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
What sense or thought do they have? They follow the popular singers, and they take the crowd as their teacher.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote critiques those who blindly follow popular figures without critical thought.
Heraclitus questions the wisdom of individuals who do not think for themselves and instead rely on popular singers and the crowd for guidance. This suggests an admonition against conformism and highlights the importance of independent thought in the pursuit of knowledge and understanding.
Themes
ConformityWisdomIndependent ThoughtCrowd MentalityCriticism
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about critical thinking, one might use this quote to emphasize the need for independent thoughts over blind following.
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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