Anger, if not restrained, is frequently more hurtful to us than the injury that provokes it.
Seneca The YoungerRead
If wisdom were offered me with this restriction, that I should keep it close and not communicate it, I would refuse the gift.
Interpretation
Wisdom should be shared and not kept to oneself; knowledge is more valuable when communicated.
In this quote, Seneca emphasizes the importance of sharing wisdom and knowledge with others. He suggests that wisdom loses its value if it is not communicated or shared; therefore, he would reject the offer of wisdom if it meant keeping it a secret. This highlights the belief that wisdom is most beneficial when it contributes to the greater good of society, fostering learning and growth among individuals.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of mentorship and teaching.
Anger, if not restrained, is frequently more hurtful to us than the injury that provokes it.
No tree becomes rooted and sturdy unless many a wind assails it. For by its very tossing it tightens its grip and plants its roots more securely; the fragile trees are those that have grown in a sunny valley.
Slavery takes hold of few, but many take hold of slavery.
To be able to endure odium is the first art to be learned by those who aspire to power.
Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness.
Loyalty is the holiest good in the human heart.
Books console us, calm us, prepare us, enrich us and redeem us.
That was a sin: to consider yourself victimized or not able to control your destiny or your fate - that was the one cardinal sin in our community.
Silence, as someone has said, is the mother of prayer and the nurse of holy thoughts. Silence cuts down on our sins, doesn't it? We can't be sinning in so many different ways if we are being quiet before God. Silence nourishes patience, charity, discretion.
It is a law of our humanity, that man must know both good and evil; he must know good through evil. There never was a principle but what triumphed through much evil; no man ever progressed to greatness and goodness but through great mistakes.
Idling is important. Most people don't know how. They're afraid of it. This explains why they turn on the television set or pick up the newspaper. They think they have to be doing something.
All too often people come to meditation in the hope of extraordinary results, like visions, lights, or some supernatural miracle. When no such thing occurs, they feel extremely disappointed. But the real miracle of meditation is more ordinary and much more useful. . . .
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