Philodemos
Everything’s uncertain. Except that my soul is burning.— Philodemos
Category: Ancient Philosophy
Socrates
Be as you wish to seem. — Socrates 469 BC – 399 BC
Aristotle
We live in deeds, not years; in thoughts not breaths; in feelings, not in figures on a dial. We should count time by heart throbs. He most lives who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best. — Aristotle (384–322 BC)
Philostratus
The gods perceive what lies in the future, and mortals, what occurs in the present, but wise men apprehend what is imminent. — Philostratus, Life of Apolloniur of Tyans, VII, 7. Edited by Christopher P. Jones, vol. 1 (Books I-IV) & 2 (Books V-VIII), Harvard University Press, Cambridge (Mass.) 2005 (Loeb Classical Library no. 16… Continue reading Philostratus
Marcus Aurelius
Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present. ― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations. (Penguin Classics, October 31, 2006) Originally published 180 C.E.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca
What fortune has made yours is not your own. ― Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Letters from a Stoic. Trans Robin Campbell. (Penguin Books; Reprint edition, July 30, 1969)
Marcus Aurelius
Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them. ― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations. (Penguin Classics, October 31, 2006) Originally published 180 C.E
Liu Ch’ang
The moon, emerging, Floats where clouds are not; Wind rises, Strikes the purity of night, Stars compete In trembling flickers, The Milky Way is empty, Clear, and bright. Old trees’ sparse shadows Intersperse. Scared birds cut off their Noises lingering. This autumn I am rapt In what’s already awry, While crickets campaign Again at night.… Continue reading Liu Ch’ang
Horace
The aim of the poet is to inform or delight, or to combine together, in what he says, both pleasure and applicability to life. In instructing, be brief in what you say in order that your readers may grasp it quickly and retain it faithfully. Superfluous words simply spill out when the mind is already… Continue reading Horace
Horace
Few cross the river of time and are able to reach non-being. Most of them run up and down only on this side of the river. But those who when they know the law follow the path of the law, they shall reach the other shore and go beyond the realm of death. – Horace
The Vale of Soul-Making 