🏛️Week 2024-47: Aristotle - Collected Quotes

"A deduction is a demonstration when the premisses from which the deduction starts are true and primitive, or are such that our knowledge of them has originally come through premisses which are primitive and true." (Aristotle, "Topics", cca. 350 BC)

"A problem that is suitable for argumentative reasoning is one for which there are numerous and good arguments." (Aristotle, "Topics", cca. 350 BC)

"A quantity is infinite if it is such that we can always take a part outside what has been already taken." (Aristotle, "Physics")

"All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire." (Aristotle)

"But Nature flies from the infinite, for the infinite is unending or imperfect, and Nature ever seeks an end." (Aristotle, "Generation of Animals")

"Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all." (Aristotle)

"Education and morals will be found almost the whole that goes to make a good man." (Aristotle)

"Education is the best provision for old age." (Aristotle)

"For generally the infinite has this mode of existence: one thing is always being taken after another, and each thing that is taken is always finite […]." (Aristotle, "Physics")

"For that which is probable is that which generally happens." (Aristotle, "The Art of Rhetoric", 4th century BC)

"For the things we have to learn before we can do, we learn by doing." (Aristotle, "Nicomachean Ethics", Book II, 349 BC)

"[Imagination is] that in virtue of which we say that an image occurs to us and not as we speak of it metaphorically."  (Aristotle, "De Anima" III, cca. 350 BC)

"In all things which have a plurality of parts, and which are not a total aggregate but a whole of some sort distinct from the parts, there is some cause." (Aristotle, "Metaphysics", cca. 335-323 BC)

"Intuition is the source of scientific knowledge." (Aristotle)

"It is impossible that the existence of something [one thing] should necessitate both the existence and the non-existence of something else [i.e., one (same) other thing]." (Aristotle, "Posterior Analytics", cca. 350 BC)

"It is obvious then, that memory belongs to that part of the soul to which imagination belongs. […] Just as the picture painted on the panel is at once a picture and a portrait, and though one and the same, is both, yet the essence of the two is not the same, and it is possible to think of it both as a picture and as a portrait, so in the same way we must regard the mental picture within us both as an object of contemplation in itself and as a mental picture of something else […]. Insofar as we consider it in relation to something else, e.g. as a likeness, it is also an aid to memory." (Aristotle, "De Memoria et Reminiscentia" [On Memory and Recollection], 4th century BC)

"It is the mark of an educated mind to rest satisfied with the degree of precision which the nature of the subject admits and not to seek exactness where only an approximation is possible."  (Aristotle, "Nicomachean Ethics", Book II, 349 BC)

"Knowledge, then, is a state of capacity to demonstrate, and has the other limiting characteristics which we specify in the Analytics; for it is when one believes in a certain way and the principles are known to him that he has knowledge, since if they are not better known to him than the conclusion, he will have his knowledge only on the basis of some concomitant." (Aristotle," Nicomachean Ethics", cca. 340 BC)

"Metaphysics is universal and is exclusively concerned with primary substance. […] And here we will have the science to study that which is, both in its essence and in the properties which, just as a thing that is, it has. […] That among entities there must be some cause which moves and combines things. […] There must then be a principle of such a kind that its substance is activity." (Aristotle, "Metaphysics", cca. 335-323 BC) 

"Sense perception is a prerequisite for memory; the memory of frequently repeated sense perceptions results in experimental proof; experimental proofs provide the materials for a science or an art.” (Aristotle)

"So poetry is something more philosophical and more worthy of serious attention than history, for while poetry is concerned with universal truth, history treats of particular facts [...]" (Aristotle, "Poetics", cca. 350 BC)

"The infinite is imperfect, unfinished and therefore, unthinkable; it is formless and confused."  (Aristotle)

"The intellectual capacity thinks the forms in the phantasmata (mental images) […] And for the following reason, as without having perceptual awareness no one could either learn or understand anything, so when one engages in intellectual activity one must at that time do so by means of a phantasma. For, phantasmata are just as perceptual states (aisthemata) are [in actual external perception] but without matter." (Aristotle, "De Anima" III, cca. 350 BC)

"The same ideas, one must believe, recur in men’s minds not once or twice but again and again." (Aristotle, "De Caelo" ["On the Heavens"], cca. 350 BC)

"The soul never thinks without a picture." (Aristotle)

"The whole is more than the sum of its parts." (Aristotle, "Metaphysics", cca. 335-323 BC)

"When the consequences of either assumption are the same, we should always assume that things are finite rather than infinite in number, since in things constituted by nature that which is infinite and that which is better ought, if possible, to be present rather than the reverse […]" (Aristotle)

"While those whom devotion to abstract discussions has rendered unobservant of the facts are too ready to dogmatize on the basis of a few observations." (Aristotle, "De Caelo" ["On the Heavens"], cca. 350 BC)

🏛️Week 2024-46:Saint Augustine of Hippo - Collected Quotes

"If I am given a formula, and I am ignorant of its meaning, it cannot teach me anything, but if I already know it what does the formula teach me?" (Saint Augustine of Hippo , "De Magistro", 389)

"The inclination to seek the truth is safer than the presumption which regards unknown things as known." (Augustine of Hippo, "De Trinitate", 417)

"The mind itself, its love of itself and it knowledge of itself are a kind of trinity." (Augustine of Hippo, "De Trinitate", 417)

"Then assuredly the world was made, not in time, but simultaneously with time." (Augustine of Hippo, "The City of God", 426)

"A free curiosity is more effective in learning than a rigid discipline." (Augustine of Hippo)

"Faith is to believe what you do not yet see; the reward for this faith is to see what you believe." (Augustine of Hippo)

"Free curiosity has greater power to stimulate learning than rigorous coercion. Nevertheless, the free ranging flux of curiosity is channeled by discipline under Your Law." (Augustine of Hippo)

"No one indeed believes anything unless he has first thought that it it to be believed." (Augustine of Hippo)

"Time is like a river made up of events which happen, and its current is strong; no sooner does anything appear than it is swept away." (Augustine of Hippo)

"When regard for truth has been broken down or even slightly weakened, all things will remain doubtful." (Augustine of Hippo)

🏛️Week 2024-46: Archimedes - Collected Quotes

"Those who claim to discover everything but produce no proofs of the same may be confuted as having actually pretended to discover the impossible." (Archimedes, "On Spirals", cca. 225 BC)

"Equal weights at equal distances are in equilibrium and equal weights at unequal distances are not in equilibrium but incline towards the weight which is at the greater distance." (Archimedes, "On the Equilibrium of Planes" Vol. I, 3rd century BC)

"It is evidently equally foolish to accept probable reasoning from a mathematician and to demand from a rhetorician demonstrative proofs." (Aristotle, cca. 4th century BC)

"It is of course easier to supply the proof when we have previously acquired some knowledge of the questions by the method, than it is to find it without any previous knowledge." (Archimedes, cca. 3rd century BC)

"Two magnitudes whether commensurable or incommensurable, balance at distances reciprocally proportional to the magnitudes." (Archimedes, "On the Equilibrium of Planes" Vol. I, 3rd century BC)

"Give me but one firm spot on which to stand, and I will move the earth." (Archimedes)

🅻Week 2024-44: On Letting Go

"He who stands on tiptoe 

doesn't stand firm.

He who rushes ahead 

doesn't go far.

He who tries to shine 

dims his own light.

He who defines himself

can't know who he really is.

He who has power over others 

can't empower himself.

He who clings to his work 

will create nothing that endures.

If you want to accord with the Tao,

just do your job, then let go." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"The great way is not difficult if you don't cling to good or bad. Just let go of your preferences; and everything will become perfectly clear."  (Jianzhi Sengcan, "Hsin Hsin Ming" ["Faith-Mind Inscription"], 6th century)

"The way to experience ultimate happiness is to let go of all worries and regrets, and to know that being happy is the most satisfying of life's feelings. Reflect back on all the progress in your life and allow the positive, creative and joyous thoughts to outshine and overwhelm any sorrow or grief that may linger in the recesses of your mind. Knowing that disease and disaster are natural parts of life is the key to overcoming adversity with a calm and happy spirit. Happiness is waiting there in front of you. Only you can decide whether or not you choose to experience it. Take this to heart." (Toshitsugu Takamatsu,"Kōfuku no Shiori" ["A Guide to Happiness" or "A Bookmark of Happiness"], 1963)

"Hanashi, 'letting go' means that when one strategy does not work you let go of it and try something new." (Frederick J Loveret, "The Way and the Power: Secrets of Japanese Strategy", 1987)

"To live fully is to let go and die with each passing moment, and to be reborn in each new one."  (Jack Kornfield & Joseph Goldstein, "Seeking the Heart of Wisdom: The Path of Insight Meditation", 1987)

"By practicing letting go of our reactions we can find the doorway out. Each time we fail to respond to something, we have taken a big step toward freedom. Until we have done that, we are constant victims of our feelings [...]" (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)

"The Buddha said, 'The way to liberation is the way of letting go of clinging.' 'Letting go' is our spiritual growth process. There’s nothing to gain, nothing to get. In order to meditate we have to let go of all sensual desires, no matter how subtle. If we don’t let go of hopes, ideas, thoughts, worries, and problems during our meditation periods, we can’t concentrate. 'Letting go' is the key phrase for the spiritual path. Knowing that all is impermanent, cannot last, and is moving toward dissolution helps us to let go. Wanting always results in anxiety, because we don’t know whether we will get what we desire, and even if we do, we don’t know whether we can keep it." (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)

"The whole of the spiritual path is one of purification, which means a constant letting go. It is a matter of seeing our inner difficulties and learning to drop them. Meditation is our vehicle for practicing the art of letting go." (Ayya Khema, "Know Where You’re Going", 1991)

"Once you understand non-self, then the burden of life is gone. You'll be at peace with the world. When we see beyond self, we no longer cling to happiness and we can truly be happy. Learn to let go without struggle, simply let go, to be just as you are - no holding on, no attachment, free." (Ajahn Chah, "No Ajahn Chah: Reflections", 1994)

"Remember you don't meditate to get anything, but to get rid of things. We do it, not with desire, but with letting go. If you want anything, you wont find it." (Ajahn Chah, "No Ajahn Chah: Reflections", 1994)

"The forest is peaceful, why aren’t you? You hold on to things causing your confusion. Let nature teach you. Hear the bird’s song then let go. If you know nature, you’ll know truth. If you know truth, you’ll know nature." (Ajahn Chah, "No Ajahn Chah: Reflections", 1994)

"Letting go is not the same as aversion, struggling to get rid of something. We cannot genuinely let go of what we resist. What we resist and fear secretly follows us even as we push it away. To let go of fear or trauma, we need to acknowledge just how it is. We need to feel it fully and accept that it is so. It is as it is. Letting go begins with letting be." (Jack Kornfield, "The Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness, and Peace", 2002)

"Love creates a communion with life. Love expands us, connects us, sweetens us, ennobles us. Love springs up in tender concern, it blossoms into caring action. It makes beauty out of all we touch. In any moment we can step beyond our small self and embrace each other as beloved parts of a whole." (Jack Kornfield, "The Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness, and Peace", 2002)

"The knowledge of the past stays with us. To let go is to release the images and emotions, the grudges and fears, the clingings and disappointments of the past that bind our spirit." (Jack Kornfield, "The Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness, and Peace", 2002)

"True Meditation is the space in which everything gets revealed, everything gets seen, everything gets experienced. And as such, it lets go of itself. We don't even let go. It lets go of itself." (Adyashant, "True Meditation: Discover the Freedom of Pure Awareness", 2006)

"Any method can settle the mind in the present moment, but with Silent Illumination you can be relieved of even the present moment. Just take this attitude: don’t worry about the past or the future, and let go of the present too. Just stay in awareness. Chan is called the 'gateless gate' because it has no door to enlightenment." (Sheng Yen, "The Method of No-Method: The Chan Practice of Silent Illumination", 2008)