I would rather live a short life of glory than a long one of obscurity.
Alexander The GreatRead
But truly, if I were not Alexander, I would be Diogenes.
Interpretation
This quote reflects a preference for a philosophical life over one of power and conquest.
In this statement, Alexander the Great expresses admiration for Diogenes, the ancient Greek philosopher known for his ascetic lifestyle and disdain for material wealth and social status. By stating that if he were not a king, he would choose to be a philosopher like Diogenes, Alexander highlights the value he sees in wisdom and simplicity, contrasting it with his own life of power and ambition.
In practice
During a philosophy lecture on the values of simplicity in life.
I would rather live a short life of glory than a long one of obscurity.
Are you still to learn that the end and perfection of our victories is to avoid the vices and infirmities of those whom we subdue?
Now you fear punishment and beg for your lives, so I will let you free, if not for any other reason so that you can see the difference between a Greek king and a barbarian tyrant, so do not expect to suffer any harm from me. A king does not kill messengers.
In the end, when it's over, all that matters is what you've done.
A tomb now suffices him for whom the whole world was not sufficient.
I am dying with the help of too many physicians.
We look for the Secret - the Philosopher's Stone, the Elixir of the Wise, Supreme Enlightenment, 'God' or whatever...and all the time it is carrying us about...It is the human nervous system itself.
When sitting in meditation, say, "That's not my business!" with every thought that comes by.
It struck me as I listened to those two men that a truer nomination (name) for our species than Homo sapiens might be Homo narrans, the storytelling person. What differentiates us from animals is the fact that we can listen to other people’s dreams, fears, joys, sorrows, desires and defeats–and they in turn can listen to ours.
People may assume 'The Act of Killing' is a historical documentary about what happened in 1965. But our purpose was to expose a present-day regime of fear for what it is.
The ideal set up by the Party was something huge, terrible, and glittering-a world of steel and concrete, of monstrous machines and terrifying weapons-a nation of warriors and fanatics, marching forward in perfect unity, all thinking the same thoughts and shouting the same slogans, perpetually working, fighting, triumphing, persecuting-three hundred million people all with the same face.
You do not have to utter anything you do not want to utter,” I told her, and she said, “Then I would never utter another word again.” “You do not have to do anything that you do not want to do.” “Then I would never do anything again.
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