If there be light, then there is darkness; if cold, heat; if height, depth; if solid, fluid; if hard, soft; if rough, smooth; if calm, tempest; if prosperity, adversity; if life, death.
PythagorasRead
In anger we should refrain both from speech and action.
Interpretation
The quote advises to hold back from speaking or acting when feeling angry.
Pythagoras suggests that in moments of anger, one should pause and avoid both speaking impulsively and taking hasty actions. This is meant to encourage reflection and self-control, as decisions made in anger may lead to regret and negative consequences.
In practice
During a team meeting, when tensions rise, one might reference this quote to encourage everyone to take a breath before responding.
If there be light, then there is darkness; if cold, heat; if height, depth; if solid, fluid; if hard, soft; if rough, smooth; if calm, tempest; if prosperity, adversity; if life, death.
Do not say a little in many words but a great deal in a few.
Animals share with us the privilege of having a soul.
Silence is better than unmeaning words.
Reason is immortal, all else mortal.
No one is free who has not obtained the empire of himself.
To know is to know that you know nothing. That is the meaning of true knowledge.
Laziness and cowardice explain why so many men. . . remain under a life-long tutelage and why it is so easy for some men to set themselves up as the guardians of all the rest. . . If I have a book which understands for me, a pastor who has a conscience for me, a doctor who decides my diet, I need not trouble myself. If I am willing to pay, I need not think. Others will do it for me.
Never, never pin your whole faith on any human being: not if he is the best and wisest in the whole world. There are lots of nice things you can do with sand; but do not try building a house on it.
Work organizes life. It gives structure and discipline to life.
I am still learning. (at age 87)
In detachment lies the wisdom of uncertainty...in the wisdom of uncertainty lies the freedom from our past, from the known, which is the prison of past conditioning. And in our willingness to step into the unknown, the field of all possibilities, we surrender ourselves to the creative mind that orchestrates the dance of the universe.
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