Week 2023-34: Sophocles - Collected Quotes

"A human being is only breath and shadow." (Sophocles)

"A state is not a state if it belongs to one man." (Sophocles)

"All a man's affairs become diseased when he wishes to cure evils by evils." (Sophocles)

"All is disgust when one leaves his own nature and does things that misfit it." (Sophocles)

"Chance never helps those who do not help themselves." (Sophocles)

"Enemies' gifts are no gifts and do no good." (Sophocles)

"Evil gains work their punishment." (Sophocles)

"Fortune cannot aid those who do nothing." (Sophocles)

"Gratitude to gratitude always gives birth." (Sophocles)

"He who throws away a friend is as bad as he who throws away his life." (Sophocles)

"How dangerous can false reasoning prove!" (Sophocles)

"How dreadful knowledge of the truth can be when there's no help in the truth." (Sophocles)

"In a just cause the weak will beat the strong." (Sophocles)

"It is a painful thing to look at your own trouble and know that you yourself, and no one else, has made it." (Sophocles)

"It is best to live however one can be." (Sophocles)

"It is terrible to speak well and be wrong." (Sophocles)

"Is anyone in all the world safe from unhappiness?" (Sophocles)

"Kindness gives birth to kindness." (Sophocles)

"Knowledge must come through action; you can have no test which is not fanciful, save by trial." (Sophocles)

"Man is not constituted to take pleasure in the same things always." (Sophocles)

"Men of ill judgment ignore the good that lies within their hands, till they have lost it." (Sophocles)

"Men should pledge themselves to nothing; for reflection makes a liar of their resolution." (Sophocles)

"Money is the worst currency that ever grew among mankind. This sacks cities, this drives men from their homes, this teaches and corrupts the worthiest minds to turn base deeds." (Sophocles)

"Much wisdom often goes with fewest words." (Sophocles)

"No great thing comes without a curse" Sophocles

"No lie ever reaches old age." (Sophocles)

"No treaty is ever an impediment to a cheat." (Sophocles)

"Not knowing anything is the sweetest life." (Sophocles)

"Not all things are to be discovered; many are better concealed." (Sophocles)

"Old age and the passage of time teach all things." (Sophocles)

"One must learn by doing the thing, for though you think you know it, you have no certainty until you try." (Sophocles)

"One who knows how to show and to accept kindness will be a friend better than any possession." (Sophocles)

"Our happiness depends on wisdom all the way." (Sophocles)

"Quick decisions are unsafe decisions." (Sophocles)

"Rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud." (Sophocles)

"Rather throw away that which is dearest to you, your own life, than turn away a good friend." (Sophocles)

"The greatest griefs are those we cause ourselves." (Sophocles)

"The keenest sorrow is to recognize ourselves as the sole cause of all our adversities." (Sophocles)

"There is a point at which even justice does injury." (Sophocles)

"There is no witness so terrible and no accuser so powerful as conscience which dwells within us." (Sophocles)

"To be doing good deeds is man's most glorious task." (Sophocles)

"To him who is in fear everything rustles." (Sophocles)

"To throw away an honest friend is, as it were, to throw your life away." (Sophocles)

"What fate can be worse than to know we have no one but ourselves to blame for our misfortunes!" (Sophocles)

"Wisdom is the most important part of happiness." (Sophocles)

"When a man has lost all happiness, he's not alive. Call him a breathing corpse." (Sophocles)

"When trouble ends even troubles please." (Sophocles)

"Whoever understands how to do a kindness when he fares well would be a friend better than any possession." (Sophocles)

"Why should a man fear, since chance is all in all for him, and he can clearly fore-know nothing? Best to live lightly as one can, unthinking." (Sophocles)

"Wise thinkers prevail everywhere." (Sophocles)

"You win the victory when you yield to friends." (Sophocles)

Week 2023-33: Marcus Aurelius - Collected Quotes

"Always take the short cut; and that is the rational one. Therefore say and do everything according to soundest reason." (Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations". cca. 121–180 AD)

"And in the case of superior things like stars, we discover a kind of unity in separation. The higher we rise on the scale of being, the easier it is to discern a connection even among things separated by vast distances." (Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations". cca. 121–180 AD)

 

"Constantly regard the universe as one living being, having one substance and one soul; and observe how all things have reference to one perception, the perception of this one living being; and how all things act with one movement; and how all things are the cooperating causes of all things which exist; observe too the continuous spinning of the thread and the contexture of the web." (Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations". cca. 121–180 AD)

 

"Either all things proceed from one intelligent source and come together as in one body, and the part ought not to find fault with what is done for the benefit of the whole; or there are only atoms, and nothing else than a mixture and dispersion. Why, then, art thou disturbed? Say to this ruling faculty, Art thou dead, art thou corrupted, art thou playing the hypocrite, art thou become a beast, dost thou herd and feed with the rest?" (Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations". cca. 121–180 AD)

 

"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations", cca. 121–180 AD)

 

"Look to the essence of a thing, whether it be a point of doctrine, of practice, or of interpretation." (Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations", cca. 121–180 AD)

"In the series of things those which follow are always aptly fitted to those which have gone before; for this series is not like a mere enumeration of disjointed things, which has only a necessary sequence, but it is a rational connection: and as all existing things are arranged together harmoniously, so the things which come into existence exhibit no mere succession, but a certain wonderful relationship." (Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations", cca. 180 AD)

 

"Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under thy observation in life." (Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, cca. 121–180)

 

"Observe the movements of the stars as if you were running their courses with them, and let your mind constantly dwell on the changes of the elements into each other." (Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations", cca. 121–180 AD)

 

"Time is a sort of river of passing events, and strong is its current; no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes its place, and this too will be swept away.“ (Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations", cca. 121–180 AD)

"The other reason is that what happens to the individual is a cause of well-being in what directs the world - of its well-being, its fulfillment, or its very existence, even. Because the whole is damaged if you cut away anything - anything at all - from its continuity and its coherence. Not only its parts, but its purposes. And that's what you're doing when you complain: hacking and destroying." (Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations", cca. 121–180 AD)

 

"The universal intelligence puts itself in motion for every separate effect [...] or it puts itself in motion once, and everything else comes by way of a sequence in a manner; or individual elements are the origin of all things. In a word, if there is a god, all is well; and if chance rules, do not thou be governed by it." (Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations", cca. 121–180 AD)

 

"The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it." (Marcus Aurelius)

"You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength." (Marcus Aurelius)

Week 2023-32: Epictetus - Collected Quotes

"Any person capable of angering you becomes your master." (Epictetus)

"As it is pleasant to see the sea from the land, so it is pleasant for him who has escaped from troubles to think of them." (Epictetus, "Discourses")

"Fight against yourself, recover yourself to decency, to modesty, to freedom. And, in the first place, condemn your actions; but when you have condemned them, do not despair of yourself. For both ruin and recovery are from within." (Epictetus)

"He who exercises wisdom exercises the knowledge which is about God." (Epictetus, "Discourses")

"In every affair consider what precedes and what follows, and then undertake it." (Epictetus)

"In theory there is nothing to hinder our following what we are taught; but in life there are many things to draw us aside." (Epictetus, "Discourses")

"It is better by assenting to truth to conquer opinion, than by assenting to opinion to be conquered by truth." (Epictetus, "Discourses")

"It is my business, to manage carefully and dexterously whatever happens." (Epictetus)

"It is no easy thing for a principle to become a man's own unless each day he maintains it and works it out in his life." (Epictetus)

"Know, first, who you are, and then adorn yourself accordingly." (Epictetus)

"No matter what happens, it is within my power to turn it to my advantage." (Epictetus)

"Not every difficult and dangerous thing is suitable for training, but only that which is conducive to success in achieving the object of our effort." (Epictetus, "Discourses")

"Reason is not measured by size or height, but by principle." (Epictetus)

"The essence of good and evil is a certain disposition of the will." (Epictetus, "Of Courage")

"Things true and evident must of necessity be recognized by those who would contradict them." (Epictetus)

"To be getting an education means this: to be learning what is your own, and what is not your own." (Epictetus, "Discourses")

"When you are offended at any man's fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger." (Epictetus)

"You are but an appearance, and not absolutely the thing you appear to be." (Epictetus)

Week 2023-31: Heraclitus of Ephesus - Collected Quotes

"Everything flows and nothing stays. [...] You can't step twice into the same river." (Heraclitus of Ephesus)

"For those who are awake there is one common universe." (Heraclitus of Ephesus, "Fragments" [3.89], cca. 5th century)

"He who does not expect will not find out the unexpected, for it is trackless and unexplored." (Heraclitus of Ephesus)

"It should be known that war is universal, that strife is justice, and all things come into existence by strife and necessity." (Heraclitus of Ephesus)

"Much learning does not teach a man to have intelligence." (Heraclitus of Ephesus)

"Opposition brings concord. Out of discord comes the fairest harmony." (Heraclitus of Ephesus)

"The fairest order in the world is a heap of random sweepings." (Heraclitus of Ephesus)

"The real constitution of things is accustomed to hide itself." (Heraclitus of Ephesus)

"The road up and the road down is one and the same." (Heraclitus of Ephesus, "On the Universe", cca. 5th century)

"The greatest virtue is to be prudent, and wisdom is to speak the truth and with understanding to act according to nature. (Heraclitus of Ephesus, "Fragments" [75.112], cca. 5th century)

"There is one wisdom, to understand how reason steers everything through everything." (Heraclitus of Ephesus, "Fragments" [4.41], cca. 5th century)

"Time is like a river flowing endlessly through the universe." (Heraclitus of Ephesus)

"Unite whole and part, agreement and disagreement, accordant and discordant; from all comes one, and from one all." (Heraclitus of Ephesus)

Week 2023-30: Kahlil Gibran - Collected Quotes

"Much of your pain is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self." (Kahlil Gibran, "The Prophet", 1923)

"You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts." (Kahlil Gibran, "The Prophet", 1923)

"Your soul is oftentimes a battlefield, upon which your reason and your judgment wage war against passion and your appetite." (Kahlil Gibran, "The Prophet", 1923)

"A pearl is a temple built by pain around a grain of sand." (Kahlil Gibran, "Sand and Foam", 1926)

"Faith is an oasis in the heart which will never be reached by the caravan of thinking." (Kahlil Gibran, "Sand and Foam", 1926)

"Perhaps the sea's definition of a shell is the pearl." (Kahlil Gibran, "Sand and Foam", 1926)

"A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle." (Kahlil Gibran)

"And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb." (Kahlil Gibran)

"Keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life." (Kahlil Gibran)

"Knowledge and understanding are life's faithful companions who will never prove untrue to you. For knowledge is your crown, and understanding your staff; and when they are with you, you possess no greater treasures." (Kahlil Gibran)

"Life without Love is like a tree without blossom and fruit." (Kahlil Gibran)

"Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing." (Kahlil Gibran)

"Philosophy's work is finding the shortest path between two points." (Kahlil Gibran)

"Solitude has soft, silky hands, but with strong fingers it grasps the heart and makes it ache with sorrow." (Kahlil Gibran)

"The appearance of things changes according to the emotions; and thus we see magic and beauty in them, while the magic and beauty are really in ourselves." (Kahlil Gibran)

"We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them." (Kahlil Gibran)

Week 2023-29: Plutarch of Chaeronea - Collected Quotes

"For it was not so much that by means of words I came to a complete understanding of things, as that from things I somehow had an experience which enabled me to follow the meaning of words." (Plutarch of Chaeronea, "Lives")

"For to err in opinion, though it be not the part of wise men, is at least human." (Plutarch of Chaeronea, "Moralia" ["Morals"], cca. 1st century)

"If Nature be not improved by instruction, it is blind; if instruction be not assisted by Nature, it is maimed; and if exercise fail of the assistance of both, it is imperfect." (Plutarch of Chaeronea, "Moralia" ["Morals"], cca. 1st century)

"It is circumstance and proper measure that give an action its character, and make it either good or bad." (Plutarch of Chaeronea, "Life of Agesilaus II")

"Silence at the proper season is wisdom, and better than any speech." (Plutarch of Chaeronea, "Moralia" ["Morals"], cca. 1st century)

"The generous mind adds dignity to every act, and nothing misbecomes it." (Plutarch of Chaeronea, "Lives")

"The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled." (Plutarch of Chaeronea, "Moralia" ["Morals"], cca. 1st century)

"The two most powerful agencies in man's nature are reason and mind." (Plutarch of Chaeronea)

"To conduct great matters and never commit a fault is above the force of human nature." (Plutarch of Chaeronea, "Life of Fabius")

"Were it only to learn benevolence to humankind, we should be merciful to other creatures." (Plutarch of Chaeronea, "Lives")

"Wise men are able to make a fitting use even of their enmities." (Plutarch of Chaeronea, "Moralia" ["Morals"], cca. 1st century)

Week 2023-28: Oliver Goldsmith - Collected Quotes

"People seldom improve when they have no other model but themselves to copy." (Oliver Goldsmith, "The Bee", 1759)

"In two opposite opinions, if one be perfectly reasonable, the other can't be perfectly right." (Oliver Goldsmith, "The Poetical and Dramatic Works of Oliver Goldsmith", 1780)

"All that philosophy can teach is to be stubborn or sullen under misfortunes." (Oliver Goldsmith, "The Miscellaneous Works of Dr. Goldsmith", 1792)

"Books are necessary to correct the vices of the polite; but those vices are ever changing, and the antidote should be changed accordingly should still be new." (Oliver Goldsmith, "The Miscellaneous Works of Dr. Goldsmith", 1792)

"If we do not find happiness in the present moment, in what shall we find it?" (Oliver Goldsmith, "The Miscellaneous Works of Dr. Goldsmith", 1792) 

"Religion does what philosophy could never do; it shows the equal dealings of Heaven to the happy and the unhappy, and levels all human enjoyments to nearly the same standard. It gives to both rich and poor the same happiness hereafter, and equal hopes to aspire after it." (Oliver Goldsmith, "The Miscellaneous Works of Dr. Goldsmith", 1792)

"Taste is the power of relishing or rejecting whatever is offered for the entertainment of the imagination." (Oliver Goldsmith, "The Miscellaneous Works of Dr. Goldsmith", 1792)

"The wisdom of the ignorant somewhat resembles the instinct of animals; it is diffused in but a very narrow sphere, but within the circle it acts with vigor, uniformity, and success." (Oliver Goldsmith, "The Miscellaneous Works of Dr. Goldsmith", 1792)

'Nothing is so contemptible as that affectation of wisdom, which some display, by universal incredulity." (Oliver Goldsmith, "A history of the earth: and animated nature", 1813)

"A man's own heart must ever be given to gain that of another." (Oliver Goldsmith, "The Vicar of Wakefield, a Tale: To which is Annexed The Deserted Village", 1828)

"Our greatest glory is, not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." (Oliver Goldsmith, "The Complete Works of Oliver Goldsmith", 1893)

"Teaching by lecture makes men mere scholars, but instructing by examination makes them learned: the student has the best chance of becoming actually great." (Oliver Goldsmith)

Week 2023-27: Democritus - Collected Quotes

"By convention sweet, by convention bitter; by convention hot, by convention cold, by convention color: but in reality, atoms and void." (Democritus)

"By desiring little, a poor man makes himself rich." (Democritus)

"Everything existing in the universe is the fruit of chance and necessity." (Democritus)

"Hope of ill gain is the beginning of loss." (Democritus)

"I would rather discover one true cause than gain the kingdom of Persia." (Democritus)

"If thou suffer injustice, console thyself; the true unhappiness is in doing it." (Democritus)

"It is better to destroy one's own errors than those of others." (Democritus)

"It is godlike ever to think on something beautiful and on something new." (Democritus)

"It is greed to do all the talking but not to want to listen at all." (Democritus)

"Men should strive to think much and know little." (Democritus)

"Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is opinion." (Democritus)

"Neither art nor wisdom may be attained without learning."  (Democritus)

"No power and no treasure can outweigh the extension of our knowledge." (Democritus)

"Nothing is so easy as to deceive one's self; for what we wish, that we readily believe." (Democritus)

"Raising children is an uncertain thing; success is reached only after a life of battle and worry." (Democritus)

"The first principles of the universe are atoms and empty space; everything else is merely thought to exist." (Democritus)

"The wrongdoer is more unfortunate than the man wronged." (Democritus)

"There are many who know many things, yet are lacking in wisdom." (Democritus)

"Throw moderation to the winds, and the greatest pleasures bring the greatest pains." (Democritus)

Week 2023-26: Plotinus - Collected Quotes

"All things are filled full of signs, and it is a wise man who can learn about one thing from another." (Plotinus, "Enneads", cca. 270 AD)

"But if anyone despises the arts because they produce their works by imitating nature, we must tell him, first, that natural things are imitations too. Then he must know that the arts do not simply imitate what they see, but they run back up to the forming principles from which nature derives" (Plotinus, "Enneads", cca. 270 AD)

"Conscious apprehension seems to exist […] as happens in a mirror-image when the smooth and bright surface is peaceful." (Plotinus, "Enneads", cca. 270 AD)

“In the same way as regards the soul, when that kind of thing in us which mirrors the images of thought and intellect is undisturbed, we see them and know them in a way parallel to sense-perception, along with the prior knowledge that it is intellect and thought that are active. But when this is broken because the harmony of the body is upset, thought and intellect operate without an image, and then intellectual activity takes place without a mind-picture.” (Plotinus, “Enneads”, cca. 270 AD)

"On the assumption that all happens by Cause, it is easy to discover the nearest determinants of any particular act or state to trace it plainly to them." (Plotinus, "Enneads", cca. 270 AD)

"[...] so external sensation is the image of this perception of the soul, which is in its essence truer and is a contemplation of forms alone without being affected. From these forms, from which the soul alone receives its lordship over the living being, come reasonings, and opinions and noetic acts; and this is precisely where ‘we’ are." (Plotinus, "Enneads", cca. 270 AD)

"The noetic act is without parts and has not, so to speak, come out into the open, but remains unobserved within, but the verbal expression unfolds its content and brings it out of the noetic act into the image making power, and so shows the noetic act as if in a mirror, and this is how there is conscious apprehension and persistence and memory of it." (Plotinus, "Enneads", cca. 270 AD)

"You can only apprehend the Infinite by a faculty superior to reason, by entering into a state in which you are your finite self no longer." (Plotinus, "Enneads", cca. 270 AD)

"Beauty is rather a light that plays over the symmetry of things than that symmetry itself." (Plotinus)

"Knowledge has three degrees - opinion, science, illumination. The means or instrument of the first is sense; of the second, dialectic; of the third, intuition." (Plotinus)

"We must close our eyes and invoke a new manner of seeing […] a wakefulness that is the birthright of us all, though few put it to use." (Plotinus)

Week 2023-25: Isaac Asimov - Collected Quotes

"Old men tend to forget what thought was like in their youth; they forget the quickness of the mental jump, the daring of the youthful intuition, the agility of the fresh insight. They become accustomed to the more plodding varieties of reason, and because this is more than made up by the accumulation of experience, old men think themselves wiser than the young." (Isaac Asimov, "Pebble in the Sky", 1950)

"The easiest way to solve a problem is to deny it exists." (Isaac Asimov, "The Gods Themselves", 1972)

"Self-education is, I firmly believe, the only kind of education there is. The only function of a school is to make self-education easier; failing that, it does nothing." (Isaac Asimov, "Science Past, Science Future", 1975)

"People are entirely too disbelieving of coincidence. They are far too ready to dismiss it and to build arcane structures of extremely rickety substance in order to avoid it. I, on the other hand, see coincidence everywhere as an inevitable consequence of the laws of probability, according to which having no unusual coincidence is far more unusual than any coincidence could possibly be." (Isaac Asimov, "The Planet That Wasn't", 1976)

"At odd and unpredictable times, we cling in fright to the past." (Isaac Asimov, "Foundation's Edge", 1982)

"The greatest weapons in the conquest of knowledge are an understanding mind and the inexorable curiosity that drives it on." (Isaac Asimov, "Asimov's New Guide to Science", 1984)

"If we only obey those rules that we think are just and reasonable, then no rule will stand, for there is no rule that some will not think is unjust and unreasonable." (Isaac Asimov, "Foundation and Earth", 1986)

"A subtle thought that is in error may yet give rise to fruitful inquiry that can establish truths of great value." (Isaac Asimov, "Isaac Asimov’s Book of Science and Nature Quotations", 1988)

"Any increase in knowledge anywhere helps pave the way for an increase in knowledge everywhere." (Isaac Asimov, "Isaac Asimov’s Book of Science and Nature Quotations", 1988)

"There is very little flexibility in the behavior of the Universe. What it does once, it does again." (Isaac Asimov, "Isaac Asimov’s Book of Science and Nature Quotations", 1988)

"What makes it so hard to organize the environment sensibly is that everything we touch is hooked up to everything else." (Isaac Asimov, "Isaac Asimov’s Book of Science and Nature Quotations", 1988)

Week 2023-24: Philip K Dick - Collected Quotes

"Can any of us fix anything? No. None of us can do that. We're specialized. Each one of us has his own line, his own work. I understand my work, you understand yours. The tendency in evolution is toward greater and greater specialization. Man's society is an ecology that forces adaptation to it. Continued complexity makes it impossible for us to know anything outside our own personal field - I can't follow the work of the man sitting at the next desk over from me. Too much knowledge has piled up in each field. And there are too many fields." (Philip K. Dick, The Variable Man", 1952)

"[…] anybody with a genuine system of prediction would be using it, not selling it." (Philip K Dick, "Solar Lottery", 1955) 

"It’s the highest goal of man - the need to grow and advance [...] to find new things [...] to expand. To spread out, reach areas, experiences, comprehend and live in an evolving fashion. To push aside routine and repetition, to break out of mindless monotony and thrust forward. To keep moving on [...]" (Philip K Dick, "Solar Lottery", 1955)

"These machines had become old and worn-out, had begun making mistakes; therefore they began to seem almost human." (Philip K Dick & Ray Nelson, "The Ganymede Takeover", 1967)

"A humanoid robot is like any other machine; it can fluctuate between being a benefit and a hazard very rapidly." (Philip K Dick, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", 1968)

"To the paranoid, nothing is a surprise; everything happens exactly as he expected, and sometimes even more so. It all fits into his system. For us, though, there can be no system; maybe all systems - that is, any theoretical, verbal, symbolic, semantic, etc. formulation that attempts to act as an all-encompassing, all-explaining hypothesis of what the universe is about - are manifestations of paranoia. We should be content with the mysterious, the meaningless, the contradictory, the hostile, and most of all the unexplainably warm and giving." (Philip K Dick, "The Android and the Human", [speech] 1972)

"Reality is that which when you stop believing in it, it doesn’t go away." (Philip K Dick, "Valis", 1981)

"The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words." (Philip K. Dick)

"The problem with introspection is that it has no end." (Philip K. Dick)

"The true measure of a man is not his intelligence or how high he rises in this freak establishment. No, the true measure of a man is this: how quickly can he respond to the needs of others and how much of himself he can give." (Philip K. Dick)

Week 2023-23: Mind is...

"Mind is the limit and measure of all things [...]" (Nicolas of Cusa [Nicolaus Cusanus], "Idiota de mente" ["The Layman: About Mind"], 1450)

"You know how the divine Simplicity enfolds all things. Mind is the image of this enfolding Simplicity." (Nicolas of Cusa [Nicolaus Cusanus], "Idiota de mente: The Layman: About Mind", 1450)

"Man's mind is so formed that it is far more susceptible to falsehood than to truth." (Desiderius Erasmus, "Praise of Folly", 1509)

"The mind is so constituted that it does not willingly rest in facts and immediate causes, but seeks always after a knowledge of the remoter links in the chain of causation." (Thomas H Huxley, "Discourses Biological and Geological", 1894)

"A truthful mind is necessary for the discovery of truth in Nature." (Sir Richard A Gregory, "Discovery; or, The Spirit and Service of Science", 1916)

"Mind is the first and most direct thing in our experience; all else is remote inference." (Arthur Eddington, "Science and the Unseen World", 1929)

The truly scientific mind is altogether unafraid of the new [...]" (Wilfred Trotter, "Observation and Experiment and Their Use in the Medical Sciences", British Medical Journal Vol. 2, 1930)

"Most mistakes in philosophy and logic occur because the human mind is apt to take the symbol for the reality." (Albert Einstein, "Cosmic Religion: With Other Opinions and Aphorisms", 1931)

"The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend." (Robertson Davies, "Tempest-Tost", 1951)

"We are part of nature, and our mind is the only instrument we have, or can conceive of, for learning about nature or about ourselves." (Conrad H Waddington, "The Nature of Life", 1960)

"The mind is defined as the sum total of all the programs and the metaprograms of a given human computer, whether or not they are immediately elicitable, detectable, and visibly operational to the self or to others." (John C Lilly "Programming and Metaprogramming in the Human Biocomputer" 2nd Ed., 1972)

"The human mind is constantly drawn to anything that embodies some aspect of symmetry." (Marcus du Sautoy, "Symmetry: A Journey into the Patterns of Nature", 2008)

"The human mind is not capable of grasping the Universe." (Albert Einstein)

Week 2023-22: Nicolas of Cusa - Collected Quotes

"All we know of the truth is that the absolute truth, such as it is, is beyond our reach." 

(Nicholas of Cusa [Nicolaus Cusanus], "De Docta Ignorantia" ["On Learned Ignorance"], 1440)

"Wisdom is not to be found in the art of oratory, or in great books, but in a withdrawal from these sensible things and in a turning to the most simple and infinite forms. You will learn how to receive it into a temple purged from all vice, and by fervent love to cling to it until you may taste it and see how sweet That is which is all sweetness. Once this has been tasted, all things which you now consider as important will appear as vile, and you will be so humbled that no arrogance or other vice will remain in you. Once having tasted this wisdom, you will inseparably adhere to it with a chaste and pure heart. You will choose rather to forsake this world and all else that is not of this wisdom, and living with unspeakable happiness you will die." (Nicholas of Cusa [Nicolaus Cusanus], "De Docta Ignorantia" ["On Learned Ignorance"], 1440)

"Now discourse is necessarily limited by its point of departure and its point of arrival, and since these are in mutual opposition we speak of contradiction. For the discursive reason these terms are opposed and distinct. In the realm of the reason, therefore, there is a necessary disjunction between extremes, as, for example, in the rational definition of the circle where the lines from the center to the circumference are equal and where the center cannot coincide with the circumference." (Nicholas of Cusa, "Apologia Doctae ignorantiae" ["The Defense of Learned Ignorance"], 1449)

"Mind is the limit and measure of all things [...]" (Nicholas of Cusa [Nicolaus Cusanus], "Idiota de mente: The Layman: About Mind", 1450)

"You know how the divine Simplicity enfolds all things. Mind is the image of this enfolding Simplicity. If, then, you called this divine Simplicity infinite Mind, it will be the exemplar of our mind. If you called the divine mind the totality of the truth of things, you will call our mind the totality of the assimilation of things, so that it may be a totality of ideas. In the divine Mind conception is the production of things; in our mind conception is the knowledge of things. If the divine Mind is absolute Being, then its conception is the creation of beings; and conception in the human mind is the assimilation of beings." (Nicholas of Cusa [Nicolaus Cusanus], "Idiota de mente: The Layman: About Mind", 1450)

"[…] a great multitude cannot exist without much diversity […]" (Nicholas of Cusa [Nicolaus Cusanus], "De Pace Fidei" ["The Peace of Faith"], 1453)

"All men strive and hope for nothing other than eternal life in their human nature. For this they instituted purgations of souls and sacred rites, in order to be better adapted in their nature to that eternal life." (Nicholas of Cusa [Nicolaus Cusanus], "De Pace Fidei" ["The Peace of Faith"], 1453)

"There can only be one wisdom. For if it were possible that there be several wisdoms, then these would have to be from one. Namely, unity is prior to all plurality." (Nicholas of Cusa [Nicolaus Cusanus], "De Pace Fidei" ["The Peace of Faith"], 1453)

"Within itself the soul sees all things more truly than as they exist in different things outside itself. And the more it goes out unto other things in order to know them, the more it enters into itself in order to know itself." (Nicholas of Cusa [Nicolaus Cusanus], "On Equality", 1459)

"If full knowledge about the very base of our existence could be described as a circle, the best we can do is to arrive at a polygon." (Nicholas of Cusa [Nicolaus Cusanus])

"The universe has no circumference, for if it had a center and a circumference there would be some and some thing beyond the world, suppositions which are wholly lacking in truth. Since, therefore, it is impossible that the universe should be enclosed within a corporeal center and corporeal boundary, it is not within our power to understand the universe, whose center and circumference are God. And though the universe." (Nicholas of Cusa[Nicolaus Cusanus])

"Time is to eternity as an image is to its exemplar, and those things which are temporal bear a resemblance to those things which are eternal." (Nicholas of Cusa[Nicolaus Cusanus])

Week 2023-21: On Knowledge

"In all disciplines in which there is systematic knowledge of things with principles, causes, or elements, it arises from a grasp of those: we think we have knowledge of a thing when we have found its primary causes and principles, and followed it back to its elements." (Aristotle, "Physics", cca. 350 BC)

"There are two modes of acquiring knowledge, namely, by reasoning and experience. Reasoning draws a conclusion and makes us grant the conclusion, but does not make the conclusion certain, nor does it remove doubt so that the mind may rest on the intuition of truth unless the mind discovers it by the path of experience." (Roger Bacon, "Opus Majus", 1267)

"Knowledge being to be had only of visible and certain truth, error is not a fault of our knowledge, but a mistake of our judgment, giving assent to that which is not true." (John Locke, "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding", 1689)

"He that would make a real progress in knowledge must dedicate his age as well as first fruits - the latter growth as well as the first-fruits - at the altar of truth." (Bishop George Berkeley, "Siris", 1744)

"Cultivate that kind of knowledge which enables us to discover for ourselves in case of need that which others have to read or be told of." (Georg C Lichtenberg, Notebook D, 1773-1775)

"Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it." (Samuel Johnson, 1775)

"It is not knowledge, but the act of learning, not possession but the act of getting there, which grants the greatest enjoyment. When I have clarified and exhausted a subject, then I turn away from it, in order to go into darkness again; the never satisfied man is so strange if he has completed a structure, then it is not in order to dwell in it peacefully, but in order to begin another. I imagine the world conqueror must feel thus, who, after one kingdom is scarcely conquered, stretched out his arms for others." (Carl F Gauss, [Letter to Farkas Bolyai] 1808)

"The highest knowledge can be nothing more than the shortest and clearest road to truth; all the rest is pretension, not performance, mere verbiage and grandiloquence, from which we can learn nothing." (Charles C Colton, "Lacon", 1820)

"Truth in itself is rarely sufficient to make men act. Hence the step is always long from cognition to volition, from knowledge to ability. The most powerful springs of action in men lie in his emotions." (Carl von Clausewitz, "On War", 1832)

"In every branch of knowledge the progress is proportional to the amount of facts on which to build, and therefore to the facility of obtaining data." (James C Maxwell, [Letter to Lewis Campbell] 1851)

"The true aim of the teacher must be to impart an appreciation of method and not a knowledge of facts." (Karl Pearson, "The Grammar of Science", 1892)

"Man's determination not to be deceived is precisely the origin of the problem of knowledge. The question is always and only this: to learn to know and to grasp reality in the midst of a thousand causes of error which tend to vitiate our observation." (Federigo Enriques, "Problems of Science", 1906)

"If the fresh facts which come to our knowledge all fit themselves into the scheme, then our hypothesis may gradually become a solution." (Arthur C Doyle, "The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge", 1908)

"Knowledge is the distilled essence of our intuitions, corroborated by experience." (Elbert Hubbard, "A Thousand & One Epigrams, 1911)

"It is experience which has given us our first real knowledge of Nature and her laws. It is experience, in the shape of observation and experiment, which has given us the raw material out of which hypothesis and inference have slowly elaborated that richer conception of the material world which constitutes perhaps the chief, and certainly the most characteristic, glory of the modern mind." (Arthur J Balfour, "The Foundations of Belief", 1912)

"The urge to knowledge is so deeply rooted in man that it can scarcely be omitted from a list of life's important needs." (Hans Reichenbach, "Atom and Cosmos: The World of Modern Physics", 1933)

"We have discovered that it is actually an aid in the search for knowledge to understand the nature of the knowledge we seek." (Arthur S Eddington, "The Philosophy of Physical Science", 1938)

"When a science approaches the frontiers of its knowledge, it seeks refuge in allegory or in analogy." (Erwin Chargaff, "Essays on Nucleic Acids", 1963)

"We live on an island surrounded by a sea of ignorance. As our island of knowledge grows, so does the shore of our ignorance." (John A Wheeler, Scientific American Vol. 267, 1992)

Week 2023-20: Lao Tzu - Collected Quotes

Disclaimer: some of the quotes might be incorrectly attributed. 

"A violent wind does not last for a whole morning; 
a sudden rain does not last for the whole day." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Accomplish but do not boast, accomplish without show, accomplish without arrogance, accomplish without grabbing, accomplish without forcing." (Lao Tzu)

"Act without expectation." (Lao Tzu)

"All difficult things in the world are sure to arise from a previous state in which they were easy, and all great things from one in which they were small." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"All streams flow to the sea because it is lower than they are. Humility gives it its power." (Lao-Tzu)

"An over sharpened sword cannot last long." (Lao Tzu)

"As soon as you have made a thought, laugh at it." (Lao Tzu)

"As the soft yield of water cleaves obstinate stone,
So to yield with life solves the insolvable:
To yield, I have learned, is to come back again." (Lao-tzu)

"As to the roaming of sages,
They move in utter emptiness,
Let their minds meander in the great nothingness;
They run beyond convention
And go through where there is no gateway.
They listen to the soundless
And look at the formless,
They are not constrained by society
And not bound to its customs." (Lao Tzu)

"Be bent, and you will remain straight.
Be vacant, and you will remain full.
Be worn, and you will remain new." (Lao Tzu)

"Be content with what you have;
rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the whole world belongs to you." (Lao Tzu)

"Be still; Stillness reveals the secrets of eternity." (Lao Tzu)

"Because one believes in oneself,
one doesn't try to convince others.
Because one is content with oneself,
one doesn't need others' approval.
Because one accepts oneself,
the whole world accepts him or her." (Lao Tzu)

"Become totally empty,
Quiet the restlessness of the mind,
Only then will you witness everything unfolding from emptiness" (Lao Tzu)

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage." (Lao Tzu)

"Boasting of wealth and virtue brings your demise." (Lao Tzu)

"But when the universe becomes your self,
when you love the world as yourself,
all reality becomes your haven,
reinventing you as your own heaven." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"By letting go it all gets done." (Lao Tzu)

"By standing alone and unchanging, you will find that everything comes to you and the energy of the cosmos will never be exhausted." (Lao Tsu)

"Can your learned head take leaven from the wisdom of your heart?" (Lao Tzu)

"Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner." (Lao Tzu)

"Chanting is no more holy than listening to the murmur of a stream,
couting prayer beads no more scared than simply breathing,
religious robed no more spiritual than work clothes." (Lao Tzu)

"Clay is fashioned into vessels; but it is on their empty hollowness, that their use depends." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Clay is molded to make a vessel,
but the utility of the vessel lies in the space where there is nothing.
Thus, taking advantage of what is,
we recognize the utility of what is not." (Lao Tzu)

"Composure is the ruler of instability." (Lao Tzu)

"Conquering others requires force.

Conquering oneself requires strength." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Countless words count less 

than the silent balance between yin and yang" (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Do not conquer the world with force,
for force only causes resistance.
Thorns spring up when an army passes.
Years of misery follow a great victory.
Do only what needs to be done without using violence." (Lao Tzu)

"Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." (Lao Tzu)

"Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles

and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving till the

right action arises by itself?" (Lao Tzu)

"Do you imagine the universe is agitated? 

Go into the desert at night and look at the stars. 

This practice should answer the question." (Lao Tzu)

"Do you think that you can clear your mind by sitting constantly in silent meditation? This makes your mind narrow, not clear. Integral awareness is fluid and adaptable, present in all places and at all times. That is true meditation... . 

The Tao is clear and simple, and it doesn't avoid the world." (Lao Tzu)

"Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity." (Lao Tzu)

"Doing nothing is better than being busy doing nothing." (Lao Tzu)

"Easy gives rise to difficult ... resonance

harmonizes sound, after follows before." (Lao Tzu)

"Every step is on the path." (Lao Tzu)

"Everything flows." (Lao Tzu)

"Existence is beyond the power of words

To define:

Terms may be used

But are none of them absolute.

In the beginning of heaven and earth there were no words,

Words came out of the womb of matter;

And whether a man dispassionately

Sees to the core of life

Or passionately

Sees the surface,

The core and the surface

Are essentially the same,

Words making them seem different

Only to express appearance.

If name be needed, wonder names them both:

From wonder into wonder

Existence opens." (Lao Tzu)

"Failure is an opportunity.

If you blame someone else,

there is no end to the blame.

Therefore the Master

fulfills her own obligations

and corrects her own mistakes.

She does what she needs to do

and demands nothing of others." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Failure is the foundation of success, and the means by which it is achieved." (Lao-tzu)

"Figure out the rhythm of life and live in harmony with it." (Lao Tzu)

"Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill.
Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt."  (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Free from desire, you realize the mystery

caught in the desire, you see only the manifestations." (Lao Tzu)

"Give evil nothing to oppose and it will disappear by itself." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Give up virtue, renounce wisdom;

people will benefit a thousand times.

Give up kindness, renounce morality,

people will embrace love and filial piety.

Give up cleverness, renounce greed,

bandits and thieves will vanish." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Go to the people. Live with them, learn from them, love them." (Lao Tzu)

"Great acts are made up of small deeds." (Lao Tzu)

"He who acts, spoils; he who grasps, lets slip." (Lao Tzu)

"He who conquers others is strong; he who conquers himself is mighty." (Lao Tzu)

"He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still." (Lao Tzu)

"He who defends with love will be secure; Heaven will save him, and protect him with love." (Lao Tzu)

"He who knows much about others may be learned,

but he who understands himself is more intelligent.

He who controls others may be powerful,

but he who has mastered himself is mightier still." (Lao Tsu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"He who knows other men is discerning;

he who knows himself is intelligent.

He who overcomes others is strong;

he who overcomes himself is mighty.

He who is satisfied with his lot is rich;

he who goes on acting with energy has a (firm) will.

He who does not fail in the requirements of his position, continues long;

he who dies and yet does not perish, has longevity." (Lao Tzu)

"He who has no faith in others shall find no faith in them." (Lao Tzu)

"He who is contented is rich." (Lao Tzu)

"He who knows, does not speak. He who speaks, does not know." (Lao Tzu)

"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)

"He who talks more is sooner exhausted." (Lao Tzu)

"Health is the greatest possession. 

Contentment is the greatest treasure. 

Confidence is the greatest friend." (Lao Tzu)

"Heaven's net is wide, but its mesh is fine" (Lao Tzu)

"Hope and fear are both phantoms that arise from thinking of the self. When we don't see the self as self, what do we have to fear?" (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"How do coves and oceans become kings of the hundred rivers? 

Because they are good at keeping low - 

That is how they are kings of the hundred rivers. 

Nothing in the world is weaker than water, 

But it has no better in overcoming the hard." (Lao Tzu)

"I have three precious things which I hold fast and prize. The first is gentleness; the second is frugality; the third is humility, which keeps me from putting myself before others. Be gentle and you can be bold; be frugal and you can be liberal; avoid putting yourself before others and you can become a leader among men." (Lao Tzu)

"If a person seems wicked, do not cast him away. Awaken him with your words, elevate him with your deeds, repay his injury with your kindness. Do not cast him away; cast away his wickedness." (Lao Tzu)

"If I had just a little bit of wisdom
I should walk the great path and fear only straying from it." (Lao Tzu)

"If the force of arms is considered the only means of authority, it is not an auspicious instrument." (Lao Tzu)

"If we could renounce our sageness and discard our wisdom, it would be better for the people a hundredfold." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"If you are depressed you are living in the past. 

 If you are anxious you are living in the future. 

 If you are at peace you are living in the present." (Lao Tzu)

"If you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into place." (Lao Tzu)

"Integral wisdom involves a direct participation in every moment: the observer and the observed are dissolved in the light of pure awareness, and no mental concepts or attitudes are present to dim that light." (Lao Tzu) 

"If you try to change it, you will ruin it.
Try to hold it, and you will lose it." (Lao Tzu)

"If you understand others you are smart.
If you understand yourself you are illuminated.
If you overcome others you are powerful.
If you overcome yourself you have strength.
If you know how to be satisfied you are rich.
If you can act with vigor, you have a will.
If you don't lose your objectives you can be long-lasting.
If you die without loss, you are eternal." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"If you would take, you must first give, this is the beginning of intelligence." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don't try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present." (Lao Tzu)

"In order to contract a thing, one should surely expand it first.
In order to weaken, one will surely strengthen first.
In order to overthrow, one will surely exalt first.
‘In order to take, one will surely give first.’
This is called subtle wisdom.’" (Lao Tzu)

"In the end,
The treasure of life is missed by those who hold on
and gained by those who let go." (Lao Tzu)

"Is it not through her selflessness that she is able to perfect herself?" (Lao Tzu)

"It is because he is thus free from striving that therefore no one in the world is able to strive with him." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Just remain in the center; watching.
And then forget that you are there." (Lao Tzu)

"Kindness in words creates confidence,
kindness in thinking creates profoundness,
kindness in giving creates love." (Lao Tzu)

"Knowing how to yield is strength" (Lao Tzu)

"Knowing others is wisdom;
Knowing the self is enlightenment;
Mastering others requires force;
Mastering the self needs strength." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Let it be still, and it will gradually become clear." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Let movement go on, and the condition of rest will gradually arise." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes.
Don't resist them - that only creates sorrow.
Let reality be reality.
Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like." (Lao Tzu)

"Loss is not as bad as wanting more." (Lao Tzu)

"Love is of all the passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart, and the senses." (Lao Tzu)

"Manage affairs before they are in a mess." (Lao Tzu)

"Manifest plainness,
Embrace simplicity,
Reduce selfishness,
Have few desires." (Lao Tzu)

"Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished." (Lao Tzu)

"Nature's way is simple and easy, but men prefer the intricated and artificial." (Lao Tzu)

"New beginnings are often described as painful endings." (Lao Tzu)

"Not knowing that one knows is best," (Lao Tzu)

"Not seeking, not expecting, she is present, and can welcome all things." (Lao Tzu)

"Not to show them what is likely to excite their desires is the way to keep their minds from disorder." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it." (Lao Tzu)

"Our enemies are not demons, but human beings like ourselves" (Lao Tzu)

"Perfection is the willingness to be imperfect." (Lao Tzu)

"Possessing rare treasures brings about harmful behavior." (Lao Tzu)

"Purity and stillness give the correct law to all under heaven." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Quietly go to work on your own self-awareness.
If you want to awaken all of humanity,
then awaken all of yourself.
If you want to eliminate the suffering in the world,
then eliminate all that is dark and negative in yourself.
Truly, the greatest gift you have to give is that of your own self-transformation." (Lao Tzu)

"Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment." (Lao Tzu)

"Rushing into action, you fail.
Trying to grasp things, you lose them.
Forcing a project to completion,
you ruin what was almost ripe.

"Therefore the Master takes action
by letting things take their course.
He remains as calm at the end 
as at the beginning.
He has nothing,
thus has nothing to lose.
What he desires is non-desire;
what he learns is to unlearn.
He simply reminds people
of who they have always been.
He cares about nothing but the Tao.
Thus he can care for all things." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Simplicity has no name is free of desires.
Being free of desires it is tranquil.
And the world will be at peace of it's own accord." (Lao Tzu)

"Simplicity, patience, compassion.
These three are your greatest treasures.
Simple in actions and thoughts, you return to the source of being.
Patient with both friends and enemies,
you accord with the way things are.
Compassionate toward yourself,
you reconcile all beings in the world." (Lao Tzu)

"So it is that existence and non-existence give birth the one to (the idea of) the other;" (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"So it is that some things are increased by being diminished, and others are diminished by being increased." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"So the unwanting soul sees what's hidden, and the ever-wanting soul sees only what it wants." (Lao Tzu)

"Softness triumphs over hardness, feebleness over strength. What is more malleable is always superior over that which is immoveable. This is the principle of controlling things by going along with them, of mastery through adaptation." (Lao-Tzu)

"Spring comes, and the grass grows by itself." (Lao Tzu)

"Stop leaving and you will arrive.
Stop searching and you will see.
Stop running away and you will be found." (Lao Tzu)

"Success is as dangerous as failure.
Hope is as hollow as fear." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Take care with the end as you do with the beginning." (Lao Tzu)

"The best fighter is never angry." (Lao Tzu)

"The difficult problems in life always start off being simple. Great affairs always start off being small." (Lao Tzu, cca 400 BC)

"The excellence of water appears in its benefiting all things, and in its occupying, without striving (to the contrary), the low place which all men dislike." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"The first is gentleness; the second is economy; and the third is shrinking from taking precedence of others." (Lao Tzu)

"The flame that burns Twice as bright burns half as long." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"The flexible are preserved unbroken. The bent become straight. The empty are filled. The exhausted become renewed. The poor are enriched. The rich are confounded. Therefore the sage embraces the one. Because he doesn't display himself, people can see his light. Because he has nothing to prove, people can trust his words. Because he doesn't know who he is, people recognize themselves in him. Because he has no goal in mind, everything he does succeeds. The old saying that the flexible are preserved unbroken is surely right! If you have truely attained wholeness, everything will flock to you." (Lao Tzu)

"The further one goes, the less one knows." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"The hard and mighty lie beneath the ground
While the tender and weak dance on the breeze above." (Lao Tzu)

"The inner is foundation of the outer, the still is master of the restless
The Sage travels all day, yet never leaves his inner treasure" (Lao Tzu)

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." (Lao Tzu)

"The kingdom is a spirit-like thing, and cannot be got by active doing."  (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"The knowledge of that unchanging rule produces a (grand) capacity and forbearance, and that capacity and forbearance lead to a community (of feeling with all things)."  (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"The master dwells in the substantial and not in the superficial. Rests in the fruit and not in the flower." (Lao Tzu)

"The master leads
by emptying people's minds
and filling their cores,
by weakening their ambition
and toughening their resolve." (Lao Tzu)

"The master observes the world but trusts his inner vision.
He allows things to come and go.
He prefers what is within to what is without." (Lao Tzu)

"The reason why heaven and earth are able to endure and continue thus long is because they do not live of, or for, themselves." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"The reason why the universe is eternal is that it does not live for itself; it gives life to others as it transforms." (Lao Tzu)

"The road you can talk about is not the road you can walk on." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"The ruler attains wholeness in the correct governance of the people." (Lao Tzu)

"The sage avoids excess, extravagance and indulgence." (Lao Tzu)

"The sage carries on his business without action and gives his teachings without words." (Lao Tzu)

"The sage has in the world an appearance of indecision, and keeps his mind in a state of indifference to all." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"The sage produces without possessing, acts without expectations, and accomplishes without abiding in her accomplishments. It is precisely because she does not abide in them that they never leave her." (Lao Tzu)

"The Sage sees the world as an expansion of his own self
So what need has he to accumulate things?" (Lao Tzu)

"The scholar gains every day;
the man of Tao loses every day" (Lao Tzu)

"The skillful traveller leaves no traces of his wheels or footsteps" (Lao Tzu)

"The slaying of multitudes should be mourned with sorrow. A victory should be celebrated with the funeral rite." (Lao Tzu)

"The snow goose need not bathe to make itself white. Neither need you do anything but be yourself." (Lao Tzu)

"The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world. Through this I know the advantage of taking no action." (Lao Tzu)

"The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. 
The name that can be named is not the eternal Name. 
The unnameahle is the eternally real. 
Naming is the origin of all particular things. 
Free from desire, you realize the mystery. 
Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations." (Lao Tzu)

"The truth is not always beautiful, nor beautiful words the truth." (Lao Tzu)

"The Way of Heaven is to benefit others and not to injure.
The Way of the sage is to act but not to compete." (Lao Tzu)

"The way of heaven is to help and not harm." (Lao Tzu)

"The Way to do is to be." (Lao Tzu)

"The wise man acts without expectation of reward and completes his task without claiming merit." (Lao Tzu)

"The wise man is one who, knows, what he does not know." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"The Wise Man is square but not sharp, honest but not not malign, straight but not severe, bright but not dazzling." (Lao Tzu)

"There are few in the world who attain to the teaching without words, and the advantage arising from non-action." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"There are ways, but the Way is uncharted;
There are names but not nature in words:
Nameless indeed is the source of creation.
But things have a mother and she has a name." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"There is a time to live and a time to die, but never to reject the moment." (Lao Tzu)

"There is no calamity greater than lightly engaging in war." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"There is no disaster greater than not being content; There is no misfortune greater than being covetous." (Lao Tzu)

"There is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent." (Lao Tzu)

"There is no illusion greater than fear." (Lao Tzu)

"There is nothing better than to know that you don’t know.
Not knowing, yet thinking your know -
This is sickness.
Only when you are sick of being sick
Can you be cured." (Lao Tsu)

"There was something formless and perfect 
before the universe was born. 
It is serene. Empty. 
Solitary. Unchanging. 
Infinite. Eternally present. 
It is the mother of the universe. 
For lack of a better name, 
I call it the Tao." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"Therefore he who would administer the kingdom, honouring it as he honours his own person, may be employed to govern it, and he who would administer it with the love which he bears to his own person may be entrusted with it." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"This returning to their root is what we call the state of stillness; and that stillness may be called a reporting that they have fulfilled their appointed end." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching")

"Those who have tempered themselves are not afraid of encountering tigers." (Lao Tsu)

"Those who justify themselves do not convince." (Lao Tzu)

"These are notions of the mind, which is like a knife, always chipping away at the Tao, trying to render it graspable and manageable. But that which is beyond form is ungraspable, and that which is beyond knowing is unmanageable. There is, however, this consolation: She who lets go of the knife will find the Tao at her fingertips." (Lao Tzu)

"To a mind that is still the whole universe surrenders." (Lao Tzu)

"To attain knowledge, add things everyday. To attain wisdom, remove things every day." (Lao Tzu)

"To be worn out is to be renewed." (Lao Tzu)

"To bear and not to own;
to act and not lay claim;
to do the work and let it go:
for just letting it go is what makes it stay." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"To hold, you must first open your hand. Let go" (Lao Tzu)

"True perfection seems imperfect,
yet it is perfectly itself.
True fullness seems empty,
yet it is fully present.

True straightness seems crooked.
True wisdom seems foolish.
True art seems artless." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching")

"Wasting energy to obtain rare objects only impedes one's growth." (Lao Tzu)

"Water is the softest thing, yet it can penetrate mountains and earth. This shows clearly the principle of softness overcoming hardness." (Lao Tzu)

"What is firmly rooted cannot be pulled out." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"What is is the was of what shall be." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching")

"What the caterpillar calls the end, the rest of the world calls a butterfly." (Lao Tzu)

"When all in the world understand beauty to be beautiful, then ugliness exists; when all understand goodness to be good, then evil exists." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching")

"When all in the world understand beauty to be beautiful, then ugliness exists; when all understand goodness to be good, then evil exists." (Lao Tzu)

"When goodness is lost there is morality." (Lao Tzu)

"When men lost their understanding of the Tao, intelligence came along, bringing hypocrisy with it." (Lao Tzu)

"When nothing is done, nothing is left undone." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"When people act overly nice, I always wonder about their motives." (Lao Tze)

"When people see some things as beautiful, other things become ugly.
When people see some things as good, other things become bad." (Lao Tzu)

"When pure sincerity forms within, it is outwardly realized in other people's hearts." (Lao Tzu)

"When the great Too is forgotten,
virtue and morality arise.
When knowledge and intelligence are born,
the great pretense begins.
When there is no harmony within the family,
filial piety and devotion arise.
When the country is confused and in chaos,
loyal officials appear." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"When the Master governs, the people
are hardly aware that he exists.
Next best is a leader who is loved.
Next, one who is feared.
The worst is one who is despised.

If you don't trust people,
you make them untrustworthy.

The Master doesn't talk, he acts.
When his work is done,
the people say, "Amazing:
we did it, all by ourselves!" (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"When the work is done, and one's name is becoming distinguished, to withdraw into obscurity is the way of Heaven." (Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching", cca 400 BC)

"When things flourish they decline." (Lao Tzu)

Week 2023-19: Confucius - Collected Quotes

Disclaimer: some of the quotes might be incorrectly attributed. 

"A common man marvels at uncommon things; a wise man marvels at the commonplace." (Confucius)

"A man who has committed a mistake and doesn't correct it is committing another mistake." (Confucius)

"A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions." (Confucius)

"Ability will never catch up with the demand for it." (Confucius)

"An oppressive government is more to be feared than a tiger." (Confucius)

"And remember, no matter where you go, there you are." (Confucius)

"At first, my method with others was to listen to what they said, and expect them to act accordingly. Now, my method is to listen to what they say, and then observe what they do." (Confucius)

"Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes." (Confucius)

"Committing oneself to unsuitable teachings [/ methods] is no good." (Confucius)

"Consider people based on the way they come to you, not what they will do when they leave [based on their past experiences]… If someone purifies his mind to approach me, I accept his [current] pureness, without becoming a sponsor of his past." (Confucius)

"Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire." (Confucius)

"Don’t be concerned that you have no position; be concerned how you may fit yourself to occupy one. Don’t be concerned with being unknown; be concerned with being worthy of being known." (Confucius)

"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." (Confucius)

"Faced with what is right, to leave it undone shows a lack of courage." (Confucius)

"Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses." (Confucius)

"Good people strengthen themselves ceaselessly." (Confucius)

"Have no friends not equal to yourself." (Confucius)

"He does something [that he would talk about] first, and then speaks according to his actions." (Confucius)

"He who governs by way of virtue [/ excellence] can be compared to the [North] Pole Star, which keeps its place while all the other stars position themselves around it." (Confucius)

"He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger." (Confucius)

"He who reviews old knowledge and continues to learn new knowledge is fit to teach others." (Confucius)

"He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good." (Confucius)

"I am not someone born with wisdom - but I love teachings, and have diligently sought them." (Confucius)

"I don’t teach the student who isn’t eager to learn, nor do I help anyone who isn’t eager to express himself. If I present one corner of a subject and the student cannot use it to learn the other three, I won’t repeat my lesson." (Confucius)

"I have yet to find a person who loves virtue as much as sex." (Confucius)

"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." (Confucius)

"I know that birds can fly, fish can swim, and animals run. For those that run a net may be set, for those that swim a line cast, and for those that fly an arrow set free. But a dragon's ascent to heaven walks the wind and swims through clouds, and I know of no way to trap him. Today I have met Lao Tzu, who is both man and dragon."" (Confucius) 

"I will not fret over being unknown to others; I will fret that I do not know them." (Confucius)

"If there is righteousness in the heart,
there will be beauty in the character.
If there is beauty in the character,
there will be harmony in the home.
If there is harmony in the home,
there will be order in the nation.
If there is order in the nation,
there will be peace in the world." (Confucius)

"If we don't know life, how can we know death?" (Confucius)

"If you govern people with laws and control them by punishment, they will seek to avoid punishment, but have no sense of Confucianism shame. If you govern them by virtue and control them with properness, they will have their own sense of shame, and guide themselves into doing good." (Confucius)

"If you look into your own heart, and you find nothing wrong there, what is there to worry about? What is there to fear?" (Confucius)

"Isn’t it a pleasure to consistently study, and apply what you have learned?" (Confucius)

"It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop." (Confucius)

"Knowing the truth is not as good as loving it; loving it is not as good as delighting in it." (Confucius)

"Learning without thought is labour lost; thought without learning is perilous," (Confucius)

"Man can make System great; it isn’t System which makes man great." (Confucius)

"My students, do you think I conceal things from you? I don’t conceal anything from you - there is nothing that I do that is not made known to you. This is the real me." (Confucius)

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." (Confucius)

"See a person’s actions. Observe his motives. Examine in what things he rests. How can a person conceal his character?" (Confucius)

"Study the past if you would divine the future." (Confucius)

"Study without reflection is a waste of time; reflection without study is dangerous." (Confucius)

"The essence of knowledge is, having it, to apply it; not having it, to confess your ignorance." (Confucius)

"The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials." (Confucius)

"The grass must bend when the wind blows across it." (Confucius)

"The man of wisdom is never of two minds; the man of benevolence never worries; the man of courage is never afraid.” (Confucius)

"The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large." (Confucius)

"The object of the superior man is truth." (Confucius)

"The real fault is to have faults and not try to mend them." (Confucius)

"The scholar who cherishes the love of comfort is not fit to be deemed a scholar." (Confucius)

"The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home." (Confucius)

"The superior man acts before he speaks, and afterwards speaks according to his action." (Confucius)

"The superior man is modest in his speech, but excels in his actions." (Confucius)

"The superior man makes the difficulty to be overcome his first interest; success comes only later." (Confucius)

"The superior person does not try to stuff himself when he eats… [and] is diligent in his work and careful in speech… Such a person is someone who can definitely be considered to love learning." (Confucius)

"The superior person is calm and composed; the lesser person is continuously worried and distressed." (Confucius)

"The superior person is concerned with his character; 
the lesser person cares only about his wealth." (Confucius)

"The superior person is perceptive and not biased. The lesser person is biased and not perceptive." (Confucius)

"The way of a superior man is threefold: Virtuous, he is free from anxieties; wise, he is free from perplexities; bold, he is free from fear." (Confucius)

"They must often change, who would be constant in happiness or wisdom." (Confucius)

"To be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it." (Confucius)

"To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short." (Confucius)

"To know that one knows what one knows, and to know that one doesn't know what one doesn't know, there lies true wisdom." (Confucius)

"To know what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice." (Confucius)

"To lead an untrained people to war is to throw them away." (Confucius)

"To learn without thinking, one will be lost in his learning. To think without learning, one will be imperiled." (Confucius)

"To merely know is nothing compared to being interested to know, being interested to know is nothing compared to deriving joy from learning it." (Confucius)

"To practice five things under all circumstances constitutes perfect virtue; these five are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness." (Confucius)

"To see what is right, and not do it, is want of courage." (Confucius)

"Unify your attention.  Do not listen with your ears, but with your mind. Do not listen with your mind but with your essence." (Confucius)

"We should feel sorrow, but not sink under its oppression." (Confucius)

"What I hear, I forget. What I see, I remember. What I do, I understand." (Confucius)

"What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others." (Confucius)

"What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others." (Confucius)

"When anger rises, think of the consequences." (Confucius)

"When anger rises, think of the consequences." (Confucius)

"When I am with others, they are my teachers. I can select their good points and follow them, and select their bad points and avoid them." (Confucius)

"When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps." (Confucius)

"When raw nature dominates training, you will be rustic. When training dominates raw nature, you will be clerical. When raw nature and training are combined well, you will be a superior person." (Confucius)

"When the mind is not present, we look and do not see; we hear and do not understand; we eat and do not know the taste of what we eat." (Confucius)

"When the superior person deals with the world, he does not prejudice his mind for or against anything - he just follows what is right." (Confucius)

"When we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves." (Confucius)

"When we see persons of worth, we should think of equaling them; when we see persons of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves." (Confucius)

"When you have faults, do not stop yourself from abandoning them." (Confucius)

"When you know a thing, to hold that you know it, and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it - this is knowledge."  (Confucius)

"When you meet someone better than yourself, turn your thoughts to becoming his equal. When you meet someone not as good as you are, look within and examine your own self." (Confucius)

"When you see good [qualities] in a person, think of how to rise to that level. When you see bad [qualities] in a person, reflect inwards and examine your weak points." (Confucius)

"Whenever I walk among two other people, it does not matter their social status and accomplishments; at least one of them will be able to teach me the knowledge that I do not possess." (Confucius)

"Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart." (Confucius)

"Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men from beasts?" (Confucius)

"Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know men." (Confucius)

"You can successfully force people to follow a certain course, but you cannot force them to understand it." (Confucius)

"You cannot open a book without learning something." (Confucius)

Week 2023-18: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - Collected Quotes

"In anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away [...]" (Antoine de Saint Exupéry, "Wind, Sand and Stars", 1939)

"The machine does not isolate man from the great problems of nature but plunges him more deeply into them." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, "Wind, Sand, and Stars", 1939)

"Life always bursts the boundaries of formulas." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, "Flight to Arras", 1942)

"Man is a knot, a web, a mesh into which relationships are tied. Only those relationships matter." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, "Flight to Arras", 1942)

"The field of consciousness is tiny. It accepts only one problem at a time. Get into a fist fight, put your mind on the strategy of the fight, and you will not feel the other fellow's punches." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, "Flight to Arras", 1942)

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, "The Little Prince", 1943)

"The thing that is important is the thing that is not seen." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, "The Little Prince", 1943)

"The meaning of things lies not in the things themselves but in our attitude toward them." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, "Wisdom of the Sands", 1948)

"Your task is not to foresee the future, but to enable it." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, "Wisdom of the Sands", 1948)

"A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral."

"A single event can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

"Freedom and constraint are two aspects of the same necessity, the necessity of being the man you are, and not another. You are free to be that man, but not free to be another."(Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

"If you want to build a boat, do not instruct the men to saw wood, stitch the sails, prepare the tools and organize the work, but make them long for setting sail and travel to distant lands."(Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

"It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

"Life has a meaning only if one barters it day by day for something other than itself." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

"Pure logic is the ruin of the spirit." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

"There is no hope or joy except in human relations." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

"To be a man is, precisely, to be responsible." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

"War is not an adventure. It is a disease. It is like typhus." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

"What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

"You become responsible forever for what you have tamed." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

"You give birth to that on which you fix your mind." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

Week 2023-17: Carl G Jung - Collected Quotes

"Intuition does not denote something contrary to reason, but something outside of the province of reason." (Carl G Jung, "Psychological types: or, The psychology of individuation", 1926)

"The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves. " (Carl G Jung, "Psychological types: or, The psychology of individuation", 1926)

"The meaning and design of a problem seem not to lie in its solution, but in our working at it incessantly." (Carl G Jung, "Modern Man in Search of a Soul", 1933)

"By a symbol I do not mean an allegory or a sign, but an image that describes in the best possible way the dimly discerned nature of the spirit. A symbol does not define or explain; it points beyond itself to a meaning that is darkly divined yet still beyond our grasp, and cannot be adequately expressed in the familiar words of our language." (Carl G Jung, "The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche", 1960)

"Language, in its origin and essence, is simply a system of signs or symbols that denote real occurrences or their echo in the human soul." (Carl G Jung, "The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche", 1960)

"Once we give serious consideration to the hypothesis of the unconscious, it follows that our view of the world can be but a provisional one; for if we effect so radical an alteration in the subject of perception and cognition as this dual focus implies, the result must be a world view very different from any known before." (Carl G Jung, "The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche", 1960)

"We want to have certainties and no doubts - results and no experiments - without even seeing that certainties can arise only through doubt and results only thorough experiment." (Carl G Jung, "The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche", 1960)

"Myth is more individual and expresses life more precisely than does science. Science works with concepts of averages which are far too general to do justice to the subjective variety of an individual life." (Carl G Jung, "Memories, Dreams, Reflections", 1963)

"A dream that is not understood remains a mere occurrence; understood it becomes a living experience." (Carl G Jung, "The Practice of Psychotherapy", 1966)

"Madness is a special form of the spirit and clings to all teachings and philosophies, but even more to daily life, since life itself is full of craziness and at bottom utterly illogical. Man strives toward reason only so that he can make rules for himself. Life itself has no rules. That is its mystery and its unknown law. What you call knowledge is an attempt to impose something comprehensible on life." (Carl G Jung, "Liber Novus", 2009)

"Continuous creation is to be thought of not only as a series of successive acts of creation, but also as the eternal presence of the one creative act." (Carl G Jung)

"Error is just as important a condition of life as truth." (Carl G Jung)

"Intuition is perception via the unconscious that brings forth ideas, images, new possibilities and ways out of blocked situations." (Carl G Jung)

"It would be simple enough, if only simplicity were not the most difficult of all things." (Carl G Jung)

"The squaring of the circle is a stage on the way to the unconscious, a point of transition leading to a goal lying as yet unformulated beyond it. It is one of those paths to the centre." (Carl G Jung)

"Ultimate truth, if there be such a thing, demands the concert of many voices." (Carl G Jung)

Week 2023-16: Albert Einstein - Collected Quotes

"Most teachers waste their time by asking questions which are intended to discover what a pupil does not know whereas the true art of questioning has for its purpose to discover what the pupil knows or is capable of knowing." (Albert Einstein, 1920)

"Creating a new theory is not like destroying an old barn and erecting a skyscraper in its place. It is rather like climbing a mountain, gaining new and wider views, discovering unexpected connections between our starting point and its rich environment. But the point from which we started out still exists and can be seen, although it appears smaller and forms a tiny part of our broad view gained by the mastery of the obstacles on our adventurous way up." (Albert Einstein & Leopold Infeld, "The Evolution of Physics", 1938)

"The formulation of a problem is often more essential than its solution, which may be merely a matter of mathematical or experimental skill. To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle requires creative imagination and marks real advances in science." (Albert Einstein & Leopold Infeld, "The Evolution of Physics", 1938)

"The words of the language, as they are written or spoken, do not seem to play any role in any mechanism of thought. The physical entities which seem to serve as elements in thought are certain signs and more or less clear images which can be 'voluntarily' reproduced or combined. […]  But taken from a psychological viewpoint, this combinatory play seems to be the essential feature in productive thought - before there is any connection with logical construction in words or other kinds of signs which can be communicated to others. The above-mentioned elements are, in my case, of visual and some of muscular type. Conventional words or other signs have to be sought for laboriously only in a secondary stage, when the mentioned associative play is sufficiently established and can be reproduced at will. " (Albert Einstein, [letter to Hadamard, in (Jacques Hadamard, "The Psychology of Invention in the Mathematical Field,1945)])

"It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. " (Albert Einstein)

"It is an outcome of faith that nature - as she is perceptible to our five senses - takes the character of such a well formulated puzzle. " (Albert Einstein)

"That deep emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible universe, forms my idea of God. " (Albert Einstein)

"The aim [of education] must be the training of independently acting and thinking individuals who, however, see in the service to the community their highest life achievement." (Albert Einstein)

"The truth of a theory is in your mind, not in your eyes." (Albert Einstein)

"Truth is what stands the test of experience. " (Albert Einstein)

"We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them." (Albert Einstein)

"What I’m really interested in is whether God could have made the world in a different way; that is, whether the necessity of logical simplicity leaves any freedom at all. " (Albert Einstein)