Crows pick out the eyes of the dead, when the dead have no longer need of them; but flatterers mar the soul of the living, and her eyes they blind.
EpictetusRead
If virtue promises happiness, prosperity and peace, then progress in virtue is progress in each of these for to whatever point the perfection of anything brings us, progress is always an approach toward it.
Interpretation
Virtue leads to true happiness, prosperity, and peace, as progress in virtue signifies progress in these areas.
Epictetus highlights the intrinsic connection between virtue and the deeper satisfactions of life such as happiness, prosperity, and peace. He asserts that striving for virtue is not only a noble pursuit but also a direct pathway to achieving a fulfilling life, suggesting that as we enhance our virtuous qualities, we simultaneously move closer to our ultimate well-being.
In practice
This quote can be shared during a motivational speech to emphasize the importance of personal growth.
Crows pick out the eyes of the dead, when the dead have no longer need of them; but flatterers mar the soul of the living, and her eyes they blind.
Learn to distinguish what you can and can't control. Within our control are our own opinions, aspirations, desires and the things that repel us. They are directly subject to our influence.
Men are disturbed not by the things that happen, but by their opinion of the things that happen.
Nothing truly stops you. Nothing truly holds you back. For your own will is always within your control. Sickness may challenge your body. But are you merely your body? Lameness may impede your legs. But you are not merely your legs. Your will is bigger than your legs. Your will needn't be affected by an incident unless you let it.
The people have a right to the truth as they have a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Practice yourself, for heaven's sake, in little things, and thence proceed to greater.
The Gods give with one hand and take with the other.
The key fallacy of so called gun control laws is that such laws do not in fact control guns. They simply disarm law abiding citizens, while people bent on violence find firearms readily available.
In the assemblies of the enlightened ones there have been many cases of mastering the Way bringing forth the heart of plants and trees; this is what awakening the mind for enlightenment is like. The fifth patriarch of Zen was once a pine-planting wayfarer; Rinzai worked on planting cedars and pines on Mount Obaku. . . . Working with plants, trees, fences and walls, if they practice sincerely they will attain enlightenment.
Clergyman: A ticket speculator outside the gates of Heaven.
This is one of the most effective adaptations of racism over time - that we can think of racism as only something that individuals either are or are not 'doing.'
No society ever seems to have succumbed to boredom. Man has developed an obvious capacity for surviving the pompous reiteration of the commonplace.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.