Good character is not formed in a week or a month. It is created little by little, day by day. Protracted and patient effort is needed to develop good character.
HeraclitusRead
The fairest order in the world is a heap of random sweepings.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that what appears chaotic or random can possess a unique form of order and beauty.
Heraclitus, an ancient Greek philosopher, implies that the natural world and existence contain a form of order that may not be immediately recognized. This 'heap of random sweepings' suggests that what seems disordered actually reflects the complexity and harmony of life, highlighting the philosophical idea that chaos and order coexist in a dynamic relationship.
Themes
OrderChaosPhilosophyRandomnessBeauty
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on the complexity of nature in a science class, this quote can illustrate how chaos can lead to discovery.
More from Heraclitus
All quotes βThinking is a sacred disease and sight is deceptive.
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Things of which there is sight, hearing, apprehension, these I prefer.
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Our envy always lasts longer than the happiness of those we envy.
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For when is death not within our selves? And as Heracleitus says: βLiving and dead are the same, and so are awake and asleep, young and old. The former when shifted are the latter, and again the latter when shifted are the former."
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Whosoever wishes to know about the world must learn about it in its particular details. Knowledge is not intelligence. In searching for the truth be ready for the unexpected. Change alone is unchanging. The same road goes both up and down. The beginning of a circle is also its end. Not I, but the world says it: all is one. And yet everything comes in season.
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