The best revenge is to be unlike the one who performed the injustice. – Marcus Aurelius What does that mean? This quote is translated in many forms, including “The best revenge is not to be like your enemy.” which is very close to what my paper copy of Meditations says. This is something you have…
To you all you have appears small; to me all I have appears great. – Epictetus What does that mean? This is an interesting quote, as he was born a Roman slave. He learned from an early age that he would not be permitted nice things nor would he have abundance. Rather than become bitter,…
The higher our position the more modestly we should behave. – Cicero What does that mean? This was an interesting quote to source, as it had variant wording. And while attributed to Cicero, he claims it was said by King Philip of Macedonia (Alexander the Great’s father). The difference is probably due to translation, but both of…
Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow. – Swedish Proverb What does that mean? This quote is, in case you hadn’t figured it out yet, about worry and the troubles which can come from it. It is one of the smallest forms of fear. Small things can often have disproportionately large shadows. Shadows…
A fall into a ditch makes you wiser. – Chinese Proverb What does that mean? At first you don’t know what a ditch is. Then you fall in. Now you know. You are now wiser, and know to avoid falling into ditches, whenever possible. Life is like that, test first, then the lesson. So the…
Silence is safer than speech. – Epictetus What does that mean? The longer version of the quote says “Silence is safer than speech; refrain from saying what shall be void of sense and open to blame.” Speaking when no speech is necessary or useful leads to saying things which are not always very bright, or…
You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say. – Martin Luther What does that mean? Most of us are pretty clear on the idea that we are responsible for our own words, and that what we say, we own. The classic example is yelling FIRE in…
Success and rest don’t sleep together. – Russian Proverb What does that mean? When we think of successful people, we often think of their lives of leisure. The act of achieving success gives one the chance to relax and take it easy. But how true is that, really? How many ‘successful’ people do you see…
Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone – we find it with another. – Thomas Merton What does that mean? It’s that time of year again. Valentine’s Day. Those who have someone rejoice that fact and those who do not lament it. But that’s not the…
Identify your problems but give your power and energy to solutions. – Tony Robbins What does that mean? Everybody has problems. That’s a fact. Some problems are tougher than others, others are easy. Some are worse to have, and some problems are not so bad. But identifying that you have a problem is only the…
Time is what we want most, but what we use worst. – William Penn What does that mean? Time. You never know how much you have, but yet we still waste it. There are only so many hours in each week, yet still we waste several of them. Time is something we cannot get back,…
We ought to give thanks for all fortune: if it is “good,” because it is good, if “bad” because it works in us patience, humility, & hope. – C. S. Lewis What does that mean? This quote is a great example of finding the silver lining in any situation. Far too many people live in…
When anger enters the mind, wisdom departs – Thomas à Kempis What does that mean? Anger. In moderation it can be somewhat useful as a motivator. But how rarely is it used in moderation? It seems to run past moderation rather quickly, on the path to excess far too often. That is the warning of…
Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet. – Jean-Jacques Rousseau What does that mean? This quote starts describing patience, and assigning it a flavor. A very strong and not very pleasant flavor. A flavor to which we can relate. Bitter, in tiny amounts, can provide contrast, but it isn’t usually something you would want…
Sorry, but it has been a busy week, and I did not adequately prepare myself. I’ll be back on Wednesday. In the mean time, please feel free to visit some of my prior posts, or use the search box near the top of the right column to look for some of your favorite quotes or…
