A system of morality that is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception that has nothing sound in it and nothing true.
SocratesRead
From the deepest desires often come the deadliest hate.
Interpretation
Deep desires can lead to intense hatred when unfulfilled or threatened.
This quote by Socrates suggests that our strongest emotions, such as deep desires or passions, can transform into negative feelings like hate when these desires are not met or become obstructed. It highlights the duality of human emotions and serves as a cautionary reminder about the potential consequences of unchecked desires.
In practice
During a speech on emotional intelligence, this quote can be used to emphasize the importance of managing desires.
A system of morality that is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception that has nothing sound in it and nothing true.
The poets are only the interpreters of the gods.
I am wiser than this man, for neither of us appears to know anything great and good; but he fancies he knows something, although he knows nothing; whereas I, as I do not know anything, so I do not fancy I do. In this trifling particular, then, I appear to be wiser than he, because I do not fancy I know what I do not know.
The unexamined life is not worth living.
When I was young, I believed that life might unfold in an orderly way, according to my hopes and expectations. But now I understand that the Way winds like a river, always changing, ever onward.. My journeys revealed that the Way itself creates the warrior; that every path leads to peace, every choice to wisdom. And that life has always been, and will always be, arising in Mystery.
Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued." "It is not living that matters, but living rightly. The unexamined life is not worth living.
I thought you were sane," I said, "but you're just as crazy as the rest of them.
The glory of Christianity is to conquer by forgiveness. It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.
The life of the spirit is not our life, but the life of God within us.
The Christian gospel is a two-way road. On the one hand, it seeks to change the souls of men, and thereby unite them with God; on the other hand, it seeks to change the environmental conditions of men so the soul will have a chance after it is changed.
These illustrations suggest four general maxims[...]. The first is: remember that your motives are not always as altruistic as they seem to yourself. The second is: don't over-estimate your own merits. The third is: don't expect others to take as much interest in you as you do yourself. And the fourth is: don't imagine that most people give enough thought to you to have any special desire to persecute you.
The argument that someone is a bad man is an inadequate argument for war and certainly an inadequate and unacceptable argument for regime change.
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