after they commit crimes, he will merely be enrtrapping the people. How can such entrapping of the people be done under the rule of a jen person?
[In circumstances of poverty, the people] only fearfully try to save themselves from death. What leisure do they have to cultivate li and yi?
Though tao lies in what is near, people seek for it [in what is distant]. 4:1:11
The Great Person never loses his child’s heart.
… Although I could not be a disciple of Confucius, I have endeavored to cultivate my virtue [or learn his teachings] by means of others who were.
Friendship should disregard a person’s age, station, or relatives. Friendship with someone is friendship with his qualities, and does not admit other assumptions. Meng Hsien Tzu was a a high ranking person. He had five friends: Yueh-Cheng Ch’iu, Mu Chung, and three others whose names I have forgotten. With those five men, Men Hsien Tzu maintained a friendship, treating them as if he did not possess high rank, and them likewise acting as if he did not have that high rank. If his rank had been taken into consideration, they would not have [truly] been friends.
There is a T’ien nobility, and there is a human nobility. Jen, yi, devotion, honesty, with unwearied joy in these virtues—these constitute T’ien nobility. Being a king/duke/prince, a chancellor/prime-minister, or a great-officer—this constitutes human nobility.
The desire to be honored/esteemed is the common among people’s hearts… The honor that people confer is not good/authentic/genuine/true honor. Those whom Chao Mung [the King Maker] honors, Chao Mung can make-mean/criticize/degrade/debase/put-down
jen subdues/overcomes non-jen just as water subdues fire. But nowadays, those who practice jen do it as if a cup of water can extinguish a wagonload of burning wood. And when the flames are not extinguished, they say that water cannot subdue fire. This greatly encourages those who are not jen, and ultimately ends to loss of jen. 6:1:18
The prince of Lu wanted to commit the administration of his government to Yo Chang Tzu.
Mencius said, “When I heard of it, I was so glad that I could not sleep.”
Kung Sun Ch’au said, “Is Yo Chang magnanimous/vigor/valiant/strong-character?”
“No.”
“Is he wise/deep in council/thoughtful?”
“No.”
“Is he possessed of much/extensive/wide information/learning?”
“No.”
“What then made you so glad that you could not sleep?”
“He is a person who loves what is good.”
“Is the love of what is good sufficient?”
“The love of what is good is more than a sufficient qualification for the government of the Empire—and how much more for Lu State! If someone loves what is good, all within the four seas will consider hundreds of miles but a small distance to come and lay what is good before him. But if he does not love what is good, people will say ‘He seems conceited,’ and the language/air and looks/manner of his conceit will keep people off hundreds of miles. And when good people remain hundreds of miles away, calumniators, flatterers, and sycophants will make their appearance. When a minister lives among calumniators, flatterers, and sycophants, though he may wish the State to be well governed, is it possible for it to be so?” 6:2:13
Worthies use their own enlightenment to make others enlightened. Nowadays, people [aim to] enlighten others by their own obscurity. 7:2:20
There are many methods of teaching. Refusing to teach [a corrupt person] is to thereby teach. 6:2:16
When the ancients of obtained [office], they were beneficent to the people. When they did not obtain [office], they [still] cultivated their personal character, and became illustrious in the world. When poor [and out of office], they attended to their own virtue in solitude. If advanced to dignity [of position], they united with the entire Empire in the practice of virtue. 7:1:9:4-6
The common/mass of people wait for a [King] Wen before exerting themselves/receiving-a-rousing-impulse. Scholars distinguished from the mass [in hsien] will rouse themselves/put forth their strength and exert themselves even if there is no Wen. 7:1:10
Good/kindly/humane words do not enter so deeply into people as does a reputation for [doing] goodness/kindness. … 7:1:14
Mo Ch’i said, “I am far from being praised by people’s mouths / I suffer much wrong due to slanderous tongues”
Mencius observed, “Why should that be a cause for concern? After all, scholars/good-people are more exposed than others to suffer from people’s mouths/are the prey of many mouths. The Odes say, ‘My heart is disquieted/anxious/sorry and grieved/sad/sorry, I am hated by a crowd of vulgar creatures’—this can be said about Confucius. ‘Though he/no-effort-could did not remove/stop their wrath/hatred, he did not let/injure fall his own fame’—this can be said of King Wen.” 7:2:19
To nourish/keep/resolute the mind/heart, there is nothing better than restricting desires [to the essentials]. A person with restricted desires will have some but few things he may not be able to keep his heart/mind, whereas a person with unrestricted desires will have some but few things he may be able to keep his heart/mind. 7:2:35
(1915-1968) Catholic monk and writer
Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony.
Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.
We must make the choices that enable us to fulfill the deepest capacities of our real selves.
In the last analysis, the individual person is responsible for living his own life and for “finding himself.” If he persists in shifting his responsibility to somebody else, he fails to find out the meaning of his own existence.
(1698-1782) poet
If our inward griefs were seen written on our brow, how many would be pitied who are now envied! (Giuseppe Riconosciuto)
If the internal griefs of every man could be read, written on his forehead, how many who now excite envy would appear to be the objects of pity?
(1773-1859) Austrian statesman
In my whole life I have only known ten or twelve persons with whom it was pleasant to speak—i.e., who keep to the subject, do not repeat themselves, and do not talk of themselves; men who do not listen to their own voice, who are cultivated enough not to lose themselves in commonplaces, and, lastly, who possess tact and good taste enough not to elevate their own persons above their subjects.
The rat who only knows about one hole will soon be caught by the cat.
Since excuses were invented, no one is ever in the wrong. *
He who speaks too much is tiresome; he who speaks to little is boring.
He who lingers around will hear bad things spoken about him.
He who follows his own advice must take the consequences.
If you want to live in peace, you mustn’t tell everything you know, or judge everything you see.
If you don’t honor your wife, you are dishonoring yourself.
(1475-1564) artist, architect, and poet
[His motto:] I am still learning
In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it. *
If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it wouldn’t seem wonderful at all.
I do like to write but I also like to get and out and play.
If we really want liberty—if we really want liberty—then we need to go out and get it, we need to take it, because nobody is going to give it to us. And we need to do it now.
I followed my heart and figured that if I tried and failed, at least I’d know that I tried.
God gives man 100% grace and blessing when he sheds his ego. You, not God, begin the process. Shed your ego and you receive grace. Make room for fulfillment, and you will be fulfilled.
Effacement of ego means “One with God.”
It is very well to say that everything that happens to us is destiny; but man also has free will. He uses this free will and wisdom to figure out things. Then adding form and creativity to his decisions, he performs a work of art. Only in this way can a human being feel happy and fulfilled.
Your natural self-expression cannot be selfish if you have a clear understanding of your relative position with your fellowman, society, God, and the Divine Universal Plan. Life is Art. Man’s life is a struggle to overcome his limitations. Art is not an escape. It is a constructive and positive step forward.
When we say that “Life is Art,” we mean that each individual should express his unique personality given by God, but always in relationship to the Divine Plan, and always in reference to the Great Peace. This is true makoto. This is makoto unlimited for world peace. At that point where individual, home, group, race, nation, all express rightly their unique character, there lies the way to world understanding.
It is necessary to use emotion to develop a finer emotion—that is, to use it as material for your highest expression. Govern your emotion. Do not let your emotion govern you. Make your emotion into an art.
Man has emotions, and the change of his emotions affects his life. One’s emotional life must be controlled first of all. Unbalanced conditions of emotions result in unforeseen accidents, physical illness, family troubles, and general unhappiness. …Man can control his destiny by the proper control of emotion.
Approach your situations without preconceptions. There is no true joy of creation when we simply stereotype a former action. There is joy of life when we are inspired to add a new creative touch and do things differently.
When an expression has individuality it has value. When it has not, it has no value worthy of art. Art remains uncreated if we only feel it in our hearts or hold it in imagination. Nothing can be art until it is expressed.
We live together with many people, and we owe much to people everywhere. The clothes we wear, the food we eat, and even the thoughts we think—it is surprising how much we owe to others! Yet the real meaning behind our saying that “human life is relative” is that each man should aim at self-expression on his highest level. He should aspire to such self-expression as no one else has ever attained.
(1806-1873) philosopher and economist
Those only are happy who have their minds fixed on some object other than their own happiness; on the happiness of others, on the improvement of mankind, even on some art or pursuit, followed not as a means, but as itself an ideal end. Aiming thus at something else, they find happiness by the way.
(1891-1980) writer of such books as Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn
The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself.
You probably wouldn’t worry about what people think of you if you could know how seldom they do.
(1608-1674) poet
The end of learning is to know God, and out of that knowledge to love Him and imitate Him
(1930-) psychologist specializing in personality theory and social psychology
Young kids are pure id. They start off unable to wait for anything—whatever they want they need. But then, as I watched my own kids, I marvelled at how they gradually learned how to delay and how that made so many other things possible.
“Once you realize that will power is just a matter of learning how to control your attention and thoughts, you can really begin to increase it.
Honoring the worthy is the basis of good government.
As he was talking to Ch’eng Tzu, Mo Tzu cited Confucius. Ch’eng Tzu remarked, “You condemn Confucianism—so why did you just cite Confucius?” Mo Tzu said, “This has to do with what is right and cannot be altered. A bird will fly high after becoming aware there is danger of heat and drought, and a fish will swim low after becoming aware there is danger of heat and drought. In such circumstances, even Yu and T’ang’s judgment would follow. Should I never cite Confucius?”
Prince Wen of Lu Yang said to Mo Tzu, “Suppose someone is recommended as a loyal minister, and he bows when I allow him to bow down and bends back when I allow him to bend back, and he stays silent when let alone and answers when called. Can this be considered loyalty?”
Mo Tzu said, “Bowing when allowed and bending back when allowed—this is a mere shadow. Staying silent when not called for and answering when called—this is a mere echo. What benefit would you obtain from an echo or a shadow?
“Here is my idea of a loyal minister: He waits and warns when the superior is at fault, he tells the superior about his good ideas without revealing them to the world, he corrects irregularities and leads in goodness, and he identifies himself with the superior and does not ally himself with subordinates.”
[Mo Tzu’s follower] Meng Shan, praising Prince Tzu Lu, said, “Formerly, during Po Kung’s revolt, Prince Tzu Lu was held captive. Axes were at his waist, and spears pointed towards his heart. Po Kung told him, ‘Be Lord and live, or refuse and die.’ Prince Tzu Lu said, ‘That is an insult to me! You killed my parents, and are now trying to bait me with Ch’u State. If not righteous to do so, I would not even accept the entire Empire, let alone Ch’u State.’ And so, he refused [and was executed]. Wasn’t Prince Tzu Lu magnanimous?”
Mo Tzu said, “His decision was by all means difficult, but hardly magnanimous. If he felt that the Lord had gone astray from tao, shouldn’t he have taken the position and run the government? If he felt Po Kung was unrighteous, shouldn’t he have accepted the Lordship, executed Po Kung, and then the Lordship to the Lord? Thus I say that his decision was by all means difficult, but hardly magnanimous.”
It is easier to catch an escaped horse than to take back an escaped word.
(1533-1592) essayist
Once conform, once do what others do because they do it, and a kind of lethargy steals over all the finer senses of the soul.
Become a fool by too much wisdom
Souls that are regular and strong of themselves are rare
I find no quality so easy to counterfeit as devotion
Men as often commend as undervalue me beyond reason
Greatness of soul consists not so much in soaring high and in pressing forward, as in knowing how to adapt and limit oneself.
There is nothing that Nature seems to have inclined us to as much as society.
The most universal quality is diversity.
Wise people are foolish if they cannot adapt to foolish people.
There is as much difference between us and ourselves as there is between us and others.
Michel Eyquem de Montaigne Biography and Quotes
(1920-) religious leader
You should speak with your mind—your inmost self. If it is sympathetic with others, you can become one with God and automatically know the truth of the Universe.
God is formless. If you think He is big, He is infinite; and if you think he is small, his is infinitesimal.
(1838-1923) Journalist, biographer, and statesman
You have not converted a man because you have silenced him.
Even good opinions are worth very little unless we hold them in the broad, intelligent, and spacious way.
Exaggerated self-importance is deemed an individual fault, but a racial virtue.
(1931-) writer
There is really nothing more to say except why. But since why is difficult to handle, one must take refuge in how.
If there’s a book you really want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.
Self-help books are written to sell, not to help.
Observe moderation in all you do, and if that is not possible, try to be near moderation.
Good thoughts are a part of worship.
The higher self argues possibilities and power for us greater than men and women now possess and enjoy. The lower self says we can only live and exist as men and women have lived and existed before us. (Thoughts are Things)
(1860-1967) geneticist
Life as a whole is a ceaseless change… There is no sign of a physical limit yet.
(1780-1850) Founder of Kurozumikyo
Follow my example, but go beyond me. *
Don’t use up your arrows before you go to battle.
Sparrows who mimic peacocks are likely to break a thigh.
If you really want honesty, don’t ask questions you don’t really want answers to.
The cat and the mouse can’t be neighbors for long.
The zebra told the white horse, “I am white,” and told the black horse, “I am actually black.”
Even a small mouse has anger.
A spear is a big responsibility.
Everybody has something about themselves that they don't like; something that causes them to feel shame, to feel insecure, or not "good enough." It is the human condition to be imperfect, and feelings of failure and inadequacy are part of the experience of living a human life.
Opportunities come, but do not linger.
A house full of people is filled with different points of view.
There is more than one way to achieve a goal.
Take time to enjoy life’s roses.
(1801-1890) cardinal
A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault.
If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been due to patient attention more than to any other talent.
I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smooth pebble, or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.
(1844-1900) philosopher and scholar
At bottom every man knows well enough that he is a unique being, only once on this earth; and by no extraordinary chance will such a marvelously picturesque piece of diversity in unity as he is, ever be put together a second time.
The most vulnerable and equally most unconquerable of things is human vanity.
t. Experience, as something sought after, does not work. We must not study ourselves in the midst of having an experience.
In every real man, there is a child that wants to play.
People regard the obscure and unexplainable more seriously than the clear and explainable... Something that becomes clear ceases to concern us.
The badly paired [couple] are the most revengeful. They make everyone suffer due to the fact that they are not single anymore.
We ought to fear a man who hates himself, for we are at risk of becoming victims of his anger and revenge. Let us then try to lure him into self-love.
Without myth, every culture would lose its healthy creative power.
Friedrich Nietzsche Biography and Quotes
Frowning and fierceness do not prove manliness. (Yoruba)
Rain does not make friends with anybody—it falls on any person it meets outside.
The house roof fights the rain, but he who is sheltered ignores it.
Being happy in one’s home is better than being a chief.
You know who you love, but you can’t know who loves you.
Until lions have their own historians, accounts of the hunt will always celebrate the hunter.
A wealthy man will always have followers.
It takes a whole village to raise a child. (Yoruba)
Character is religion. (Yoruba)
If you say yes, your [personal] God will also say yes. (Igbo)
When the music changes, so does the dance.
You may go where you want, but you cannot escape yourself.
Afterthought is good, but forethought is better
Bad is called good when worse happens.
Even if you hide yourself from the world, don’t lose sight of your real nature.
Respect old people, and be gentle with children.
One who eats plain food is healthy.
Ask questions from your heart, and you will receive answers from your heart.
It is easy to show braveness from a safe distance.
Live near water, and ask not about sustenance.
At any given moment there is an orthodoxy, a body of ideas of which it is assumed that all right-thinking people will accept without question. It is not exactly forbidden to say this, that or the other, but it is “not done” to say it... Anyone who challenges the prevailing orthodoxy finds himself silenced with surprising effectiveness. A genuinely unfashionable opinion is almost never given a fair hearing, either in the popular press or in the high-brow periodicals.
(1931-1990) Mystic
If you are in the future, then ego seems to be very substantial. If you are in the present, the ego is a mirage; it starts disappearing.
A woman is a creature that’s always shopping
(1939-1988) physicist and writer of books such as The Cosmic Code
The problem in trying to understand the universe is that we have nothing to compare it with.
(1623-1662) scientist/physicist, mathematician, writer, philosopher, and theologian
People are generally better persuaded by the reasons that they have themselves discovered than by those that have come into the mind of others. (10)
No one speaks of us in our presence as he does of us in our absence. Human society is founded on mutual deceit; few friendships would endure if each knew what his friend said of him in his absence, although he then spoke in sincerity and without passion. (100)
I set it down as a fact that if all men knew what each said of the other, there would not be four friends in the world. This is apparent from the quarrels that arise from the indiscreet tales told from time to time. (101)
We do not content ourselves with the life we have in ourselves and in our own being; we desire to live an imaginary life in the mind of others, and for this purpose we endeavor to shine. (147)
We are so presumptuous that we would wish to be known by all the world, even by people who shall come after, when we shall be no more; and we are so vain that the esteem of five or six neighbors delights and contents us. (148)
Vanity is so anchored in the heart of man that a soldier, a soldier’s servant, a cook, a porter brags and wishes to have his admirers. Even philosophers wish for them. Those who write against it want to have the glory of having written well; and those who read it desire the glory of having read it. I who write this have perhaps this desire, and perhaps those who will read it... (15)
Are you less a slave by being loved and favored by your master? You are indeed well off, slave. Your master favors you; he will soon beat you. (209)
The last act is tragic, however happy all the rest of the play is; at the last a little earth is thrown upon our head, and that is the end forever. (210)
The heart has its reasons, which reason does not know. We feel it in a thousand things. (277)
It is the heart that experiences God, and not the reason. (278)
It is not good to have too much liberty. It is not good to have all one wants. (379)
Contradiction is a bad sign of truth; several things that are certain are contradicted; several things that are false pass without contradiction.
Contradiction is not a sign of falsity, nor the want of contradiction a sign of truth. (384)
The greatness of man is great in that he knows himself to be miserable. A tree does not know itself to be miserable. … (397)
Contraries
After having shown the vileness and the greatness of man
Let man now know his value. Let him love himself, for there is in him a nature capable of good; but let him not for this reason love the vileness that is in him. Let him despise himself, for this capacity is barren; but let him not therefore despise this natural capacity. Let him hate himself, let him love himself; he has within him the capacity of knowing the truth and of being happy, but he possesses no truth, either constant or satisfactory. (423)
‘Tis a perverted judgment that makes every one place himself above the rest of the world, and prefer his own good, and the continuance of his own good fortune and life, to that of the rest of the world! (456)
We are all something, but none of us are everything
Kind words do not cost much; yet they accomplish much.
I have made this letter longer because I did not have the time to make it shorter.
Blaise Pascal Biography and Quotes
We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; (II Corinthians 4:8-9)
And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. (Ephesians 4:23-24)
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness… (II Timothy 4:7-8)
…Avoid foolish questions, genealogies, contentions, and legal strivings—for they are unprofitable and vain. Warn a conflicting person once, and then once again [if necessary], but no more than that. (Titus 3:9-10)
(1908-1950) writer
We do not remember days; we remember moments.
Life is art.
2. Man’s life is a succession of self-expressions.
3. Man/the-individual is a manifestation of God.
4. Man suffers if he fails to express himself.
6. Man’s true self is revealed when his ego is effaced.
7. All things exist in mutual relation to one another.
8. Live [as] radiantly as the sun.
10. Strive for creating mutual happiness.
17. Grasp/comprehend the heart-of-everything/what-is-most-essential.
18. At every moment, man stands at the crossroads of good and evil.
20. Attain the perfect harmonious state of mind and matter.
1. I live for the joy of an artistic life.
2. I pray for the happiness of others.
3. I live with true effort and sincerity.
4. I maintain the highest dignity and honour.
Many times we will get more ideas and better ideas in two hours of creative loafing than in eight hours at a desk.
Fabulist
The tinsel, glitter, and the specious mien
Delude the most; few pry behind the scene.
The mind ought sometimes to be diverted, that it may return the better to thinking.
The humble are in danger when those in power disagree.
The only problem with seeing too much is that it makes you insane.
If you like what you are doing, nothing is too far and no job is too hard.
Avoiding danger is not cowardice.
Courage without discretion is no good.
Alertness and courage are life’s shield.
No matter how much care is taken, someone will always be misled.
It is easier to dam a river than to stop the flow of gossip.
The child who is given everything he asks for usually won’t succeed in life.
Even if the truth is buried for centuries, it will eventually come out and thrive.
A good character is real beauty that never fades.
The person who makes an error should be taught, and not made fun of.
If you buy things you don’t need, you will soon be selling things you do need.
(1976-) tennis star
I have nothing to prove to anyone. I only play for myself.
Rapper
I am using this time, instead of letting this time use me.
(428 BC-348 BC) philosopher
Courage is knowing what not to fear.
They deem him the worst enemy who tells them the truth.
Life must be lived as play.
Man: a being in search of meaning.
The mere athlete becomes too much of a savage.
The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.
Honesty is for the most part less profitable than dishonesty.
(00s-100s) writer
It is no disgrace not to be able to do everything; but to undertake, or pretend to do, what you are not made for, is not only shameful, but extremely troublesome and vexatious.
If each person would sweep before his own house, the city would soon be clean.
God promised me a fur coat, and I am already sweating.
The news of a good deed travels far, but the news of a bad one travels even f*arther.
Truth can take you everywhere…including jail!
(1688-1744) poet
While we live we must make the best of life.
Virtuous and vicious everyone must be; few in extremes, but all in degree.
Some praise at morning what they blame at night, but always think the last opinion right.
Vice is a monster of so frightful mien,
As to be hated needs but to be seen;
Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face, we first endure, then pity, then embrace
He who is well prepared has already won half of the battle.
Not much can be done when everyone is giving orders.
The dog wags his tail, not for you, but for your bread.
Hell is paved with good intentions, and roofed with lost opportunities.
You cannot get well by exercise alone, or by positive thoughts alone. You absolutely must give up the food and drink that disagree with you.
I have no respect for the manufacturer who does not consider the interest and betterment of his employees.
(1664-1721) Poet
Live to explain thy doctrine by thy life. *
Be to her virtues very kind;
Be to her faults a little blind.
Never sleep while your meat is cooking on the fire.
Do not fear a stain that disappears with water.
What might not happen in a year might happen in an instant.
Some say, “We believe in God and the Last Day,” but they do not really believe—[thinking] they deceive God and the believers, they only deceive their own souls. Their hearts are diseased… (2:8-10)
…Wherever you turn, there is God’s presence/appearance/face…(2:115)
Remember Me, and I will remember you… (2:152)
When they stand for prayer, they lazily stand only to be seen by people, and have nothing but a tiny remembrance of God. (4:142)
…Whoever follows the right way does so for his own soul, and whoever goes astray does so to his own detriment… (10:108)
...God does not change the condition of a people until they change it within themselves...(13:11)
...Nothing on earth or in heaven is hidden from God. (14:38)
And they have no knowledge thereof. They follow but a guess, and lo!—a guess can never take the place of the truth. (53:28)
(1864-1910) writer
Look for the ridiculous in everything, and you will find it.
The only man who is really free is the one who can turn down an invitation to dinner without giving an excuse.
(1929-) poet, scholar, and educator
Every journey into the past is complicated by delusions, false memories, false naming of real events…
(1849-1914) photographer and reporter
When nothing seems to help, I go look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before.
(1839-1937) industrialist, philanthropist
The ability to deal with people is as purchasable a commodity as sugar or coffee…and I will pay more for that ability than for any other under the sun.
We once had the type of man who really never knew all the facts about his own affairs. Many of the brightest kept their books in such a way that they did not actually know when they were making money on a certain operation and when they were losing. This unintelligent competition was a hard matter to contend with. Good old-fashioned common sense has always been a mighty rare commodity. When a man’s affairs are not going well, he hates to study the books and face the truth. From the first the man who managed the Standard Oil Company kept their books intelligently as well as correctly. We knew how much we made and where we gained or lost. At least, we tried not to deceive ourselves.
(1902-1987) psychologist known for promoting a client/patient focused approach
The curious paradox is that when I accept myself as I am, then I can change.
Things ain’t what they used to be, and never were.
Everyone is ignorant—but on different issues.
I guess the only way to stop divorce is to stop marriage.
One-third of the people in the United States promote, while the other two-thirds provide.
We do not know what we want, but we are ready to bite somebody to get it.
When you put down the good things you ought to have done, and leave out the bad ones you did do—well, that’s Memoirs.
The journey is just as important as the destination.
The dog that trots about finds a bone.
We are all wanders of this earth; our hearts are full of wonder and our souls are full of dreams.
After the war, many heroes present themselves.
Without other people’s companionship, even paradise would be an unlikable place.
Chooses a wife to please yourself, not others.
The eyes have one language everywhere.
Better late than never.
The blessing of having many children has never broken a man’s roof.
People will sit up and take notice of you if you will sit up and take notice of what makes them sit up and take notice.
(1946-) singer
The thing you have to be prepared for is that other people don’t always dream your dream.
What matters to most of those collectors is winning. When art becomes a competitive sport, all it takes to win is the guts and the money to go further than anyone else, and then, voila, you win. And winning feels really good. ... We're living in a world of funny money. And money is not really a measure of anything anymore because... it's thrown around in such unpredictable ways.
(1712-1778) Influential philosopher and political theorist
Thus in every situation, powerful rogues know how to save themselves at the expense of the feeble.
True happiness is indescribable, it is only to be felt
Men of learning more tenaciously retain their predjudices
It is not the criminal things that are hardest to confess, but the ridiculous and the shameful.
(1908-1997) social scientist
Extremists think “communication” means agreeing with them.
(1207-1273) Sufi poet
The satiated man and the hungry man do not see the same thing when they look at a loaf of bread.
Your mission isn’t to look for love, but simply to search and locate the barriers within you that have formed against it.
(1819-1900) artist and writer
When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece.
Tell me what you like and I’ll tell you what you are.
(1872-1970) writer, philosopher, mathematician, logician, and social reformer
I would never die for my beliefs, because I might be wrong.
Man is a credulous animal, and must believe something; in the absence of good grounds for belief, he will be satisfied with bad ones.
Hope in the Lord, but exert yourself.
A hammer breaks glass, but also forms steel.
Trust, but verify.
Everyone has his own Czar in his head.
One day before you is better than ten years behind you.
If the child does not cry, the mother won’t know what it wants.
It is easier to bear a child once a year than to shave everyday.
A person never gets tired working for himself.
You can get used to anything—even hell.
Many people who have gold in the house are looking for copper outside.
(1895-1948) baseball player
What do I think about when I strike out? I think about hitting home runs.
Babe Ruth Biography and Quotes
In the birds’ court, a cockroach never wins his case.
You can outrun what is running after you, but not what is running inside of you.
If you are building something and a nail breaks, should you stop building altogether, or should you change the nail?
Work is good, as long as you don’t forget to live.
Death is more universal than life; everyone dies but not everyone lives.
The right to do something does not mean that doing it is right.
(1934-1996) astronomer
The universe is not required to be in perfect harmony with human ambition.
Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.
Better to prevent than regret.
In every generation there are some outstanding chiefs.
A careless person will be taken by surprise by his observant enemy.
The person with burnt fingers asks for tongs.
It is useless to shake the branch that bears no fruit.
Let each person do his share of the work.
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him—for the Lord does not see as man sees. For man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. (I Samuel 16:7)
Control your emotion or it will control you.
Doctor
The greatest barrier in the way of the healing process, especially if the malady be one that is accompanied by severe pain, is the mental depression that is associated with it and often becomes a factor of the disease. It stands in the way of recovery sometimes more than do the physical causes, and obliterates from the consciousness of the individual the wonderful healing power of nature, so essential to recovery.
In the maintenance of health and the cure of disease cheerfulness is a most important factor. Its power to do good like a medicine is not an artificial stimulation of the tissues, to be followed by reaction and greater waste, as is the case with many drugs; but the effect of cheerfulness is an actual life-giving influence through a normal channel, the results of which reach every part of the system.
The difference between wit that gets belly laughs and wit that gets bored silence is not only a matter of the style the material is both written and delivered in, but also a matter of the degree to which the audience cares about the subject.
The greatest hero is the person who controls his desires.
You can’t cook one half of a chicken and expect the other half to lay eggs.
(1863-1952) philosopher
In solitude it is possible to love mankind; in the world, for one who knows the world, there can be nothing but secret or open war. (Persons and Places)
The world is not respectable; it is mortal, tormented, confused, deluded forever; but it is shot through with beauty, with love, with glints of courage and laughter; and in these, the spirit blooms…
Almost every wise saying has an opposite one, no less wise, to balance it.
Fanaticism consists in redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim.
If you must kick, kick towards the goal!
Look at your own moccasin tracks before pronouncing someone else’s faults.
You cannot purchase friendship—you have to do your part to make it.
I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and your words, because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. (I Samuel 15:24)
(1788-1860)
It is a clear gain to sacrifice pleasure in order to avoid pain.
We seldom think of what we have, but always of what we lack.
The deep grief we feel at the loss of a friend arises from the feeling that in every individual there is something which no words can express, something which is peculiarly his own and therefore irreparable. Omne individuum ineffabile.
We may come to look upon the death of our enemies and adversaries, even long after it has occurred, with just as much regret as we feel for that of our friends, viz., when we miss them as witnesses of our brilliant success.
Hope is the result of confusing the desire that something should take place with the probability that it will. Perhaps no man is free from this folly of the heart, which deranges the intellect’s correct appreciation of probability…
Of a truth the first and foremost step in all knowledge of mankind is the conviction that a man’s conduct, taken as a whole, and in all its essential particulars, is not governed by his reason or by any of the resolutions which he may make in virtue of it. No man becomes this or that by wishing to be it, however earnestly. His acts proceed from his innate and unalterable character, and they are more immediately and particularly determined by motives. A man’s conduct, therefore, is the necessary product of both character and motive.
…[If a man] demands that others, who are altogether different from himself, shall nevertheless be just what he wants them to be for the moment, according to the degree of education which he has reached, or according to his intellectual powers or his mood—the man, I say, who does this, is in contradiction with himself. For while he wants some one who shall be different from himself, and wants him just because he is different, for the sake of society and fresh influence, he nevertheless demands that this other individual shall precisely resemble the imaginary creature who accords with his mood, and have no thoughts but those which he has himself. …
I observed once to Goethe, in complaining of the illusion and vanity of life, that when a friend is with us we do not think the same of him as when he is away. He replied: “Yes! because the absent friend is yourself, and he exists only in your head; whereas the friend who is present has an individuality of his own, and moves according to laws of his own, which cannot always be in accordance with those which you form for yourself.”
So if you have to live amongst men, you must allow everyone the right to exist in accordance with the character he has, whatever it turns out to be: and all you should strive to do is to make use of this character in such a way as its kind and nature permit, rather than to hope for any alteration in it, or to condemn it off-hand for what it is. This is the true sense of the maxim “Live and let live.” That, however, is a task that is difficult in proportion as it is right…
That we are so often deceived in others is not because our judgment is at fault, but because in general, … [to paraphrase Bacon,] trifles unconsciously bias us for or against a person from the very beginning. It may also be explained by our not abiding by the qualities which we really discover; we go on to conclude the presence of others which we think inseparable from them, or the absence of those which we consider incompatible. For instance, when we perceive generosity, we infer justice; from piety, we infer honesty; from lying, deception; from deception, stealing, etc.; a procedure which opens the door to many false views, partly because human nature is so strange, partly because our standpoint is so one-sided. It is true, indeed, that character always forms a consistent and connected whole; but the roots of all its qualities lie too deep to allow of our concluding from particular data in a given case whether certain qualities can or cannot exist together.
There are many persons who are trained to be strictly honorable in regard to one particular matter, while they have little honor to boast of in anything else. Many a man, for instance, will not steal your money; but he will lay hands on everything of yours that he can enjoy without having to pay for it. A man of business will often deceive you without the slightest scruple, but he will absolutely refuse to commit a theft.
And then the years pass more quickly as we become older… * A thousand things become clear, which were formerly enveloped in obscurity, and results are obtained which give a feeling of difficulties overcome.
In all matters affecting our weal or woe, we should be careful not to let our imagination run away with us, and build no castles in the air.
And again, as regards space, small objects close to us look big, and if they are very close, we may be able to see nothing else, but when we go a little way off, they become minute and invisible. It is the same again as regards time. The little incidents and accidents of every day fill us with emotion, anxiety, annoyance, passion, as long as they are close to us, when they appear so big, so important, so serious; but as soon as they are borne down the restless stream of time, they lose what significance they had; we think no more of them and soon forget them altogether. They were big only because they were near.
If you hold small objects close to your eyes, you limit your field of vision and shut out the world. And, in the same way, the people or the things that stand nearest, even though they are of the very smallest consequence, are apt to claim an amount of attention much beyond their due, occupying us disagreeably, and leaving no room for serious thoughts and affairs of importance. We ought to work against this tendency.
…A man should never let himself be mastered by the impressions of the moment, or indeed by outward appearances at all, which are incomparably more powerful in their effects than the mere play of thought or a train of ideas; not because these momentary impressions are rich in virtue of the data they supply,—it is often just the contrary,—but because they are something palpable to the senses and direct in their working; they forcibly invade our mind, disturbing our repose and shattering our resolutions.
It is easy to understand that the thing that lies before our very eyes will produce the whole of its effect at once, but that time and leisure are necessary for the working of thought and the appreciation of argument, as it is impossible to think of everything at one and the same moment.
Any incident, however trivial, that rouses disagreeable emotion, leaves an after-effect in our mind, which for the time it lasts, prevents our taking a clear objective view of the things about us, and tinges all our thoughts: just as a small object held close to the eye limits and distorts our field of vision.
The course of our individual life and the events in it, as far as their true meaning and connection is concerned, may be compared to a piece of rough mosaic. So long as you stand close in front of it, you cannot get a right view of the objects presented, nor perceive their significance or beauty. Both come in sight only when you stand a little way off. And in the same way you often understand the true connection of important events in your life, not while they are going on, nor soon after they are past, but only a considerable time afterwards.
We are not always able to form new ideas about; our surroundings, or to command original thoughts: they come if they will, and when they will. And so, too, we cannot always succeed in completely considering some personal matter at the precise time at which we have determined beforehand to consider it, and just when we set ourselves to do so. For the peculiar train of thought that is favorable to it may suddenly become active without any special call being made upon it, and we may then follow it up with keen interest. In this way reflection, too, chooses its own time.
Men of learning are those who have done their reading in the pages of a book. Thinkers and men of genius are those who have gone straight to the book of Nature…
We look upon the present as something to be put up with while it lasts, and serving only as the way towards our goal. Hence most people, if they glance back when they come to the end of life, will find that all along they have been living ad interim: they will be surprised to find that the very thing they disregarded and let slip by unenjoyed, was just the life in the expectation of which they passed all their time. Of how many a man may it not be said that hope made a fool of him until he danced into the arms of death!
…We live through our days of happiness without noticing them; it is only when evil comes upon us that we wish them back. A thousand gay and pleasant hours are wasted in ill-humor; we let them slip by unenjoyed, and sigh for them in vain when the sky is overcast. Those present moments that are bearable, be they never so trite and common,—passed by in indifference, or, it may be, impatiently pushed away,—those are the moments we should honor; never failing to remember that the ebbing tide is even how hurrying them into the past, where memory will store them transfigured and shining with an imperishable light,—in some after-time, and above all, when our days are evil, to raise the veil and present them as the object of our fondest regret.
A man sees a great many things when he looks at the world for himself, and he sees them from many sides; but this method of learning is not nearly so short or so quick as the method that employs abstract ideas and makes hasty generalizations about everything. *
For the practical man, the most needful thing is to acquire an accurate and profound knowledge of the ways of the world. …
The study is difficult enough in itself; but the difficulty is doubled by novels, which represent a state of things in life and the world, such as, in fact, does not exist.
For what is our civilized world but a big masquerade? …
It is very necessary that a man should be apprised early in life that it is a masquerade in which he finds himself. For otherwise there are many things that he will fail to understand and put up with, nay, at which he will be completely puzzled…
…It is Schadenfreude, a mischievous delight in the misfortunes of others, which remains the worst trait in human nature. … In general, it may be said of it that it takes the place which pity ought to take—pity which is its opposite, and the true source of all real justice and charity.
A woman (with certain exceptions which need not be mentioned) will not take the first step with a man; for in spite of all the beauty she may have, she risks a refusal. A man may be ill in mind or body, or busy, or gloomy, and so not care for advances; and a refusal would be a blow to her vanity. But as soon as he takes the first step, and helps her over this danger, he stands on a footing of equality with her, and will generally find her quite tractable.
If we were not all of us exaggeratedly interested in ourselves, life would be so uninteresting that no one could endure it.
No man ought to expect much from others, or, in general, from the external world.
If only other people will applaud him, a man may console himself for downright misfortune… and conversely, it is astonishing how infallibly a man will be annoyed, and in some cases deeply pained, by any wrong done to his feeling of self-importance, whatever be the nature, degree, or circumstances of the injury, or by any depreciation, slight, or disregard.
We should be much less ready to lose our temper over an insult… if, on the one hand, we have not such an exaggerated estimate of our value and dignity… and, on the other hand, if we had arrived at any clear notion of the judgment which, in his heart, one man generally passes upon another. If most people resent the slightest hint that any blame attaches to them, you may imagine their feelings if they were to overhear what their acquaintance say about them. You should never lose sight of the fact that ordinary politeness is only a grinning mask: if it shifts its place a little, or is removed for a moment, there is no use raising a hue and cry. When a man is downright rude, it is as though he had taken off all his clothes, and stood before you in puris naturalibus [naked]. Like most men in this condition, he does not present a very attractive appearance.
You will hardly ever see two people exactly in the same frame of mind; for that is something which varies with their condition of life, occupation, surroundings, health, the train of thought they are in at the moment, and so on. These differences give rise to discord between persons of the most harmonious disposition. To correct the balance properly, so as to remove the disturbance—to introduce, as it were, a uniform temperature—is a work demanding a very high degree of culture. …
When, for instance, a great many people are gathered together and presented with some objective interest which works upon all alike and influences them in a similar way, no matter what it be—a common danger or hope, some great news, a spectacle, a play, a piece of music, or anything of that kind—you will find them roused to a mutual expression of thought, and a display of sincere interest. …
And in default of some objective interest of the kind I have mentioned, recourse is usually had to something subjective. A bottle of wine is not an uncommon means of introducing a mutual feeling of fellowship; and even tea and coffee are used for a like end.
Most men are so thoroughly subjective that nothing really interests them but themselves. …They have no power left for forming an objective view of things… neither can they admit any validity in arguments which tell against their interest or their vanity. … They are so readily offended, insulted or annoyed, that in discussing any impersonal matter with them, no care is too great to avoid letting your remarks bear the slightest possible reference to the very worthy and sensitive individuals whom you have before you…
…*it is just as easy to flatter and win them over; and this is why their judgment is usually corrupt, and why their opinions are swayed, not by what is really true and right, but by the favor of the party or class to which they belong.
Men are like children, in that, if you spoil them, they become naughty. Therefore it is well not to be too indulgent or charitable with anyone.
To forgive and forget means to throw away dearly bought experience.
…We find that a man is always measured by the office he holds, or by his occupation, nationality, or family relations—in a word, by the position and character which have been assigned him in the conventional arrangements of life, where he is ticketed and treated as so much goods.
…While rank and riches may always reckon upon deferential treatment in society, that is something which intellectual ability can never expect…*
Money is never spent to so much advantage as when you have been cheated out of it; for at one stroke you have purchased prudence.
Perhaps in no form of knowledge is personal experience so indispensable as in learning to see that all things are unstable and transitory in this world. …
In this world, where the game is played with loaded dice, a man must have a temper of iron, with armor proof to the blows of fate, and weapons to make his way against men.
Life is one long battle; we have to fight at every step; and Voltaire very rightly says that if we succeed [in this world], it is at the point of the sword, and that we die with the weapon in our hand.
It is a cowardly soul that shrinks or grows faint and despondent as soon as the storm begins to gather, or even when the first cloud appears on the horizon. Our motto should be No Surrender; and far from yielding to the ills of life, let us take fresh courage from misfortune: “Do not give way to evil, but face it more boldly.” (Virgil, Aeneid, vi. 95.) …
Still, it is possible for courage to be carried to an excess and to degenerate into rashness. It may even be said that some amount of fear is necessary, if we are to exist at all in the world, and cowardice is only the exaggerated form of it.
(1862-1939) steel executive
Profit sharing works well almost anywhere. I use it in my own home. Not long ago the expenses of running my New York house got exorbitant. I called in the steward and said to him: “George, I want to strike a bargain with you. I will give you ten percent of the first thousand dollars you save in house expenses, twenty-five per cent of the second thousand, and one-half of the third thousand.”
The expense of operating the house was cut in two.
That’s the way character is formed—doing callisthenic feats with obstacles and adversities. I tell you the hard knocks are the nest eggs of our fortunes. The men that are not made of the right stuff go under with them and are never heard of again.
And there are the others who are soured and embittered by them, and they’re heard from eternally. They haven’t a good word to say for the world’s plan, because when it got a trifle complicated it baffled them.
Those are the men who do more harm to the youth of civilization than its vices. Then there are those who start out, sometimes with bare feet and holes in their trousers, bravely resolving never to let circumstances crush them, never to harbor bitterness over defeat, but to save their energies for the next encounter.
These are the men hard knocks don’t hurt. They toughen them; they help them get ready for the next encounter. To these men, it’s only a question of sufficient hardship, and sacrifice, and battle, to make them proof against any onslaught. These are the soldiers, the victors.
Did you ever find a successful soldier who hadn’t seen a fight?
The best place to succeed is where you are with what you have.
The first essential in a boy’s career is to find out what he’s fitted for, what he’s most capable of doing and doing with a relish.*
Anyone who proposes to do good must not expect people to roll stones out of his way, but must accept his lot calmly, even if they roll a few more upon it.
[After someone made a remark as to the value of literary talents and accomplishments, as if they were above all things to be esteemed and honoured:] God help us! what a poor world this would be if that were the true doctrine! I have read books enough, and observed and conversed with enough of eminent and splendidly-cultured minds, too, in my time; but I assure you, I have heard higher sentiments from the lips of poor UNEDUCATED men and women, when exerting the spirit of severe yet gentle heroism under difficulties and afflictions, or speaking their simple thoughts as to circumstances in the lot of friends and neighbours, than I ever yet met with out of the Bible. We shall never learn to feel and respect our real calling and destiny, unless we have taught ourselves to consider everything as moonshine, compared with the education of the heart.
Rather spoil your joke than lose your friend.
Please yourself and you’ll please somebody.
Better to bend than to break.
Be happy while you’re living, for you’re a long time dead.
Many a good tale is spoiled in the telling.
Life without learning bears the stamp of death.
Before leaving your host, give him a little present—it will serve as a little courtesy, and will not offend.
The more often you ask how much farther you have to go, the longer your quest will feel. *
playwright, philosopher, and statesmen
Fate leads the willing, but drags along the unwilling.
I will govern my life, and my thoughts, as if the whole world were to see the one, and to read the other; for what does it signify to make anything a secret to my neighbor, when to God (who is the searcher of our hearts) all our privacies are open?
It was the wisdom of ancient times to consider what is most useful as most illustrious.
If you wait for tomorrow, tomorrow comes. If you don’t wait for tomorrow, tomorrow comes.
He may say that he loves you, wait and see what he does for you.
We won the war, but we lost peace.
Believing is easier than investigating.
Complain to someone who can help you.
You are not being honest if you burn your tongue and don’t tell everyone else the soup is hot.
Be wary of the man who urges an action in which he himself incurs no risk.
Pythagorean Philosopher
Neither do nor even think of that which you are not willing God should know.
God dwells in the intellect of the wise man.
By honoring a wise man, you will honor yourself.
To live, indeed, is not in our power, but to live rightly is.
The wise man follows God, and God follows the soul of the wise man.
For my own part… I have really so much need of some considerable Presence or Company to raise my Thoughts on any occasion, that when alone, I must endeavour by Strength of Fancy to supply this want; and in default of a Muse, must inquire out some Great Man of a more than ordinary Genius, whose imagin’d Presence may inspire me with more than what I feel at ordinary hours. (V1, p. 10) *
Thank heaven I can do good and find heaven in it. I know nothing else that is heavenly. And if this disposition fits me not for heaven, I desire never to be fitted for it, nor come into the place. I ask no reward from heaven for that which is reward itself. Let my being be continued or discontinued, as in the main is best. The author of it best knows, and I trust Him with it. (Rand, Life, Letters and Philosophical Regimen, 347.)
? What friend art thou like to prove to others, if not so to thyself.
(1564-1616) playwright
I can easier teach twenty what were good to be done, than be one of the twenty to follow mine own teaching.
Heaven is above all yet; there sits a judge that no king can corrupt.
This above all: to thine own self be true... (Hamlet)
I’m rough on them [the candidates on the show I Hate My Job] because life is rough. You should not assume that just because you have a dream, the whole world is going to fold to your dream.
The hawk soars to the heavens above, and fishes dive to the depths below.
If we keep un-perverted the human heart—which is like unto heaven and received from the earth—that is God. (Revelation to Mikado Seiwa)
Do not be sluggish in your work.
Leave the things of this world, and come to me daily with pure bodies and pure hearts.
* Sincerity is the single virtue that binds the divine and man in one. (Jingishoju)
If you pray to a deity with sincerity, you will surely feel the divine presence.
A single sincere prayer moves Heaven. You will surely realize the divine presenc through sincere prayer.
Even in one single leaf on a tree, or in one blade of grass, the awesome Deity presents itself.
Our eyes might see un-cleanliness, but let not our minds see un-cleanliness. Our ears might hear un-cleanliness, but let not our minds hear un-cleanliness.
All birds, even those of the same species, are not alike, and it is the same with animals and humans. The reason Wakan Tanka does not make two birds, or animals, or human beings exactly the same is because each is placed here by Wakan Tanka to be an independent individual and to rely upon itself.
Some people are smart but not wise.
It was the lesson of our great ancestor: The people should be cherished, and not looked down upon. The people are the root of a country: The root firm, the country is tranquil. 3:3:2
[King Wu or Khan said,] “Where you go, employ all your heart [Or: Wherever you go, go with all your heart.] Do not seek repose, nor be fond of ease and pleasure.” 5:9:2
[The King / Duke of Kau said,] “The wise, through not thinking, become foolish, and the foolish, by thinking, become wise.” 5:18:2
The Duke of Khin said, “Reproving others is easy, but to receive reproof and allow it free course is difficult.” 5:30
(1554–1586) poet, courtier and soldier
the Love of heaven makes one heavenly, the love of vertue vertuous, so dothe the love of the Worlde make one become worldly
Poet
The longer I contemplate the subject of God, the more enigmatic/obscure it becomes. *
Character from the TV show The Simpsons
Phfft! Facts. You can use them to prove anything.
And what if we picked the wrong religion? Every week, we’re just making God madder and madder!
It’s difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary is dependent upon him not understanding it.
Where there is a sea, there are pirates.
The person who can see a house in China is unaware of an elephant on his nose.
When the dogs bark at the moon, the moon is not brought down because of it.
When a man moves from nature, his heart becomes hard.
True peace between nations will only happen when there is true peace within people’s souls.
(1887-1963) yoga master
Life is a series of awakenings.
(1812-1904) writer and philosopher
In fine, human character is molded by a thousand subtle influences; by example and precept; by life and literature; by friends and neighbors; by the world we live in as well as by the spirits of our forefathers, whose legacy of good words and deeds we inherit. But great, unquestionably, though these influences are acknowledged to be, it is nevertheless equally clear that men must necessarily be the active agents of their own well-being and well-doing; and that, however much the wise and the good may owe to others, they themselves must in the very nature of things be their own best helpers.
Newton’s was unquestionably a mind of the very highest order, and yet, when asked by what means he had worked out his extraordinary discoveries, he modestly answered, “By always thinking unto them.” At another time he thus expressed his method of study: “I keep the subject continually before me, and wait till the first dawnings open slowly by little and little into a full and clear light.”
It was in Newton’s case, as in every other, only by diligent application and perseverance that his great reputation was achieved. Even his recreation consisted in change of study, laying down one subject to take up another. To Dr. Bentley he said: “If I have done the public any service, it is due to nothing but industry and patient thought.”
When Dr. Abbot, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, drew the character of his deceased friend Thomas Sackville, he did not dwell upon his merits as a statesman, or his genius as a poet, but upon his virtues as a man in relation to the ordinary duties of life. “How many rare things were in him!” said he. “Who more loving unto his wife? Who more kind unto his children?—Who more fast unto his friend?—Who more moderate unto his enemy?—Who more true to his word?” Indeed, we can always better understand and appreciate a man’s real character by the manner in which he conducts himself towards those who are the most nearly related to him, and by his transaction of the seemingly commonplace details of daily duty, than by his public exhibition of himself as an author, an orator, or a statesman.
Most men, but especially women, are the moral slaves of the class or caste to which they belong. There is a sort of unconscious conspiracy existing amongst them against each other’s individuality. Each circle and section, each rank and class, has its respective customs and observances, to which conformity is required at the risk of being tabooed. Some are immured within a bastile of fashion, others of custom, others of opinion; and few there are who have the courage to think outside their sect, to act outside their party, and to step out into the free air of individual thought and action. We dress, and eat, and follow fashion, though it may be at the risk of debt, ruin, and misery; living not so much according to our means, as according to the superstitious observances of our class.
Though we may speak contemptuously of the Indians who flatten their heads, and of the Chinese who cramp their toes, we have only to look at the deformities of fashion amongst ourselves, to see that the reign of “Mrs. Grundy” is universal.
A strong temper is not necessarily a bad temper. But the stronger the temper, the greater is the need of self-discipline and self- control.
(1969-) Record setting NFL running back
Winning is something that builds physically and mentally every day that you train and every night that you dream.
philosopher (469-399 BC)
Beware the barrenness of a busy life.
If thou continuest to take delight in idle argumentation, thou mayest be qualified to combat with the sophists, but will never know how to live with men.
The unexamined life is not worth living.
Character on the television show Desperate Housewives
We’re all in denial about something.
Do not reprove a scorner, lest he hate you: rebuke a wise person, and he will love you. (Proverbs 9:8)
Do not boast of tomorrow—for you do not know what a day may bring forth. (Proverbs 27:1)
It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools. For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool—this also is vanity. (Ecclesiastes 7:5-6)
I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not [always] to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill—but time and chance happens to them all. (Ecclesiastes 9:11)
Let not the tongue utter what the head must pay for.
Though the speaker be a fool, let the hearer be wise.
He who has no shame has no conscience.
What does not happen in a year may happen in a moment.
Tomorrow’s remedy will not ward off the evil of today.
Don’t believe what you see, but only what I tell you.
He who follows his own advice must take the consequences.
Make your affairs known in the marketplace, and one will call them black and another white.
Begin in other people’s way so as to end by having your own way.
What is much desired is not believed when it comes.
Every season brings its joy.
If you want to be respected, you must respect yourself.
The person who plants the lettuce does not always eat the salad.
It is beautiful to do nothing and then rest afterwards.
Give the grateful man more than he asks for.
He who talks a lot is bound to be right sometimes.
I dance to the tune that is played.
If you don’t pay a servant his wages, then he will pay himself.
If someone cannot even keep his own secrets, don’t count on him to keep someone else’s.
Tomorrow is often the busiest time of the year.
The secret of patience is to do something else in the meantime.
Sell publicly and buy privately.
Buy from people who are desperate, and sell to newlyweds.
He that has a good harvest must be able to endure a few thistles.
Every person is a fool in some person’s opinion.
Don’t bite off more than you can chew.
When the cat’s away, the mice will play
Talking about bulls is not the same thing as being in the bullring.
A gentle breeze blowing in the right direction is better than a pair of strong oars. (Canary Islands)
(1834-1892) Christian preacher
With children we must mix gentleness with firmness. They must not always have their own way, but they must not always be thwarted.
(1952-) physicist
He who gazes at the stars unavoidably starts thinking.
If you’re gonna be a failure, at least be one at something you enjoy
It becomes no wise man to expose himself to danger on account of the faults or follies of others.
It is a secret known but to few, yet of no small use in the conduct of life, that when you fall into a man’s conversation, the first thing you should consider is, whether he has a greater inclination to hear you, or that you should hear him.
(1783-1842) writer
The shepherd always tries to persuade the sheep that their interests and his own are the same.
There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy.
When a pickpocket sees a saint, all he sees are his pockets.
Attack him where he is unprepared; appear where you are not expected.
How victory may be produced for them out of the enemy’s own tactics—that is what the multitude cannot comprehend. All men can see the tactics by which I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.
Do not repeat the [exact same] tactics just because they have gained you one victory—instead, let your methods be regulated by the infinite variety of circumstances. Military tactics are like unto water; for water in its natural course runs away from high places and hastens downwards. So in war, the [effective] way is to avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak. Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe that he is facing.
Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions. He who can modify his tactics in relation to his opponent and thereby succeed in winning, may be called a harmoniously powerful captain.
The five elements [water, fire, wood, metal, earth] are not always equally predominant; the four seasons make way for each other in turn. There are short days and long; the moon has its periods of waning and waxing.
The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy’s not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.
If soldiers are punished before they have grown attached to you, they will not prove submissive; and, unless submissive, then will be practically useless. If, when the soldiers have become attached to you, punishments are not enforced, they will still be useless.
Therefore, soldiers must be treated in the first instance with humanity, but kept under control by means of iron discipline. This is a certain road to victory. (9:42-43)
When the general is weak and without authority; when his orders are not clear and distinct; when there are no fixed duties assigned to officers and men, and the ranks are formed in a slovenly haphazard manner, the result is utter disorganization. (10:18)
Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys. Look upon them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.
If, however, you are lenient, but unable to make your authority felt; kind-hearted, but unable to enforce your commands; and incapable, moreover, of quelling disorder; then your soldiers must be likened to spoilt children—they are useless for any practical purpose. (10:25-26)
Carefully study the well-being of your men, and do not overtax them. Concentrate your energy and hoard your strength…
(1954-) legal scholar, Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
People are certainly not sheep. Many of us display a great deal of independence. But most human beings, including many apparent rebels, are strongly influenced by the views and actions of others.
[T]here's a little Homer Simpson in all of us. Sometimes we have self-control problems, sometimes we're impulsive... Once we know that people are human and have some Homer Simpson in them, then there's a lot that can be done to manipulate them.
Extremists and hate-filled [web]sites tend to attract likeminded people who, if isolated, could come to their senses.
The existence of both domestic and foreign conspiracy theories, we suggest, is no trivial matter, posing real risks to the government’s antiterrorism policies, whatever the latter may be. ...The best response consists in cognitive infiltration of extremist groups... Government agents (and their allies) might enter chat rooms, online social networks, or even real-space groups and attempt to undermine percolating conspiracy theories by raising doubts about their factual premises, causal logic or implications for political action.
By purity of heart, one reaches Nirvana.
Putting aside all undertakings, he [a monk] should wander about for the welfare of his soul.
Just as a tortoise draws its limbs into its own shell, a wise man should withdraw his senses from evil by spiritual exertion.
Acquire perfect knowledge of the Law. Why do you not study it? It is difficult to attain instruction in it after this life. The days [that are gone by] will never return, nor is it easy a second time to obtain human birth.
n. He should know that the present time is the best opportunity to mend, and that awakening is difficult to obtain. A wise man should be aware of this.
But those who exert themselves at the proper time, feel no remorse afterwards.
Don’t cross the stream to find water.
Don’t throw away an old bucket until you know the new one holds water.
Those who want to sing will always find a song.
Shared joy is double joy.
Sometimes you must be silent in order to be heard
A small house is enough room for a thousand friends.
(1st century BC) writer
It is cruelty to the innocent not to punish the guilty.
He who wishes to injure another will soon find a pretext.
It is as well now and then not to remember all we know.
Even speed when we are anxious seems like delay.
Without danger, danger cannot be surmounted.
The happy man is not he who seems so to others, but he who seems so to himself.
There are some remedies worse than the disease.
No pleasure endures unseasoned by variety.
A plan is bad if it is not capable of being changed.
We are interested in others when they are interested in us.
Many receive advice; few profit by it.
Every one excels in something in which another fails.
Everything is worth what its purchaser will pay for it.
(1920-) Psychiatrist, advocate of self-ownership and human rights
Men are rewarded or punished not for what they do but for how their acts are defined. That is why men are more interested in better justifying themselves than in better behaving themselves.
Some people say they haven’t yet found themselves. But the self is not something one finds; it is something one creates.
The proverb warns; “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.” But maybe you should, if it prevents you from feeding yourself.
It takes sweat to work, but only saliva to criticize.
A husband and wife often fight intensely at one moment, and then kiss intensely at the next moment.
A beautiful person might not have a beautiful life.
Some prefer liquor, others prefer tofu, and some even like rotten salmon.
Greed will cause pain.
If someone transports dung and does not eat it, don’t conclude that he is an honest person.
If your business does not prosper in one town, try another.
It is better to lend than to give. To give employment is better than either.
Live well. It is the greatest revenge.
The sun will set without your assistance.
Cold water, morning and evening, is better than all the cosmetics.
There is a great difference between him who is ashamed before his own self, and him who is only ashamed before others.
A good husband might have a bad wife, and a bad wife might have a good husband.
(1975-) judo champion
I don’t agree with the idea that you have to live in a bubble and sacrifice all your time to something if you want to succeed. I need to be interested in things outside my sport, and I need to meet new people. For me, judo is an expression of the harmony I achieve in my life.
And God said to Moses, “I Am What I Am”… (Exodus 3:14)
Great men are not always wise, and neither do the aged [always] understand judgment. (Job 32:9)
… He did it with all his heart, and prospered. (II Chronicles 31:21)
Little by little, a little becomes a lot.
Help me during the flood, and I will help you during the drought.
Men may rise on stepping-stones of their dead selves to higher things.
‘Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all. (In Memoriam A.H.H., 27)
The folly of all follies is to be love sick for a shadow.
Blind and naked ignorance delivers brawling judgments, unashamed, on all things all day long.
writer of comedies
It is possible for someone to be changed so much by love that he will hardly be recognized as being the same person.
Obsequiousness begets friends; truth, hatred.
Shoot not beyond the mark.
(1515-1582) nun, writer, and mystic
Remember that you have only one soul; that you have only one death to die; that you have only one life. … If you do this, there will be many things about which you care nothing.
From moment to moment one can bear much.
(1910-1997) humanitarian
The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted.
The sweetness of food doesn’t last long, but the sweetness of good words does.
(1817-1862) writer, philosopher, and naturalist
To the sick the doctors wisely recommend a change of air and scenery. (Walden)
Knowledge does not come to us in details, but in flashes of light from heaven
Henry David Thoreau Biography and Quotes
Who can say for sure that one will live to see tomorrow?
Landing a single punch on your enemies nose is more satisfying than hearing well-intentioned advice from your elders.
Spreading the news is also multiplying it.
(1898-1986) doctor who developed a psychiatric method he termed “medicine of the person”
Most illnesses do not, as is generally thought, come like a bolt out of the blue. The ground is prepared for years through faulty diet, intemperance, overwork, and moral conflicts, slowly eroding the subject’s vitality.
(1946-) Real estate mogul
Sometimes your best investments are the ones you don’t make.
When somebody comes to you and shows you respect, serve him your dinner and make his bed.
Call someone “master,” and he’ll sell you at an auction.
Better to blush than to keep the concern in your heart.
The enemy of your belly: 40 years. [If you take away someone's food or livlihood, he'll hold it against you for 40 years.)
By telling the truth, your head will be cracked.
Pretend you are crazy, and you will survive.
In dealing with a powerful person, either be nice to him, avoid him, or allow him to speak without answering him.
If you see someone riding a bamboo-cane/log, tell him “What a lovely horse!” [Allow others to enjoy their own fantasies]
You hate me, but God will remember me.
Those who flee from taxes and rent flee from selling and buying.
He who builds a mill must also have a bell.
Better to wait patiently [for the real] than rush into a thing of illusion.
A thirsty person will accept polluted water.
A bad year will pass; a bad mind will not pass.
Though I am rich, I still enjoy receiving gifts.
Everyone lives—the person with one coat, the person with two, and even the person with none.
If the time does not suit you, suit yourself to the time.
Baghdad is not remote for a lover.
Few deserve a happy life.
One eats while another watches—that is how revolutions are begun.
Death is a black camel that lies down at every door. Sooner or later you must ride the camel.
There is not a single season without fruit.
If you search for a faultless woman, you'll remain a bachelor.
(1835-1910) writer
The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up. (Notebook)
Make it a point to do something every day that you don’t want to do. This is the golden rule for acquiring the habit of doing your duty without pain. (Following the Equator - Pudd’nhead Wilson’s New Calendar)
We can secure other people’s approval if we do right and try hard; but our own is worth a hundred of it, and no way has been found out of securing that. (Following the Equator - Pudd’nhead Wilson’s New Calendar)
When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained. (Notebook, 1898)
Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't. (Following the Equator - Pudd’nhead Wilson’s New Calendar)
Nothing so needs reforming as other people’s habits. (The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson - Pudd’nhead Wilson’s Calendar)
He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it—namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain. (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer)
The man with a new idea is a Crank until the idea succeeds. (Following the Equator - Pudd’nhead Wilson’s New Calendar)
Customs do not concern themselves with right or wrong or reason. But they have to be obeyed; one reasons all around them until he is tired, but he must not transgress them, it is sternly forbidden. (“The Gorky Incident”)
It must be that the increase [in lynching] comes of the inborn human instinct to imitate—that and man’s commonest weakness, his aversion to being unpleasantly conspicuous, pointed at, shunned, as being on the unpopular side. Its other name is Moral Cowardice, and is the commanding feature of the make-up of 9,999 men in the 10,000. I am not offering this as a discovery; privately the dullest of us knows it to be true. History will not allow us to forget or ignore this supreme trait of our character. It persistently and sardonically reminds us that from the beginning of the world no revolt against a public infamy or oppression has ever been begun but by the one daring man in the 10,000, the rest timidly waiting, and slowly and reluctantly joining, under the influence of that man and his fellows from the other ten thousands. (“The United States of Lyncherdom”)
Never tell the truth to people who are not worthy of it. (Notebook, 1902)
Morals: rather teach them than practice them any day (Speeches)
The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause. (Speeches)
That impressive silence, that eloquent silence, that geometrically progressive silence which often achieves a desired effect where no combination of words howsoever felicitous could accomplish it. (Autobiography)
Mark Twain Biography and Quotes
(1966-) heavyweight boxer
I’m Mike Tyson, and there is no one like me.
Everyone has a game plan until you get hit in the mouth.
Am I an animal? If necessary—it depends on what situation am I in…
If a guest doesn’t want to stay, it’s better to let him go.
Who do I to sue for my own faults?
If the boss is full, no one will care if the slave is hungry.
The hunter who is tracking an elephant does not stop to throw stones at birds.
The laughter of a child is the light of a house.
No matter how hard you try, you'll never get milk out of a bull.
One should acquire valuable knowledge, and avoid what is worthless. 1:8
Like an untrained steed who needs a lash, seek not guidance again and again. Like the trained who sees the whip [and avoids danger/pitfall], avoid sin. 1:12<
Subdue your Self, for the Self is difficult to subdue. If your Self is subdued, you will be happy in this world and the next. 1:15
One must conquer one’s own self. It is difficult to conquer it. One who does so is fortunate/blissed in this world and will be so in the next. 1:15
Better is that I should subdue my Self by self-control and penance, than be subdued by others with fetters and corporal punishment. 1:16
There are four things of paramount value that are difficult to obtain here by a living being: human birth, instruction in the Law, belief/faith in it, and energy-in/the-endeavor-to-practice self-control. 3:1
3:11
Having been born as a man, having heard the Law, believing in it, and fulfilling it strenuously, an ascetic should restrain himself and shake of sinfulness.
Having been born as a human being, believing in religion and following it meticulously, an ascetic should practice self-restraint and annihilate the karmas completely.
The pious obtain purity, and the pure stand firmly in righteousness, reaching the highest nirvana/liberation like fire fed with ghee. 3:12
Though others sleep [i.e. are unvigilant], be awake [i.e. vigilant]! Like a wise man, trust nobody, but always be on the alert; for time is dangerous, and the body is weak. Be ever watchful, like the [two-headed] Bharunda bird. 4:6
“If he does not get it [victory] early, he will get it afterwards”—such reasoning assumes that the eternity of human life. But such a person will despair when his life draws to its close, and the dissolution of his body approaches. 4:9
A wise man, having weighed and chosen the better one—the Law of compassion—will become calm through patience, with an undisturbed mind. 5:30
Mother, father, daughter in law, brother, wife, and sons will not be able to help me when I suffer for my own deeds. 6:3 (Also Sutrakrtanga 1:9:5)
Everything that happens to somebody affects him personally; therefore, knowing the creatures’ love of their own self, do not deprive them of their life, but cease from endangering and combating them. 6:6
Here some are of opinion that they will be delivered from all misery merely by attending the teacher without abstaining from sins/*learning what right conduct is without living up to it. Acknowledging the truth about bondage and liberation, but only talking and not acting, they seek comfort for themselves in mighty words. Clever talking will not work salvation; how should philosophical instruction do it? Fools, though sinking lower and lower through their sins, believe themselves to be wise men. They are [going] a long way in the endless samsara; therefore looking out carefully, one should wander about carefully [conducting oneself to commit no sin]. 6:8-11
Choosing what is beyond and above [this world; i.e. liberation], one should never desire [worldly objects], but sustain one’s body only to be able to annihilate one’s karman. 6:12
Even so are human pleasures compared with the pleasures of the gods; divine life and pleasures surpass [the former] a thousand times and more. 7:12
What water is at the kusa grass tip, compared to an ocean deep, so are the pleasures of human life, compared to the life divine. 7:23<
Even if the whole world of wealth is given to a man, he will not be contented, for it is very difficult to satisfy the desires of a greedy man. 8:16
Victory over one’s self is greater than conquering thousands and thousands of enemies on the battlefield. A true conqueror is he who conquers his own self. 9:34
Fight the fight within—why fight external foes? He who conquers himself through himself obtains supreme joy. 9:35
It is difficult to conquer oneself—but when that is conquered, everything is conquered. 9:36
It indeed is very difficult to acquire human birth. One acquires it after a very long span of time for the karmas that bind the soul are very powerful. Therefore Oh Gautama, be not careless even for a while! 10:4
Place your self on the right path … be careful all the while. 10:31
The days and nights that pass will never return. They bear no fruit for him who does not abide by dharma. The days and nights that pass will never return. They bear fruit only for him who abides by dharma.
14:24-25 M
He who can call death his friend, who can escape from its clutches, and who is sure to never die—he only can decide to postpone his duties to tomorrow. 14:27
I have cut off all my fetters, these are destroyed by right means. Now I am wholly free from these, being light, I move and happily live. 23:41
The mind is that fierce/bad, unruly and dreadful horse that runs hither and thither in all directions. I control it by the discipline of righteousness, so that it becomes a well-trained kanthaka-steed [horse of the Buddha]. 23:58
Just as a threaded [sasutra] needle is secure from being lost, in the same way a person given to self-study [sasutra] cannot be lost. 29:59 M
A great monk eats to sustain life, and not for the pleasure of it. 35:17
If there is anything the nonconformist hates worse than a conformist it’s another nonconformist who doesn’t conform to the prevailing standards of nonconformity.
(1715-1747) philosopher
People often feel offended by praise because it designates a limit to their excellence. Few people are modest enough not to be offended by someone appreciating them.
The buffalo that arrives late will have to drink muddy water and eat dry grass.
When you eat, it’s vegetables; when you’re sick, it’s medicine.
(1694-1778) writer and philosopher
Every man is guilty of all the good he didn’t do.
I know of no great men except those who have rendered great service to the human race.
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.
It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
(1676–1745)
All men have their price.
(1483-1541) Neo Confucian philosopher
Respecting the self and not respecting tao is not respecting the self. Respecting tao and not respecting the self is not respecting tao. Respecting both tao and the self is the highest good.
(1472-1529) Neo Confucian philosopher
A deluded person recites; a wise person puts his [pure] mind into practice.
And there are also deluded individuals who empty their minds, sit in tranquility, and think of nothing [i.e. those who perform certain Buddhist practices]. They call themselves great. Due to their deviant views, one cannot even speak with this kind of people.
This effort [of self-cultivation and obliterating selfishness] must be carried out continuously. Like eradicating robbers and thieves, one must resolve to wipe them out completely. In idle moments, one must search out and discover each and every selfish thought for sex, wealth, fame, and the rest. One must resolve to pluck out and cast away the root of sickness, so that it can never arise again. Only then may one begin to feel at ease. One must at all times be like a cat catching mice, with eyes intently watching and wars intently listening. As soon as a single [selfish] thought begins to stir, one must conquer it and cast it out. Act as if you were cutting a nail in two, or slicing through iron. Do not indulge or accommodate it in any way. Do not harbor it, and do not allow it to escape.
(1812-1882) writer and theologian
The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.
(1856-1915) leader, reformer, educator
Any man’s life will be filled with constant and unexpected encouragement if he makes up his mind to do his level best each day.
(1866-1946) writer, historian, and sociologist
We must not allow the clock and the calendar to blind us to the fact that each moment of life is a miracle and mystery.
(1890-1945) novelist, playwright, and poet
For those who believe, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe, no explanation is possible.
(1861-1947) philosopher and mathematician
Familiar things happen, and mankind does not bother about them. It requires a very unusual mind to undertake the analysis of the obvious.
(1931-) writer
When I open my eyes in the morning, I am not confronted by a world, but by a million possible worlds.
(1954-) businesswomen, TV talk show host
Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.
If you live in the past and allow the past to define who you are, then you never grow. (Woman’s Day, October 1, 1986; Lyn Torrnabene)
What I have learned in my life and work is that the more I am able to be myself, the more it enables other people to be themselves.
Oprah Winfrey Biography and Quotes
Oprah Winfrey is the Most Powerful Person in the World
(1945-) actor, producer
Assumptions are the termites of relationships.
The past is utterly indifferent to its worshipers.
[W]hat is the use of studying philosophy if all that it does for you is to enable you to talk with some plausibility about some abstruse questions of logic, etc., & if it does not improve your thinking about the important questions of everyday life...?
(1910-) college basketball coach
When you improve a little each day, eventually big things occur. When you improve conditioning a little each day, eventually you have a big improvement in conditioning. Not tomorrow, not the next day, but eventually a big gain is made. Don’t look for the big, quick improvement. Seek the small improvement. Seek the small improvement one day at a time. That’s the only way it happens—and when it happens, it lasts.
…These two things, contradictory though they may seem, must go together—manly dependence and manly independence, manly reliance and manly self-reliance.
(1871-1948) inventor, aviator
If we all worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true is really true, there would be little hope of advance.
(1924-) writer
The wrong sort of people are always in power because they would not be in power if they were not the wrong sort of people.
Usually when people are sad, they don’t do anything. They just cry over their condition. But when they get angry, they bring about a change. (Malcolm X Speaks)
One hundred years is at the heights of a long life. Less than one in a thousand people attain it.
Let's take an example [typical] of someone who does. Much of it is taken up by infancy and old age. Much of the rest is taken up by sleep ans wasted time. And much of what’s left is filled up with pain and sickness, sorrow and grief, ruin and loss, and anxieties and fears.
This perhaps leaves several years—and of this, I reckon that the time he is truly content and liberated barely amounts to much at all.
So what is human existence for, and where is its joy?
Only comfort/beauty/wealth and luxury? Only music/color and beauty/sound/senses/women?
Ah, but we cannot always be satisfied by comfort/beauty and luxury, nor incessantly enjoy beauty/color and music/sound.
Besides, there is the stimulus of rewards and the warning of punishments, the urging of fame and the repelling of laws. People are constantly rendered busy competing for one vain moment of praise, and scheming for the glory that be remembered after their deaths. Even in solitude, they consider and comply with what they think others want them to see, hear, think, feel, and do, and they discredit what their own selves feel and think. They vainly miss the realest enjoyments of life’s time, and cannot really give way for a moment. How different is this from being a chained in prison?
The ancients knew that all creatures enter life in a moment, and must depart in death at one moment. Therefore they followed their hearts and did not deny themselves these natural inclinations. During life, they were not seeking fame, but were only following their own nature. They went smoothly on their path unvaried from their inclinations. They did not seek for posthumous fame. They were out of the reach of external disapproval, and were not concerned with glory, fame, rank, or position during their lifespan.
For fame’s sake they endure all kinds of bodily hardship and mental pain. … The ignorant, while seeking to maintain fame, sacrifice reality. By doing so they will have to regret that nothing can rescue them from danger and death, and not only learn to know the difference between ease and pleasure and sorrow and grief.
[When asked whether he believed Heaven to be a location or a state of consciousness:] Who but God knows about these things? The thing we know is that we are living now. We know there are things to be done and that we are here to build a better world. This is a big enough assignment. Life is given by God so that we may create a better life for all.
Author of The Principles of Perfect Liberty: A System for an Artistic Life
Whenever a man says he is great, he is thinking of the past, and this is not good. A man should continue to express himself. The true Self exists moment by moment, and the challenge of PL is ever leading us forward to a more artistic life.
Perfect Liberty is a movement based on a system of individual self-expressions through an artistic life. Its beginning is the discovery of Self. Its assignment is the effacement of ego. Its challenge is to live the Precepts and Principles. Its ultimate aim is the Great Peace, a time when man will have learned to live harmoniously with himself, his fellowman, and God.
…The universe is One-whole-integrity. The nature of this integrity is God [kami]. The function of this integrated whole is God-in-action [kamuwaza].
You cannot at this instance write on a blackboard that exists in time twenty minutes from now. You cannot sit at a desk that existed yesterday and then lost its existence. In the same way, Self can only relate to other existences conterminous with the present.
Self is the subjective function, and is not able to place itself in the position of object. Self is the most exalted existence in the universe. Even the work of Kami is under its recognition. Because Self recognizes Kami, Kami exists. Self is Kami manifested. The only identity of Self exists in the process of expression. One should, therefore, identify oneself in all expressions. Expressions are possible only with the function of the related existences. So, once again, Self independent of the surrounding existences has no meaning. The idea of exclusiveness merely disturbs the effect of Self-expression in such a way as to cause a person to be obsessed with “I” and place his identity in an exaggerated position.
disciple of Confucius
Yen Yuan sighed and said:
I look up to it, and find it high. I penetrate it, and it becomes firm. I look at it before me, and suddenly it is behind. Confucius skillfully leads people step-by-step. He enlarges me with wen, and teaches me restraints by li. I cannot stop, nor would I ever want to. And after having exerted my ability and finding it standing right up here, though I wish to follow, how can a find a way to do so? 9:10
(1635-1704) Confucian philosopher
Confucius’s disciples talked and discussed, but they also practiced what they learned. They would read the books on ceremony, and then practice the ceremonies; or they would read the books on music, and then practice the music. … For them, it would have been impossible to conceive that learning was merely a matter of reading and discussion.
Health comes before making a livelihood.
A person should stay alive, if only out of curiosity.
Every answer can result in a new question.
Being too nice can cost a lot.
If one soldier understood the thoughts of another, there would be no wars.
Cold strengthens you more than hunger.
A penny saved is a penny earned, but sometimes a penny is better spent than saved.
God created people because he loves stories.
When brains are needed, brawn won’t help.
in order to persuade someone it is necessary to merit his sympathy; now, one never gains the sympathy of those whose opinions he does not share.
Hence, in order to persuade successfully, one must banish suspicion and know how to listen.
One must not forget the profound egotism that characterizes all imaginary invalids; they are so full of themselves that their ills seem to them to acquire high importance. They can not admit then that the whole world is not interested in their aches and pains, and the importance they themselves attach to them is a subject of development for their malady.
For it is incontestable that all moral emotion has an immediate repercussion on the physical state.
To be able to persuade a patient that he is cured is, in most eases, to free him from his malady; it is always infinitely attenuated, since it is to spare him moral uneasiness, too fruitful mother of bodily ills.
Intensity of determination, when it reaches a certain point, possesses a dazzling influence which few ordinary mortals can resist, for it envelops them before they are aware of it and thus before they have dreamt of endeavoring to withdraw themselves front it.
Moreover, the man who retains the power of influencing rarely needs to exert himself, in order to exercise it effectually, for the need of protection from it is non-existent in most persons.
They are rare who are morally sufficient for themselves and who pass through life without feeling the need of resting their weakness on a supporting and directing force.
Still less numerous are those who accept with courage the consequences of their acts and do not seek to place the responsibility for these acts on an outside influence, which, however, they are ready to repudiate if they are successful.
Influence over others is acquired especial by perseverance of the will and concentration of thought, the undulations of which, project around us, come to reach the minds that we wish to impress.
With perseverance, you succeed in causing effectively to penetrate the minds of your hearers the thoughts the emission of which will attract similar thoughts, and their undulations returning to affect you will increase your conviction, giving you thus the more power to spread it around you.
(1683-1765) poet, dramatist, and literary critic
Who does the best his circumstance allows
Does well, acts nobly; angels could no more. (Night Thoughts)
The man that blushes is not quite a brute.
* I had looked for happiness in fast living, but it was not there. I tried to find it in money, but it was not there either. But when I placed myself in tune with what I believe to be the fundamental truths of life, when I began to develop my limited ability, to rid my mind of all kinds of tangled thoughts, and fill it with zeal and courage and love, when I gave myself a chance by treating myself decently and sensibly, I began to feel the stimulating, warm glow of happiness.
Confucian philosopher
The chun tzu deals with the root. Once the root is established, tao unfolds. 1:2
(1895-1976) writer
If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learned how to live.
This I conceive to be the chemical function of humor: to change the character of our thought.
If you understand, things are just as they are. If you do not understand, things are just as they are.
Kabbalah text
If you wish to strengthen a lie, mix a little truth in with it.