Cognition

19. Respect so far the holy laws of this fellowship as not to prejudice its perfect flower by your impatience for its opening. We must be our own…

4. Our culture, therefore, must not omit the arming of the man. Let him hear in season that he is born into the state of war, and that the…

6. Heroism works in contradiction to the voice of mankind, and in contradiction, for a time, to the voice of the great and good. Heroism is an…

15. There is no weakness or exposure for which we cannot find consolation in the thought,--this is a part of my constitution, part of my relation and…

16. To speak the truth, even with some austerity, to live with some rigor of temperance, or some extremes of generosity, seems to be an asceticism…

17. Times of heroism are generally times of terror, but the day never shines in which this element may not work. The circumstances of man, we say,…

18. I see not any road to perfect peace which a man can walk, but to take counsel of his own bosom. Let him quit too much association, let him go…

10. This guiding identity runs through all the surprises and contrasts of the piece, and characterizes every law. Man carries the world in his head,…

20. This power of expression, or of transferring the inmost truth of things into music and verse, makes him the type of the poet, and has added a new…

24. The finest poetry was first experienced: but the thought has suffered a transformation since it was an experience. Cultivated men often attain…

Prudence is the virtue of the senses. It is the science of appearances. It is the outmost action of the inward life. It is God taking thought for…

There are all degrees of proficiency in knowledge of the world. It is sufficient to our present purpose to indicate three. One class lives to the…

The spurious prudence, making the senses final, is the god of sots and cowards, and is the subject of all comedy. It is nature's joke, and…

On the other hand, nature punishes any neglect of prudence. If you think the senses final, obey their law. If you believe in the soul, do not…

Thus truth, frankness, courage, love, humility, and all the virtues range themselves on the side of prudence, or the art of securing a present…

The eye is the first circle; the horizon which it forms is the second; and throughout nature this primary picture is repeated without end. It is…

There are no fixtures to men, if we appeal to consciousness. Every man supposes himself not to be fully understood; and if there is any truth in him,…

Our moods do not believe in each other. To-day I am full of thoughts and can write what I please. I see no reason why I should not have the same…

How often must we learn this lesson? Men cease to interest us when we find their limitations. The only sin is limitation. As soon as you once come up…

Each new step we take in thought reconciles twenty seemingly discordant facts, as expressions of one law. Aristotle and Plato[701] are reckoned the…

Beware when the great God lets loose a thinker on this planet. Then all things are at risk. It is as when a conflagration has broken out in a great…

Valor consists in the power of self-recovery, so that a man cannot have his flank turned, cannot be out-generalled, but put him where you will, he…

Therefore we value the poet. All the argument and all the wisdom is not in the encyclopædia, or the treatise on metaphysics, or the Body of Divinity,…

It is the highest power of divine moments that they abolish our contritions also. I accuse myself of sloth and unprofitableness day by day; but…

Yet this incessant movement and progression which all things partake could never become sensible to us but by contrast to some principle of fixture…

Life is a series of surprises. We do not guess to-day the mood, the pleasure, the power of to-morrow, when we are building up our being. Of lower…

The one thing which we seek with insatiable desire is to forget ourselves, to be surprised out of our propriety, to lose our sempiternal[715]…

HOW A MAN ON EVERY OCCASION CAN MAINTAIN HIS PROPER CHARACTER.—To the rational animal only is the irrational intolerable; but that which is…

Only consider at what price you sell your own will: if for no other reason, at least for this, that you sell it not for a small sum. But that which…

AGAINST THE ACADEMICS.—If a man, said Epictetus, opposes evident truths, it is not easy to find arguments by which we shall make him change his…

Now there are two kinds of hardening, one of the understanding, the other of the sense of shame, when a man is resolved not to assent to what is…

What then remains, or what method is discovered of holding commerce with them? Is there such a method by which they shall do what seems fit to them,…

When the man who was consulting him said, I seek to know this, How, even if my brother is not reconciled to me, shall I maintain myself in a state…

This was the practice of Socrates; this was the reason why he always had one face. But we choose to practise and study anything rather than the means…

She thought that to indulge her passion and take vengeance on her husband was more profitable than to spare her children. It was so; but she was…

Whoever then clearly remembers this, that to man the measure of every act is the appearance (the opinion), whether the thing appears good or bad.…

What then, ought we to publish these things to all men? No, but we ought to accommodate ourselves to the ignorant ([Greek: tois idiotais]) and to say…

Therefore Socrates said to one who was reminding him to prepare for his trial, Do you not think then that I have been preparing for it all my life?…

What then leads us to frequent use of divination? Cowardice, the dread of what will happen. This is the reason why we flatter the diviners. Pray,…

For this reason, when Zeno was going to meet Antigonus, he was not anxious, for Antigonus had no power over any of the things which Zeno admired; and…

OF INCONSISTENCY.—Some things men readily confess, and other things they do not. No one then will confess that he is a fool or without understanding;…

Why then do you say nothing to me? I can only say this to you, that he who knows not who he is, and for what purpose he exists, and what is this…

It is not easy to exhort weak young men; for neither is it easy to hold (soft) cheese with a hook. But those who have a good natural disposition,…

IN WHAT MANNER WE OUGHT TO BEAR SICKNESS.—When the need of each opinion comes, we ought to have it in readiness: on the occasion of breakfast, such…

And we ought to retain these verses in such way that we may use them, not that we may utter them aloud, as when we exclaim, “Paean Apollo.” Again…

You must root out of men these two things, arrogance (pride) and distrust. Arrogance then is the opinion that you want nothing (are deficient in…

But my wife treats me badly. Well, if any man asks you what this is, say, my wife treats me badly. Is there then nothing more? Nothing. My father…

Then, if he is thus prepared, the true Cynic cannot be satisfied with this; but he must know that he is sent a messenger from Zeus to men about…

Having these things (or thoughts) always in hand, and exercising them by yourself, and keeping them in readiness, you will never be in want of one to…

Learn then first what are the things which are shameful, and then tell us that you are a philosopher: but at present do not, even if any other man…

Ought you not to have gained something in addition from reason, and then to have protected this with security? And whom did you ever see building a…

ON FAMILIAR INTIMACY.—To this matter before all you must attend, that you be never so closely connected with any of your former intimates or…

What then? would you have me to be despised?—By whom? by those who know you? and how shall those who know you despise a man who is gentle and modest?…

What then? is it possible to be free from faults (if you do all this)? It is not possible; but this is possible, to direct your efforts incessantly…

When you are going to take in hand any act remind yourself what kind of an act it is. If you are going to bathe, place before yourself what happens…

Men are disturbed not by the things which happen, but by the opinions about the things; for example, death is nothing terrible, for if it were it…

When you see a person weeping in sorrow either when a child goes abroad or when he is dead, or when the man has lost his property, take care that the…

When a raven has croaked inauspiciously, let not the appearance hurry you away with it; but straightway make a distinction in your mind and say, None…

You can be invincible, if you enter into no contest in which it is not in your power to conquer. Take care then when you observe a man honored before…

Remember that it is not he who reviles you or strikes you, who insults you, but it is your opinion about these things as being insulting. When then a…