Opening the book…
Opening the book…
Building habits with patience, purpose, and room to begin again.
“What is a practice you keep — or have struggled to keep — that has shaped who you are? What does it take?”
Related passages from different traditions. Read them together, or follow a question that interests you.
Character, habit, and virtue are built gradually through repeated choices and deliberate effort over time.
35 passages · 10 traditions
The essential thing "in heaven and in earth" is, apparently, that there should be long OBEDIENCE in the same direction, there thereby results, and has always resulted in the long run, something which has made life worth living; for instance, virtue, art, music, dancing, reason, spirituality--anything whatever that is transfiguring, refined, foolish, or divine.
— Nineteenth-century philosophy · Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, 188, tr. Helen Zimmern, 1907 ↗
By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart.
— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 17.2, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗
Such as thy thoughts and ordinary cogitations are, such will thy mind be in time. For the soul doth as it were receive its tincture from the fancies, and imaginations. Dye it therefore and thoroughly soak it with the assiduity of these cogitations.
— Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 5.XV, tr. Meric Casaubon (1634/1635) ↗
Well-makers lead the water (wherever they like); fletchers bend the arrow; carpenters bend a log of wood; wise people fashion themselves.
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 6.v.80, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
Certainly custom is most perfect, when it beginneth in young years: this we call education; which is, in effect, but an early custom.
— Renaissance humanism · Francis Bacon, The Essays or Counsels, Civil and Moral, Of Custom And Education, 1625 ↗
All difficult things in the world are sure to arise from a previous state in which they were easy, and all great things from one in which they were small. Therefore the sage, while he never does what is great, is able on that account to accomplish the greatest things.
Lasting peace and freedom depend on subduing lust, anger, greed, and the restless pull of the senses.
35 passages · 7 traditions
As rain does not break through a well-thatched house, passion will not break through a well-reflecting mind.
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 1.v.14, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
But if a man shall learn, Even while he lives and bears his body's chain, To master lust and anger, he is blest! He is the Yukta; he hath happiness, Contentment, light, within:
— Hinduism · Bhagavad Gita, 5, tr. Edwin Arnold, 1885 ↗
A good eye, a humble spirit and a moderate appetite — he is of the disciples of Abraham, our father. An evil eye, a haughty spirit and a limitless appetite — he is of the disciples of Balaam, the wicked.
— Rabbinic Judaism · Pirkei Avot, 5:19, tr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Sefaria, CC-BY) ↗
There are four kinds of temperaments: Easy to become angry, and easy to be appeased: his gain disappears in his loss; Hard to become angry, and hard to be appeased: his loss disappears in his gain; Hard to become angry and easy to be appeased: a pious person; Easy to become angry and hard to be appeased: a wicked person.
True moral action comes from duty or inner principle, not from desire for praise, gain, or recognition.
36 passages · 8 traditions
If thou shalt intend that which is present, following the rule of right and reason carefully, solidly, meekly, and shalt not intermix any other businesses, but shall study this only to preserve thy spirit unpolluted, and pure, and shall cleave unto him without either hope or fear of anything, in all things that thou shalt either do or speak, contenting thyself with heroical truth, thou shalt live happily; and from this, there is no man that can hinder thee.
— Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 3.XIII, tr. Meric Casaubon (1634/1635) ↗
Whatsoever any man either doth or saith, thou must be good; not for any man's sake, but for thine own nature's sake; as if either gold, or the emerald, or purple, should ever be saying to themselves, Whatsoever any man either doth or saith, I must still be an emerald, and I must keep my colour.
— Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 7.XII, tr. Meric Casaubon (1634/1635) ↗
He acts before he speaks, and afterwards speaks according to his actions.
— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 2.13, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗
Withdrawing attention from outward noise and resting in the self provides clarity, strength, and equanimity.
29 passages · 9 traditions
We seek other conditions, by reason we do not understand the use of our own; and go out of ourselves, because we know not how there to reside.
— Renaissance humanism · Michel de Montaigne, Essays, Book III (final chapter), tr. Charles Cotton, ed. W. C. Hazlitt, 1877 ↗
That genuine, profound peace of mind, that perfect tranquillity of soul, which, next to health, is the highest blessing the earth can give, is to be attained only in solitude, and, as a permanent mood, only in complete retirement; and then, if there is anything great and rich in the man's own self, his way of life is the happiest that may be found in this wretched world.
— Nineteenth-century philosophy · Arthur Schopenhauer, Counsels and Maxims, § on solitude and peace of mind, tr. T. Bailey Saunders, 1890 ↗
Rouse thyself by thyself, examine thyself by thyself, thus self-protected and attentive wilt thou live happily, O Bhikshu!
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 25.v.379, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
Moderation — in words, possessions, and daily conduct — is the practical form discipline takes in ordinary life.
44 passages · 8 traditions
There is no more thriftless proceeding than to try and mend the measured pace of Time. Be careful, then, not to become its debtor.
— Nineteenth-century philosophy · Arthur Schopenhauer, Counsels and Maxims, Section 49, tr. T. Bailey Saunders, 1890 ↗
If in the little affairs of every day,--the trifles of life, those matters to which the rule _de minimis non_ applies,--a man is inconsiderate and seeks only what is advantageous or convenient to himself, to the prejudice of others' rights; if he appropriates to himself that which belongs to all alike, you may be sure there is no justice in his heart, and that he would be a scoundrel on a wholesale scale, only that law and compulsion bind his hands.
— Nineteenth-century philosophy · Arthur Schopenhauer, Counsels and Maxims, Section 29, tr. T. Bailey Saunders, 1890 ↗
It is desirable that a man be clad so simply that he can lay his hands on himself in the dark, and that he live in all respects so compactly and preparedly, that, if an enemy take the town, he can, like the old philosopher, walk out the gate empty-handed without anxiety.
— Transcendentalism ·
The pursuit of knowledge and wisdom is an ongoing obligation, not a possession to be hoarded or displayed.
31 passages · 5 traditions
Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
— Hebrew & Christian Bible · Bible, Proverbs 4:7, tr. King James Version (1611/1769) ↗
one who makes his name great causes his name to be destroyed; one who does not add [to his knowledge] causes [it] to cease; one who does not study [the Torah] deserves death; one who makes [unworthy] use of the crown [of learning] shall pass away.
— Rabbinic Judaism · Pirkei Avot, 1:13, tr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Sefaria, CC-BY) ↗
To have faults and not to reform them,-- this, indeed, should be pronounced having faults.
— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 15.29, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗
He who walks in the company of fools suffers a long way; company with fools, as with an enemy, is always painful; company with the wise is pleasure, like meeting with kinsfolk.
What a person consistently does — not what they say or how they appear — reveals and forms their true character.
35 passages · 10 traditions
He acts before he speaks, and afterwards speaks according to his actions.
— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 2.13, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗
Judges ought to remember, that their office is jus dicere, and not jus dare; to interpret law, and not to make law, or give law.
— Renaissance humanism · Francis Bacon, The Essays or Counsels, Civil and Moral, Of Judicature, 1625 ↗
When a man is ill, he devotes himself to curing his disease, without insisting that he must first learn how he came to have it.
— The turn of the century · Swami Vivekananda, Jnâna Yoga, Section IV (before 'ONE EXISTENCE APPEARING AS MANY'), 1907 ↗
Not the perversities of others, not their sins of commission or omission, but his own misdeeds and negligences should a sage take notice of.
Learn as if you could not reach your object, and were always fearing also lest you should lose it.
— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 8.17, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗
Learning without thought is labour lost; thought without learning is perilous.
— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 2.15, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗
When we see men of worth, we should think of equalling them; when we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves.
— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 4.17, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗
Well-makers lead the water (wherever they like); fletchers bend the arrow; carpenters bend a log of wood; good people fashion themselves.
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 10.v.145, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
I am of opinion, that order, moderation, and constancy excepted, all things are to be done by a man that is very imperfect and defective in general. Therefore it is, say the Sages, that to make a right judgment of a man, you are chiefly to pry into his common actions, and surprise him in his everyday habit.
— Renaissance humanism · Michel de Montaigne, Essays, Chapter XXIX, tr. Charles Cotton, ed. W. C. Hazlitt, 1877 ↗
one whose wisdom exceeds his deeds, to what may he be compared? To a tree whose branches are numerous but whose roots are few, so that when the wind comes, it uproots it and overturns it… But one whose deeds exceed his wisdom, to what may he be compared? To a tree whose branches are few but roots are many, so that even if all the winds in the world come and blow upon it, they cannot move it out of its place.
— Rabbinic Judaism · Pirkei Avot, 3:17, tr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Sefaria, CC-BY) ↗
He who does anything because it is the custom, makes no choice. He gains no practice either in discerning or in desiring what is best. The mental and moral, like the muscular powers, are improved only by being used.
— Nineteenth-century philosophy · John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, Chapter III, paragraph 3, 1859 ↗
A beautiful form is better than a beautiful face: a beautiful behavior is better than a beautiful form: it gives a higher pleasure than statues or pictures; it is the finest of the fine arts.
— Transcendentalism · Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays, Manners, §19, 1844 ↗
The prosecution of learning may be compared to what may happen in raising a mound. If there want but one basket of earth to complete the work, and I stop, the stopping is my own work. It may be compared to throwing down the earth on the level ground. Though but one basketful is thrown at a time, the advancing with it is my own going forward.
— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 9.18, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗
Let no man think lightly of evil, saying in his heart, It will not come nigh unto me. Even by the falling of water-drops a water-pot is filled; the fool becomes full of evil, even if he gather it little by little.
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 9.v.121, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
He, who from day to day recognises what he has not yet, and from month to month does not forget what he has attained to, may be said indeed to love to learn.
— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 19.5, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗
The force of character is cumulative. All the foregone days of virtue work their health into this.
— Transcendentalism · Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays, Self-Reliance, 1844 ↗
Not to commit any sin, to do good, and to purify one's mind, that is the teaching of (all) the Awakened.
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 14.v.183, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
When I walk along with two others, they may serve me as my teachers. I will select their good qualities and follow them, their bad qualities and avoid them.
— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 7.21, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗
All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 1.v.2, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
Let no man think lightly of good, saying in his heart, It will not come nigh unto me. Even by the falling of water-drops a water-pot is filled; the wise man becomes full of good, even if he gather it little by little.
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 9.v.122, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
The tree which fills the arms grew from the tiniest sprout; the tower of nine storeys rose from a (small) heap of earth; the journey of a thousand li commenced with a single step.
Yet may it grow restrained by habit, Prince! By wont of self-command. This Yog, I say, Cometh not lightly to th' ungoverned ones; But he who will be master of himself Shall win it, if he stoutly strive thereto.
— Hinduism · Bhagavad Gita, 6, tr. Edwin Arnold, 1885 ↗
since custom is the principal magistrate of man's life, let men by all means endeavor, to obtain good customs.
— Renaissance humanism · Francis Bacon, The Essays or Counsels, Civil and Moral, Of Custom And Education, 1625 ↗
Use thyself even unto those things that thou doest at first despair of. For the left hand we see, which for the most part lieth idle because not used; yet doth it hold the bridle with more strength than the right, because it hath been used unto it.
— Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 12.V, tr. Meric Casaubon (1634/1635) ↗
Long toleration begets habit; habit, consent and imitation.
— Renaissance humanism · Michel de Montaigne, Essays, later section on civil war, tr. Charles Cotton, ed. W. C. Hazlitt, 1877 ↗
A character is like an acrostic or Alexandrian stanza;--read it forward, backward, or across, it still spells the same thing. We pass for what we are. Character teaches above our wills. Men imagine that they communicate their virtue or vice only by overt actions, and do not see that virtue or vice emit a breath every moment.
— Transcendentalism · Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays, Self-Reliance, 1844 ↗
Be quick in performing a minor commandment as in the case of a major one, and flee from transgression; For one commandment leads to another commandment, and transgression leads to another transgression; For the reward for performing a commandment is another commandment and the reward for committing a transgression is a transgression.
— Rabbinic Judaism · Pirkei Avot, 4:2, tr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Sefaria, CC-BY) ↗
All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. 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.
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 1.v.1, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
— Hebrew & Christian Bible · Bible, Proverbs 22:6, tr. King James Version (1611/1769) ↗
Through zeal knowledge is gotten, through lack of zeal knowledge is lost; let a man who knows this double path of gain and loss thus place himself that knowledge may grow.
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 20.v.282, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
He that despiseth small things will perish by little and little.
— Transcendentalism · Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays, Prudence, 1844 ↗
Bad deeds, and deeds hurtful to ourselves, are easy to do; what is beneficial and good, that is very difficult to do.
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 12.v.163, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
They who know the truth are not equal to those who love it, and they who love it are not equal to those who delight in it.
— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 6.18, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗
— Rabbinic Judaism · Pirkei Avot, 5:11, tr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Sefaria, CC-BY) ↗
If one man conquer in battle a thousand times thousand men, and if another conquer himself, he is the greatest of conquerors.
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 8.v.103, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
Whatever a hater may do to a hater, or an enemy to an enemy, a wrongly-directed mind will do us greater mischief.
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 3.v.42, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
— Hebrew & Christian Bible · Bible, James 3:8-10, tr. King James Version (1611/1769) ↗
Thus go the Rishis unto rest, who dwell With sins effaced, with doubts at end, with hearts Governed and calm. Glad in all good they live, Nigh to the peace of God; and all those live Who pass their days exempt from greed and wrath, Subduing self and senses, knowing the Soul!
— Hinduism · Bhagavad Gita, 5, tr. Edwin Arnold, 1885 ↗
He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.
— Hebrew & Christian Bible · Bible, Proverbs 16:32, tr. King James Version (1611/1769) ↗
If one Ponders on objects of the sense, there springs Attraction; from attraction grows desire, Desire flames to fierce passion, passion breeds Recklessness; then the memory--all betrayed-- Lets noble purpose go, and saps the mind, Till purpose, mind, and man are all undone.
— Hinduism · Bhagavad Gita, 2, tr. Edwin Arnold, 1885 ↗
He who holds back rising anger like a rolling chariot, him I call a real driver; other people are but holding the reins.
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 17.v.222, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
Him I call indeed a Brahmana who is tolerant with the intolerant, mild with fault-finders, and free from passion among the passionate.
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 26.v.406, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
As a solid rock is not shaken by the wind, wise people falter not amidst blame and praise.
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 6.v.81, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
For self is the lord of self, self is the refuge of self; therefore curb thyself as the merchant curbs a good horse.
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 25.v.380, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
The Doors of Hell / Are threefold, whereby men to ruin pass,-- / The door of Lust, the door of Wrath, the door / Of Avarice. Let a man shun those three! / He who shall turn aside from entering / All those three gates of Narak, wendeth straight / To find his peace, and comes to Swarga's gate.
— Hinduism · Bhagavad Gita, 16, tr. Edwin Arnold, 1885 ↗
Who is wise? He who learns from every man. Who is mighty? He who subdues his [evil] inclination. Who is rich? He who rejoices in his lot. Who is he that is honored? He who honors his fellow human beings.
— Rabbinic Judaism · Pirkei Avot, 4:1, tr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Sefaria, CC-BY) ↗
Yes; but their own works have got the mastery over their hearts.
Envy, lust and [the desire for] honor put a man out of the world.
— Rabbinic Judaism · Pirkei Avot, 4:21, tr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Sefaria, CC-BY) ↗
Do not speak harshly to anybody; those who are spoken to will answer thee in the same way. Angry speech is painful, blows for blows will touch thee.
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 10.v.133, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
A man is not learned because he talks much; he who is patient, free from hatred and fear, he is called learned.
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 19.v.258, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
There is no fire like passion, there is no shark like hatred, there is no snare like folly, there is no torrent like greed.
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 18.v.251, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.
— Hebrew & Christian Bible · Bible, Proverbs 15:1, tr. King James Version (1611/1769) ↗
Therefore the sage seeks to satisfy (the craving of) the belly, and not the (insatiable longing of the) eyes. He puts from him the latter, and prefers to seek the former.
By oneself the evil is done, by oneself one suffers; by oneself evil is left undone, by oneself one is purified. Purity and impurity belong to oneself, no one can purify another.
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 12.v.165, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
Yea! whoso, shaking off the yoke of flesh Lives lord, not servant, of his lusts; set free From pride, from passion, from the sin of "Self," Toucheth tranquillity!
— Hinduism · Bhagavad Gita, 2, tr. Edwin Arnold, 1885 ↗
One's own self conquered is better than all other people; not even a god, a Gandharva, not Mara with Brahman could change into defeat the victory of a man who has vanquished himself, and always lives under restraint.
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 8.v.104–105, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
As rain breaks through an ill-thatched house, passion will break through an unreflecting mind.
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 1.v.13, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
The mind That gives itself to follow shows of sense Seeth its helm of wisdom rent away, And, like a ship in waves of whirlwind, drives To wreck and death. Only with him, great Prince! Whose senses are not swayed by things of sense-- Only with him who holds his mastery, Shows wisdom perfect.
— Hinduism · Bhagavad Gita, 2, tr. Edwin Arnold, 1885 ↗
Self is the lord of self, who else could be the lord? With self well subdued, a man finds a lord such as few can find.
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 12.v.160, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
Speak the truth, do not yield to anger; give, if thou art asked for little; by these three steps thou wilt go near the gods.
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 17.v.224, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
But as to him who shall have feared the majesty of his Lord, and shall have refrained his soul from lust, verily, Paradise-that shall be his dwelling-place.
— Qur’an · Qur'an, 84-77.79:40-41, tr. J. M. Rodwell, 1861 ↗
Govern thy heart! Constrain th' entangled sense! Resist the false, soft sinfulness which saps Knowledge and judgment! Yea, the world is strong, But what discerns it stronger, and the mind Strongest; and high o'er all the ruling Soul.
— Hinduism · Bhagavad Gita, 3, tr. Edwin Arnold, 1885 ↗
In youth, when the physical powers are not yet settled, he guards against lust. When he is strong and the physical powers are full of vigor, he guards against quarrelsomeness. When he is old, and the animal powers are decayed, he guards against covetousness.
— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 16.7, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗
An evil deed is better left undone, for a man repents of it afterwards; a good deed is better done, for having done it, one does not repent.
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 22.v.314, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
Blessed now is he who hath kept it pure, and undone is he who hath corrupted it!
Philosophy doth consist in this, for a man to preserve that spirit which is within him, from all manner of contumelies and injuries, and above all pains or pleasures; never to do anything either rashly, or feignedly, or hypocritically: wholly to depend from himself and his own proper actions: all things that happen unto him to embrace contentedly, as coming from Him from whom he himself also came; and above all things, with all meekness and a calm cheerfulness, to expect death, as being nothing else but the resolution of those elements, of which every creature is composed.
— Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 2.XV, tr. Meric Casaubon (1634/1635) ↗
To cease from works Is well, and to do works in holiness Is well; and both conduct to bliss supreme; But of these twain the better way is his Who working piously refraineth not.
— Hinduism · Bhagavad Gita, 5, tr. Edwin Arnold, 1885 ↗
Abstaining from attachment to the work, Abstaining from rewardment in the work, While yet one doeth it full faithfully, Saying, 'Tis right to do!' that is 'true' act And abstinence!
— Hinduism · Bhagavad Gita, 18, tr. Edwin Arnold, 1885 ↗
duty is to be a practical, unconditional necessity of action; it must therefore hold for all rational beings (to whom an imperative can apply at all), and for this reason only be also a law for all human wills.
— The Enlightenment · Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, Section II (opening paragraphs), tr. Thomas Kingsmill Abbott, 1873 ↗
The second proposition is: That an action done from duty derives its moral worth, not from the purpose which is to be attained by it, but from the maxim by which it is determined, and therefore does not depend on the realization of the object of the action, but merely on the principle of volition by which the action has taken place, without regard to any object of desire.
— The Enlightenment · Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, Second Proposition, tr. Thomas Kingsmill Abbott, 1873 ↗
But, though a wise man feels little pleasure from praise where he knows there is no praise-worthiness, he often feels the highest in doing what he knows to be praise-worthy, though he knows equally well that no praise is ever to be bestowed upon it. To obtain the approbation of mankind, where no approbation is due, can never be an object of any importance to him. To obtain that approbation where it is really due, may sometimes be an object of no great importance to him. But to be that thing which deserves approbation, must always be an object of the highest.
— The Enlightenment · Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Part III (p. 105), 1759 ↗
Autonomy of the will is that property of it by which it is a law to itself (independently of any property of the objects of volition). The principle of autonomy then is: "Always so to choose that the same volition shall comprehend the maxims of our choice as a universal law."
— The Enlightenment · Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, The Autonomy of the Will as the Supreme Principle of Morality, tr. Thomas Kingsmill Abbott, 1873 ↗
But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
— Hebrew & Christian Bible · Bible, Matthew 6:3-4, tr. King James Version (1611/1769) ↗
In ancient times, men learned with a view to their own improvement. Now-a-days, men learn with a view to the approbation of others.
— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 14.25, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗
For in order that an action should be morally good, it is not enough that it conform to the moral law, but it must also be done for the sake of the law, otherwise that conformity is only very contingent and uncertain; since a principle which is not moral, although it may now and then produce actions conformable to the law, will also often produce actions which contradict it.
— The Enlightenment · Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, Preface, tr. Thomas Kingsmill Abbott, 1873 ↗
I am never to act otherwise than so that I could also will that my maxim should become a universal law.
— The Enlightenment · Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, Universal Law passage, tr. Thomas Kingsmill Abbott, 1873 ↗
The necessity of acting from pure respect for the practical law is what constitutes duty, to which every other motive must give place, because it is the condition of a will being good in itself, and the worth of such a will is above everything.
— The Enlightenment · Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, Universal law test (conclusion), tr. Thomas Kingsmill Abbott, 1873 ↗
Yet, the right act Is less, far less, than the right-thinking mind. Seek refuge in thy soul; have there thy heaven! Scorn them that follow virtue for her gifts!
— Hinduism · Bhagavad Gita, 2, tr. Edwin Arnold, 1885 ↗
He who sits Suppressing all the instruments of flesh, Yet in his idle heart thinking on them, Plays the inept and guilty hypocrite: But he who, with strong body serving mind, Gives up his mortal powers to worthy work, Not seeking gain, Arjuna! such an one Is honourable.
— Hinduism · Bhagavad Gita, 3, tr. Edwin Arnold, 1885 ↗
the moral, and therefore categorical, imperative says: "I ought to do so and so, even though I should not wish for anything else." E.g., the former says: "I ought not to lie, if I would retain my reputation"; the latter says: "I ought not to lie, although it should not bring me the least discredit."
— The Enlightenment · Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, Heteronomy of the Will as the Source of all spurious Principles of Morality, tr. Thomas Kingsmill Abbott, 1873 ↗
if we imagine, on the one hand, an act of honesty done with steadfast mind, apart from every view to advantage of any kind in this world or another, and even under the greatest temptations of necessity or allurement, and, on the other hand, a similar act which was affected, in however low a degree, by a foreign motive, the former leaves far behind and eclipses the second; it elevates the soul and inspires the wish to be able to act in like manner oneself.
— The Enlightenment · Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, SEC_2, tr. Thomas Kingsmill Abbott, 1873 ↗
do not be like servants who serve the master in the expectation of receiving a reward, but be like servants who serve the master without the expectation of receiving a reward, and let the fear of Heaven be upon you.
— Rabbinic Judaism · Pirkei Avot, 1:3, tr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Sefaria, CC-BY) ↗
neither fear nor inclination, but simply respect for the law, is the spring which can give actions a moral worth.
— The Enlightenment · Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, Kingdom of Ends, tr. Thomas Kingsmill Abbott, 1873 ↗
He who learns in order to teach, it is granted to him to study and to teach; But he who learns in order to practice, it is granted to him to learn and to teach and to practice.
— Rabbinic Judaism · Pirkei Avot, 4:5, tr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Sefaria, CC-BY) ↗
The gift lovingly given, when one shall say 'Now must I gladly give!' when he who takes Can render nothing back; made in due place, Due time, and to a meet recipient, Is gift of Sattwan, fair and profitable.
— Hinduism · Bhagavad Gita, 17, tr. Edwin Arnold, 1885 ↗
Therefore, who doeth work rightful to do, Not seeking gain from work, that man, O Prince! Is Sanyasi and Yogi--both in one
— Hinduism · Bhagavad Gita, 6, tr. Edwin Arnold, 1885 ↗
As ignorant and groundless praise can give no solid joy, no satisfaction that will bear any serious examination, so, on the contrary, it often gives real comfort to reflect, that though no praise should actually be bestowed upon us, our conduct, however, has been such as to deserve it, and has been in every respect suitable to those measures and rules by which praise and approbation are naturally and commonly bestowed. We are pleased, not only with praise, but with having done what is praise-worthy.
— The Enlightenment · Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Part III (p. 104), 1759 ↗
We must be able to will that a maxim of our action should be a universal law. This is the canon of the moral appreciation of the action generally.
— The Enlightenment · Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, Section II (summary of examples), tr. Thomas Kingsmill Abbott, 1873 ↗
Act as if the maxim of thy action were to become by thy will a universal law of nature.
— The Enlightenment · Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, Section II (law of nature formulation), tr. Thomas Kingsmill Abbott, 1873 ↗
There is therefore but one categorical imperative, namely, this: Act only on that maxim whereby thou canst at the same time will that it should become a universal law.
— The Enlightenment · Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, Section II (categorical imperative formula), tr. Thomas Kingsmill Abbott, 1873 ↗
Such votaries, renouncing fruit of deeds, Gain endless peace: the unvowed, the passion-bound, Seeking a fruit from works, are fastened down.
— Hinduism · Bhagavad Gita, 5, tr. Edwin Arnold, 1885 ↗
Canst thou also will that thy maxim should be a universal law? If not, then it must be rejected, and that not because of a disadvantage accruing from it to myself or even to others, but because it cannot enter as a principle into a possible universal legislation, and reason extorts from me immediate respect for such legislation.
— The Enlightenment · Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, Universal law test, tr. Thomas Kingsmill Abbott, 1873 ↗
A man must go to the war upon the account of duty, and expect the recompense that never fails brave and worthy actions, how private soever, or even virtuous thoughts—the satisfaction that a well-disposed conscience receives in itself in doing well. A man must be valiant for himself, and upon account of the advantage it is to him to have his courage seated in a firm and secure place against the assaults of fortune.
— Renaissance humanism · Michel de Montaigne, Essays, Chapter XVI, tr. Charles Cotton, ed. W. C. Hazlitt, 1877 ↗
every rational being must so act as if he were by his maxims in every case a legislating member in the universal kingdom of ends. The formal principle of these maxims is: "So act as if thy maxim were to serve likewise as the universal law (of all rational beings)."
— The Enlightenment · Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, Kingdom of Ends, tr. Thomas Kingsmill Abbott, 1873 ↗
Follow those who ask not of you a recompense, and who are rightly guided.
— Qur’an · Qur'an, 36:21, tr. J. M. Rodwell, 1861 ↗
Therefore, thy task prescribed With spirit unattached gladly perform, Since in performance of plain duty man Mounts to his highest bliss.
— Hinduism · Bhagavad Gita, 3, tr. Edwin Arnold, 1885 ↗
But thou, want not! ask not! Find full reward Of doing right in right! Let right deeds be Thy motive, not the fruit which comes from them. And live in action! Labour! Make thine acts Thy piety, casting all self aside, Contemning gain and merit; equable In good or evil: equability Is Yog, is piety!
— Hinduism · Bhagavad Gita, 2, tr. Edwin Arnold, 1885 ↗
Duty is the necessity of acting from respect for the law.
— The Enlightenment · Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, Third Proposition, tr. Thomas Kingsmill Abbott, 1873 ↗
Our thoughts must be arranged, as it were, in little drawers, so that we may open one without disturbing any of the others. In this way we can keep the heavy burden of anxiety from weighing upon us so much as to spoil the little pleasures of the present, or from robbing us of our rest; otherwise the consideration of one matter will interfere with every other, and attention to some important business may lead us to neglect many affairs which happen to be of less moment.
— Nineteenth-century philosophy · Arthur Schopenhauer, Counsels and Maxims, Section 15, tr. T. Bailey Saunders, 1890 ↗
When internal examination discovers nothing wrong, what is there to be anxious about, what is there to fear?
— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 12.4, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗
At what time soever thou wilt, it is in thy power to retire into thyself, and to be at rest, and free from all businesses. A man cannot any whither retire better than to his own soul; he especially who is beforehand provided of such things within, which whensoever he doth withdraw himself to look in, may presently afford unto him perfect ease and tranquillity.
— Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 4.III, tr. Meric Casaubon (1634/1635) ↗
All the glory that I pretend to derive from my life is that I have lived it in quiet; in quiet, not according to Metrodorus, or Arcesilaus, or Aristippus, but according to myself. For seeing philosophy has not been able to find out any way to tranquillity that is good in common, let every one seek it in particular.
— Renaissance humanism · Michel de Montaigne, Essays, Chapter XVI, tr. Charles Cotton, ed. W. C. Hazlitt, 1877 ↗
Now much time and leisure doth he gain, who is not curious to know what his neighbour hath said, or hath done, or hath attempted, but only what he doth himself, that it may be just and holy.
— Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 4.XV, tr. Meric Casaubon (1634/1635) ↗
Who can (make) the muddy water (clear)? Let it be still, and it will gradually become clear. Who can secure the condition of rest? Let movement go on, and the condition of rest will gradually arise.
From Apollonius, true liberty, and unvariable steadfastness, and not to regard anything at all, though never so little, but right and reason: and always, whether in the sharpest pains, or after the loss of a child, or in long diseases, to be still the same man.
— Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 1.V, tr. Meric Casaubon (1634/1635) ↗
Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles.
— Transcendentalism · Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays, Self-Reliance, §4, 1844 ↗
Be not over-glad Attaining joy, and be not over-sad Encountering grief, but, stayed on Brahma, still Constant let each abide!
— Hinduism · Bhagavad Gita, 5, tr. Edwin Arnold, 1885 ↗
Then hath a man attained to the estate of perfection in his life and conversation, when he so spends every day, as if it were his last day: never hot and vehement in his affections, nor yet so cold and stupid as one that had no sense; and free from all manner of dissimulation.
— Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 7.XL, tr. Meric Casaubon (1634/1635) ↗
Through our sense of truth we realise law in creation, and through our sense of beauty we realise harmony in the universe. When we recognise the law in nature we extend our mastery over physical forces and become powerful; when we recognise the law in our moral nature we attain mastery over self and become free.
— The turn of the century · Rabindranath Tagore, Sadhana: The Realisation of Life, VII (late), 1913 ↗
It is the function of our intellect to realise the truth through untruths, and knowledge is nothing but the continually burning up of error to set free the light of truth. Our will, our character, has to attain perfection by continually overcoming evils, either inside or outside us, or both.
— The turn of the century · Rabindranath Tagore, Sadhana: The Realisation of Life, III — The Problem of Evil, 1913 ↗
One, that the things or objects themselves reach not unto the soul, but stand without still and quiet, and that it is from the opinion only which is within, that all the tumult and all the trouble doth proceed. The next, that all these things, which now thou seest, shall within a very little while be changed, and be no more. This world is mere change, and this life, opinion.
— Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 4.III, tr. Meric Casaubon (1634/1635) ↗
It is in my power concerning this thing that is happened, what soever it be, to conceit that which is right and true. If it be, why then am I troubled? Those things that are without my understanding, are nothing to it at all: and that is it only, which doth properly concern me.
— Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 7.II, tr. Meric Casaubon (1634/1635) ↗
This day I did come out of all my trouble. Nay I have cast out all my trouble; it should rather be for that which troubled thee, whatsoever it was, was not without anywhere that thou shouldest come out of it, but within in thine own opinions, from whence it must be cast out, before thou canst truly and constantly be at ease.
— Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 9.XI, tr. Meric Casaubon (1634/1635) ↗
Many of those things that trouble and straiten thee, it is in thy power to cut off, as wholly depending from mere conceit and opinion; and then thou shalt have room enough.
— Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 9.XXX, tr. Meric Casaubon (1634/1635) ↗
He who knows other men is discerning; he who knows himself is intelligent. He who overcomes others is strong; he who overcomes himself is mighty. He who is satisfied with his lot is rich; he who goes on acting with energy has a (firm) will.
He who devotes himself to learning (seeks) from day to day to increase (his knowledge); he who devotes himself to the Tao (seeks) from day to day to diminish (his doing). He diminishes it and again diminishes it, till he arrives at doing nothing (on purpose). Having arrived at this point of non-action, there is nothing which he does not do.
Spend not the remnant of thy days in thoughts and fancies concerning other men, when it is not in relation to some common good, when by it thou art hindered from some other better work. That is, spend not thy time in thinking, what such a man doth, and to what end: what he saith, and what he thinks, and what he is about, and such other things or curiosities, which make a man to rove and wander from the care and observation of that part of himself, which is rational, and overruling.
— Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 3.IV, tr. Meric Casaubon (1634/1635) ↗
It is only as a man puts off all foreign support, and stands alone, that I see him to be strong and to prevail. He is weaker by every recruit to his banner. Is not a man better than a town?
— Transcendentalism · Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays, Self-Reliance, §4, 1844 ↗
The things themselves (which either to get or to avoid thou art put to so much trouble) come not unto thee themselves; but thou in a manner goest unto them. Let then thine own judgment and opinion concerning those things be at rest; and as for the things themselves, they stand still and quiet, without any noise or stir at all; and so shall all pursuing and flying cease.
— Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 11.X, tr. Meric Casaubon (1634/1635) ↗
What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think. This rule, equally arduous in actual and in intellectual life, may serve for the whole distinction between greatness and meanness. It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.
— Transcendentalism · Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays, Self-Reliance, 1844 ↗
To live happily is an inward power of the soul, when she is affected with indifferency, towards those things that are by their nature indifferent... Now it is in our power, not to print them; and if they creep in and lurk in some corner, it is in our power to wipe them off.
— Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 11.XV, tr. Meric Casaubon (1634/1635) ↗
The Great man abides by what is solid, and eschews what is flimsy; dwells with the fruit and not with the flower. It is thus that he puts away the one and makes choice of the other.
The perception of what is small is (the secret of) clear-sightedness; the guarding of what is soft and tender is (the secret of) strength.
We must know with absolute certainty that essentially we are spirit. This we can do by winning mastery over self, by rising above all pride and greed and fear, by knowing that worldly losses and physical death can take nothing away from the truth and the greatness of our soul.
— The turn of the century · Rabindranath Tagore, Sadhana: The Realisation of Life, II, 1913 ↗
Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.
— Hebrew & Christian Bible · Bible, Proverbs 30:8-9, tr. King James Version (1611/1769) ↗
Let a man keep the law--any law,--and his way will be strown with satisfactions. There is more difference in the quality of our pleasures than in the amount.
— Transcendentalism · Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays, Prudence, 1844 ↗
Gentleness is sure to be victorious even in battle, and firmly to maintain its ground. Heaven will save its possessor, by his (very) gentleness protecting him.
A man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone.
— Transcendentalism · Henry David Thoreau, Walden, and On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, Where I Lived, and What I Lived For, 1854 ↗
Cultivate poverty like a garden herb, like sage. Do not trouble yourself much to get new things, whether clothes or friends. Turn the old; return to them. Things do not change; we change. Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts.
— Transcendentalism · Henry David Thoreau, Walden, and On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, Conclusion, 1854 ↗
Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
— Hebrew & Christian Bible · Bible, Matthew 6:34, tr. King James Version (1611/1769) ↗
And the Heaven, He hath reared it on high, and hath appointed the balance; That in the balance ye should not transgress. Weigh therefore with fairness, and scant not the balance.
— Qur’an · Qur'an, 55:7-9, tr. J. M. Rodwell, 1861 ↗
There is nothing in the world more soft and weak than water, and yet for attacking things that are firm and strong there is nothing that can take precedence of it. Every one in the world knows that the soft overcomes the hard, and the weak the strong, but no one is able to carry it out in practice.
Those who when they spend are neither lavish nor niggard, but keep the mean.
— Qur’an · Qur'an, 25:67, tr. J. M. Rodwell, 1861 ↗
There is no guilt greater than to sanction ambition; no calamity greater than to be discontented with one's lot; no fault greater than the wish to be getting. Therefore the sufficiency of contentment is an enduring and unchanging sufficiency.
I cannot call riches better than the baggage of virtue. The Roman word is better, impedimenta. For as the baggage is to an army, so is riches to virtue. It cannot be spared, nor left behind, but it hindereth the march; yea, and the care of it, sometimes loseth or disturbeth the victory.
— Renaissance humanism · Francis Bacon, The Essays or Counsels, Civil and Moral, Of Riches, 1625 ↗
And let not thy hand be tied up to thy neck; nor yet open it with all openness, lest thou sit thee down in rebuke, in beggary.
— Qur’an · Qur'an, 17:29, tr. J. M. Rodwell, 1861 ↗
The keeping or spending are, of themselves, indifferent things, and receive no colour of good or ill, but according to the application of the will.
— Renaissance humanism · Michel de Montaigne, Essays, Essay III (On Vanity, approx.), tr. Charles Cotton, ed. W. C. Hazlitt, 1877 ↗
Man truly is by creation hasty; When evil befalleth him, impatient; But when good falleth to his lot, tenacious.
— Qur’an · Qur'an, 70:19-21, tr. J. M. Rodwell, 1861 ↗
Exalted then be God, the King, the Truth! Be not hasty in its recital while the revelation of it to thee is incomplete. Say rather, 'O my Lord, increase knowledge unto me.'
— Qur’an · Qur'an, 20:114, tr. J. M. Rodwell, 1861 ↗
Wax, a substance naturally hard and brittle, can be made soft by the application of a little warmth, so that it will take any shape you please. In the same way, by being polite and friendly, you can make people pliable and obliging, even though they are apt to be crabbed and malevolent. Hence politeness is to human nature what warmth is to wax.
— Nineteenth-century philosophy · Arthur Schopenhauer, Counsels and Maxims, Section 36, tr. T. Bailey Saunders, 1890 ↗
Seek not proud riches, but such as thou mayest get justly, use soberly, distribute cheerfully, and leave contentedly.
— Renaissance humanism · Francis Bacon, The Essays or Counsels, Civil and Moral, Of Riches, 1625 ↗
Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
— Hebrew & Christian Bible · Bible, Ecclesiastes 7:8-9, tr. King James Version (1611/1769) ↗
all my days I grew up among the sages, and I have found nothing better for a person than silence. Study is not the most important thing, but actions; whoever indulges in too many words brings about sin.
— Rabbinic Judaism · Pirkei Avot, 1:17, tr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Sefaria, CC-BY) ↗
A little self-control at the right moment may prevent much subsequent compulsion at the hands of others. Nothing will protect us from external compulsion so much as the control of ourselves; and, as Seneca says, to submit yourself to reason is the way to make everything else submit to you.
— Nineteenth-century philosophy · Arthur Schopenhauer, Counsels and Maxims, Section 15, tr. T. Bailey Saunders, 1890 ↗
make your [study of the] Torah a fixed practice; speak little, but do much; and receive all men with a pleasant countenance.
— Rabbinic Judaism · Pirkei Avot, 1:15, tr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Sefaria, CC-BY) ↗
To be poor without murmuring is difficult. To be rich without being proud is easy.
— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 14.11, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗
I have three precious things which I prize and hold fast. The first is gentleness; the second is economy; and the third is shrinking from taking precedence of others. With that gentleness I can be bold; with that economy I can be liberal; shrinking from taking precedence of others, I can become a vessel of the highest honour.
Do not be desirous to have things done quickly; do not look at small advantages. Desire to have things done quickly prevents their being done thoroughly. Looking at small advantages prevents great affairs from being accomplished.
— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 13.17, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗
Fill the measure, and be not of those who minish: Weigh with exact balance: And defraud not men in their substance, and do no wrong on the earth by deeds of licence.
A man shows his character just in the way in which he deals with trifles,--for then he is off his guard. This will often afford a good opportunity of observing the boundless egoism of man's nature, and his total lack of consideration for others; and if these defects show themselves in small things, or merely in his general demeanor, you will find that they also underlie his action in matters of importance, although he may disguise the fact.
— Nineteenth-century philosophy · Arthur Schopenhauer, Counsels and Maxims, Section 29, tr. T. Bailey Saunders, 1890 ↗
And bestow not favours that thou mayest receive again with increase; And for thy Lord wait thou patiently.
— Qur’an · Qur'an, 74:6-7, tr. J. M. Rodwell, 1861 ↗
A wise man does not speak before one who is greater than he in wisdom, And does not break into his fellow's speech; And is not hasty to answer; He asks what is relevant, and he answers to the point; And he speaks of the first [point] first, and of the last [point] last; And concerning that which he has not heard, he says: I have not heard; And he acknowledges the truth.
— Rabbinic Judaism · Pirkei Avot, 5:7, tr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Sefaria, CC-BY) ↗
Alas, poor man! thou hast enough inconveniences that are inevitable, without increasing them by thine own invention; and art miserable enough by nature, without being so by art; thou hast real and essential deformities enough, without forging those that are imaginary.
— Renaissance humanism · Michel de Montaigne, Essays, Book II, On Some Verses of Virgil, tr. Charles Cotton, ed. W. C. Hazlitt, 1877 ↗
Every excess causes a defect; every defect an excess. Every sweet hath its sour; every evil its good. Every faculty which is a receiver of pleasure has an equal penalty put on its abuse. It is to answer for its moderation with its life. For every grain of wit there is a grain of folly. For everything you have missed, you have gained something else; and for everything you gain, you lose something.
— Transcendentalism · Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays, Compensation, 1844 ↗
We must set limits to our wishes, curb our desires, moderate our anger, always remembering that an individual can attain only an infinitesimal share in anything that is worth having; and that, on the other hand, everyone must incur many of the ills of life; in a word, we must bear and forbear--and if we fail to observe this rule, no position of wealth or power will prevent us from feeling wretched.
— Nineteenth-century philosophy · Arthur Schopenhauer, Counsels and Maxims, Section 16, tr. T. Bailey Saunders, 1890 ↗
Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.
— Hebrew & Christian Bible · Bible, Ecclesiastes 5:2, tr. King James Version (1611/1769) ↗
It is better to leave a vessel unfilled, than to attempt to carry it when it is full. If you keep feeling a point that has been sharpened, the point cannot long preserve its sharpness.
Enjoin my servants to speak in kindly sort: Verily Satan would stir up strifes among them, for Satan is man's avowed foe.
— Qur’an · Qur'an, 17:53, tr. J. M. Rodwell, 1861 ↗
Care should be taken not to build the happiness of life upon a broad foundation—not to require a great many things in order to be happy. For happiness on such a foundation is the most easily undermined; it offers many more opportunities for accidents; and accidents are always happening. Accordingly, to reduce your claims to the lowest possible degree, in comparison with your means,—of whatever kind these may be—is the surest way of avoiding extreme misfortune.
— Nineteenth-century philosophy · Arthur Schopenhauer, Counsels and Maxims, Section 3, tr. T. Bailey Saunders, 1890 ↗
To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.
— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 11.15, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗
The partial becomes complete; the crooked, straight; the empty, full; the worn out, new. He whose (desires) are few gets them; he whose (desires) are many goes astray.
He who lightly promises is sure to keep but little faith; he who is continually thinking things easy is sure to find them difficult. Therefore the sage sees difficulty even in what seems easy, and so never has any difficulties.
Who is content needs fear no shame. Who knows to stop incurs no blame. From danger free long live shall he.
Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.
— Hebrew & Christian Bible · Bible, Ecclesiastes 4:6, tr. King James Version (1611/1769) ↗
And they are, moreover, happy in this, that they only covet so much as their natural necessities require: all beyond that is superfluous to them.
— Renaissance humanism · Michel de Montaigne, Essays, Of Cannibals, tr. Charles Cotton, ed. W. C. Hazlitt, 1877 ↗
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 15.v.207, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
I will not be concerned at men's not knowing me; I will be concerned at my own want of ability.
— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 14.32, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗
It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it.
— Rabbinic Judaism · Pirkei Avot, 2:16, tr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Sefaria, CC-BY) ↗
Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles. Have no friends not equal to yourself. When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them.
— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 9.24, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗
anyone whose fear of sin precedes his wisdom, his wisdom is enduring, but anyone whose wisdom precedes his fear of sin, his wisdom is not enduring. He [also] used to say: anyone whose deeds exceed his wisdom, his wisdom is enduring, but anyone whose wisdom exceeds his deeds, his wisdom is not enduring.
— Rabbinic Judaism · Pirkei Avot, 3:9, tr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Sefaria, CC-BY) ↗
When you pray, do not make your prayer something automatic, but a plea for compassion before God.
— Rabbinic Judaism · Pirkei Avot, 2:13, tr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Sefaria, CC-BY) ↗
let thy house be a house of meeting for the Sages and sit in the very dust of their feet, and drink in their words with thirst.
— Rabbinic Judaism · Pirkei Avot, 1:4, tr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Sefaria, CC-BY) ↗
At first, my way with men was to hear their words, and give them credit for their conduct. Now my way is to hear their words, and look at their conduct.
— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 5.9, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗
Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles. Have no friends not equal to yourself. When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them.
— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 1.8, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗
make your [study of the] Torah a fixed practice; speak little, but do much; and receive all men with a pleasant countenance.
— Rabbinic Judaism · Pirkei Avot, 1:15, tr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Sefaria, CC-BY) ↗
The more Torah, the more life; The more sitting [in the company of scholars], the more wisdom; The more counsel, the more understanding; The more charity, the more peace. If one acquires a good name, he has acquired something for himself; If one acquires for himself knowledge of Torah, he has acquired life in the world to come.
— Rabbinic Judaism · Pirkei Avot, 2:7, tr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Sefaria, CC-BY) ↗
whoever takes upon himself the yoke of the Torah, they remove from him the yoke of government and the yoke of worldly concerns, and whoever breaks off from himself the yoke of the Torah, they place upon him the yoke of government and the yoke of worldly concerns.
— Rabbinic Judaism · Pirkei Avot, 3:5, tr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Sefaria, CC-BY) ↗
This world is like a vestibule before the world to come; prepare yourself in the vestibule, so that you may enter the banqueting-hall.
— Rabbinic Judaism · Pirkei Avot, 4:16, tr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Sefaria, CC-BY) ↗
The day is short, and the work is plentiful, and the laborers are indolent, and the reward is great, and the master of the house is insistent.
— Rabbinic Judaism · Pirkei Avot, 2:15, tr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Sefaria, CC-BY) ↗
Where there is no Torah, there is no right conduct; where there is no right conduct, there is no Torah. Where there is no wisdom, there is no fear of God; where there is no fear of God, there is no wisdom. Where there is no bread, there is no Torah; where there is no Torah, there is no bread.
— Rabbinic Judaism · Pirkei Avot, 3:17, tr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Sefaria, CC-BY) ↗
Turn it over, and [again] turn it over, for all is therein. And look into it; And become gray and old therein; And do not move away from it, for you have no better portion than it.
— Rabbinic Judaism · Pirkei Avot, 5:22, tr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Sefaria, CC-BY) ↗
You yourself must make an effort. The Tathagatas (Buddhas) are only preachers. The thoughtful who enter the way are freed from the bondage of Mara.
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 20.v.276, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
Do not seek greatness for yourself, and do not covet honor. Practice more than you learn. Do not yearn for the table of kings, for your table is greater than their table, and your crown is greater than their crown, and faithful is your employer to pay you the reward of your labor.
— Rabbinic Judaism · Pirkei Avot, 6:5, tr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Sefaria, CC-BY) ↗
mark well three things and you will not come into the power of sin: know from where you come, and where you are going, and before whom you are destined to give an account and reckoning. From where do you come? From a putrid drop. Where are you going? To a place of dust, of worm and of maggot. Before whom you are destined to give an account and reckoning? Before the King of the kings of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He.
— Rabbinic Judaism · Pirkei Avot, 3:1, tr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Sefaria, CC-BY) ↗
Be strong as a leopard, and swift as an eagle, and fleet as a gazelle, and brave as a lion, to do the will of your Father who is in heaven.
— Rabbinic Judaism · Pirkei Avot, 5:20, tr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Sefaria, CC-BY) ↗
A man should say, I am not concerned that I have no place, I am concerned how I may fit myself for one. I am not concerned that I am not known, I seek to be worthy to be known.
— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 4.14, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗
Excellent is the study of the Torah when combined with a worldly occupation, for toil in them both keeps sin out of one's mind; But [study of the] Torah which is not combined with a worldly occupation, in the end comes to be neglected and becomes the cause of sin.
— Rabbinic Judaism · Pirkei Avot, 2:2, tr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Sefaria, CC-BY) ↗
the very determination which he expressed to keep me in ignorance, only rendered me the more resolute in seeking intelligence.
— Transcendentalism · Frederick Douglass, My Bondage and My Freedom, Chapter X, 1855 ↗
There are four types among those who sit before the sages: a sponge, a funnel, a strainer and a sieve. A sponge, soaks up everything; A funnel, takes in at one end and lets out at the other; A strainer, which lets out the wine and retains the lees; A sieve, which lets out the coarse meal and retains the choice flour.
— Rabbinic Judaism · Pirkei Avot, 5:15, tr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Sefaria, CC-BY) ↗
Whoever occupies himself with the Torah for its own sake, merits many things; not only that but he is worth the whole world. He is called beloved friend; one that loves God; one that loves humankind; one that gladdens God; one that gladdens humankind. And the Torah clothes him in humility and reverence, and equips him to be righteous, pious, upright and trustworthy; it keeps him far from sin, and brings him near to merit.
— Rabbinic Judaism · Pirkei Avot, 6:1, tr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Sefaria, CC-BY) ↗
Without knowledge there is no meditation, without meditation there is no knowledge: he who has knowledge and meditation is near unto Nirvana.
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 25.v.372, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
Through zeal knowledge is gotten, through lack of zeal knowledge is lost; let a man who knows this double path of gain and loss thus place himself that knowledge may grow.
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 20.v.282, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
appoint for thyself a teacher, and acquire for thyself a companion and judge all men with the scale weighted in his favor.
— Rabbinic Judaism · Pirkei Avot, 1:6, tr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit (Sefaria, CC-BY) ↗
— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 4.v.50, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗
When a prince's personal conduct is correct, his government is effective without the issuing of orders. If his personal conduct is not correct, he may issue orders, but they will not be followed.
— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 13.6, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗
If a minister make his own conduct correct, what difficulty will he have in assisting in government? If he cannot rectify himself, what has he to do with rectifying others?
— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 13.13, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗
If we do not take up of ourselves the rule of well-doing, if impunity pass with us for justice, to how many sorts of wickedness shall we every day abandon ourselves?
— Renaissance humanism · Michel de Montaigne, Essays, Chapter XVI, tr. Charles Cotton, ed. W. C. Hazlitt, 1877 ↗
No man shall 'scape from act By shunning action; nay, and none shall come By mere renouncements unto perfectness. Nay, and no jot of time, at any time, Rests any actionless; his nature's law Compels him, even unwilling, into act.
— Hinduism · Bhagavad Gita, 3, tr. Edwin Arnold, 1885 ↗
He who does anything because it is the custom, makes no choice. He gains no practice either in discerning or in desiring what is best. The mental and moral, like the muscular powers, are improved only by being used.
— Nineteenth-century philosophy · John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, Chapter III, paragraph 3, 1859 ↗
As joy expresses itself in law, so the soul finds its freedom in action. It is because joy cannot find expression in itself alone that it desires the law which is outside. Likewise it is because the soul cannot find freedom within itself that it wants external action.
— The turn of the century · Rabindranath Tagore, Sadhana: The Realisation of Life, VI, 1913 ↗
Let death surprise me when it will, and where it will, I may be εὔμοιρος, or a happy man, nevertheless. For he is a happy man, who in his lifetime dealeth unto himself a happy lot and portion. A happy lot and portion is, good inclinations of the soul, good desires, good actions.
— Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 5.XXX, tr. Meric Casaubon (1634/1635) ↗
All men want, not something to do with, but something to do, or rather something to be.
— Transcendentalism · Henry David Thoreau, Walden, and On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, Economy, 1854 ↗
What the superior man seeks, is in himself. What the mean man seeks, is in others.
— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 15.20, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗
He who is only a good man that men may know it, and that he may be the better esteemed when 'tis known; who will not do well but upon condition that his virtue may be known to men: is one from whom much service is not to be expected.
— Renaissance humanism · Michel de Montaigne, Essays, Chapter XVI, tr. Charles Cotton, ed. W. C. Hazlitt, 1877 ↗
The fairest lives, in my opinion, are those which regularly accommodate themselves to the common and human model without miracle, without extravagance.
— Renaissance humanism · Michel de Montaigne, Essays, Book III (final chapter), tr. Charles Cotton, ed. W. C. Hazlitt, 1877 ↗
Do thine allotted task! Work is more excellent than idleness; The body's life proceeds not, lacking work.
— Hinduism · Bhagavad Gita, 3, tr. Edwin Arnold, 1885 ↗
Things that are done, it is needless to speak about; things that have had their course, it is needless to remonstrate about; things that are past, it is needless to blame.
— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 3.21, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗
If it be not fitting, do it not. If it be not true, speak it not. Ever maintain thine own purpose and resolution free from all compulsion and necessity.
— Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 12.XIII, tr. Meric Casaubon (1634/1635) ↗
And who are true to their trusts and their engagements, And who witness uprightly.
— Qur’an · Qur'an, 70:32-33, tr. J. M. Rodwell, 1861 ↗
He who requires much from himself and little from others, will keep himself from being the object of resentment.
— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 15.14, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗
What is it then that shall always be remembered? all is vanity. What is it that we must bestow our care and diligence upon? even upon this only: that our minds and wills be just; that our actions be charitable; that our speech be never deceitful, or that our understanding be not subject to error; that our inclination be always set to embrace whatsoever shall happen unto us, as necessary, as usual, as ordinary.
— Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 4.XXVIII, tr. Meric Casaubon (1634/1635) ↗
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
— Hebrew & Christian Bible · Bible, Matthew 7:24-25, tr. King James Version (1611/1769) ↗
A man should say, I am not concerned that I have no place, I am concerned how I may fit myself for one. I am not concerned that I am not known, I seek to be worthy to be known.
— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 4.14, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗
That which a man is, does always by necessity acquire, and what the man acquires is living property, which does not wait the beck of rulers, or mobs, or revolutions, or fire, or storm, or bankruptcies, but perpetually renews itself wherever the man breathes.
— Transcendentalism · Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays, Self-Reliance, §4, 1844 ↗
The essence of greatness is the perception that virtue is enough. Poverty is its ornament. It does not need plenty, and can very well abide its loss.
— Transcendentalism · Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays, Heroism §10, 1844 ↗
Drive a nail home and clinch it so faithfully that you can wake up in the night and think of your work with satisfaction,—a work at which you would not be ashamed to invoke the Muse. So will help you God, and so only. Every nail driven should be as another rivet in the machine of the universe, you carrying on the work.
— Transcendentalism · Henry David Thoreau, Walden, and On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, Conclusion, 1854 ↗
He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
— Hebrew & Christian Bible · Bible, 1 John 2:4, tr. King James Version (1611/1769) ↗
The superior man does not, even for the space of a single meal, act contrary to virtue. In moments of haste, he cleaves to it. In seasons of danger, he cleaves to it.
— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 4.5, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗
Not as though thou hadst thousands of years to live. Death hangs over thee: whilst yet thou livest, whilst thou mayest, be good.
— Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 4.XIV, tr. Meric Casaubon (1634/1635) ↗
The consequences of our actions seize us by the forelock, very indifferent to the fact that we have meanwhile "reformed."
— Nineteenth-century philosophy · Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, 179, tr. Helen Zimmern, 1907 ↗
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
— Hebrew & Christian Bible · Bible, James 1:22, tr. King James Version (1611/1769) ↗
Like the silkworm you have built a cocoon around yourself. Who will save you? Cut your own cocoon and come out as the beautiful butterfly, as the free soul. Then alone you will see Truth.
— The turn of the century · Swami Vivekananda, Jnâna Yoga, The Absolute and Its Manifestations, 1907 ↗
Make it not any longer a matter of dispute or discourse, what are the signs and proprieties of a good man, but really and actually to be such.
— Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 10.XVIII, tr. Meric Casaubon (1634/1635) ↗
Every path but your own is the path of fate. Keep on your own track, then.
— Transcendentalism · Henry David Thoreau, Walden, and On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, Sounds, 1854 ↗
Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. Society is a joint-stock company, in which the members agree, for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion. It loves not realities and creators, but names and customs.
— Transcendentalism · Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays, Self-Reliance, 1844 ↗