Quotes from the Dead: Aristotle— Chandragupta Maurya

To consider but not believe, page 5For context, see Quotes from the Dead Intro: An endeavor to identify recorded sapience that may matter

For context, see Quotes from the Dead Intro: An endeavor to identify recorded sapience that may matter

Quotes Cultural Physicians Yet Unborn May Value

• “The end of democracy is freedom; of oligarchy, wealth; of aristocracy, the maintenance of education and national institutions; of tyranny, the protection of the tyrant.” — Aristotle 382–322 BCE, philosopher and polymath
• “Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.” — Aristotle
• “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” ― Aristotle
• “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” ― Aristotle
• “If things do not turn out as we wish, we should wish for them as they turn out.” — Aristotle
• “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” — Aristotle
• “The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance; for this is the true reality.” — Aristotle
• “The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.” — Aristotle
• “The artistic representation of history is a more scientific and serious pursuit than the exact writing of history. For the art of letters goes to the heart of things, whereas the factual report merely collocates details.” — Aristotle
• “Wise men speak when they have something to say, fools speak because they have to say something” ― Aristotle
• “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” ― Aristotle
• “Myths — because of their utility in regard to social customs and the public good — were introduced to persuade the multitude.” — Aristotle
• “It is not always the same thing to be a good man and a good citizen.” — Aristotle
• “No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness… To lead an orchestra, you must turn your back on the crowd.” — Aristotle
• “I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self.” — Aristotle
• “Hope is a waking dream.” ― Aristotle
• “Those who educate children well are more to be honored than they who produce them; for these only gave them life, those the art of living well.” ― Aristotle

• “If leaders don’t interfere with the seasons of husbandry, grain will be more than can be eaten. If tight nets are banned from pools and ponds, fish and turtles will be more than can be used. If axes and saws can only enter forests at proper times, there will be more wood than can be used.” — Mencius 372–289 BCE
• “What does ‘understanding words’ mean? With half-truths, it means knowing what is concealed; with seductive words, knowing the trap created; with deceitful words, seeing the lies; with evasive words, understanding the desperation behind the language.” — Mencius

• “He who knows he is a fool is not the biggest fool; He who knows he is confused is not in the worst confusion.” — Chuang Tzu, aka Zhuangzi 369–286 BCE, philosophical Daoist
• “Chuang-tzu’s wife died. When Hui-tzu came to offer his condolences, he found him pounding on a tub and singing… Chuang-tzu said, ‘The same process that brought her to birth, in time brought her to death, as naturally as fall turns into winter and spring into summer… if I went around wailing and pounding my chest, it would only show that I didn’t understand the first thing about reality.’” — Chuang Tzu
• “Destruction of Tao and character in order to strive for humanity and justice — this is the error of the sages.” — Chuang Tzu
• “The fish trap exists because of the fish. Once you’ve gotten the fish you can forget the trap. The rabbit snare exists because of the rabbit. Once you’ve gotten the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words exist because of meaning. Once you’ve gotten the meaning, you can forget the words. Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can talk with him?” ― Zhuangzi
• “No self is true self and the greatest man is nobody.” — Chuang Tzu
• “The words of arguments are all relative. To reach the absolute, the truth, we have to harmonize opposites and follow their natural evolution.” — Chuang Tzu
• “A path is made by walking on it.” ― Chuang Tzu
• “People usually look at things from their personal point of view and therefore miss the truth.” — Chuang Tzu
• “When an archer is shooting for nothing, he has all his skill… But the prize divides him… He thinks more of winning than of shooting — the need to win drains him of power.” — Chuang Tzu
• “He does not struggle to make money and does not make a virtue of poverty. He goes his way without relying on others and does not pride himself on walking alone.” — Chuang Tzu
• “He who knows he is a fool is not the biggest fool; He who knows he is confused is not in the worst confusion.” — Chuang Tzu
• “To start from nowhere and follow no road is the first step.” — Chuang Tzu
• “Like water that becomes clear when left alone, the wise make no plans and casually adjust themselves to events.” — Chuang Tzu
• “Prisoners to the world of objects, they are pressed down and crushed by fashion, the market, events, public opinion… never do they recover their right mind.” — Chuang Tzu
• “No self is true self and the greatest man is nobody.” — Chuang Tzu
• “Happiness is the absence of the striving for happiness.” — Chuang Tzu
• “Forget the years, forget distinctions. Leap into the boundless and make it your home.” — Chuang Tzu
• “The purpose of a fish trap is to catch fish, and when the fish are caught, the trap is forgotten. The purpose of words is to convey ideas. When the ideas are grasped, the words are forgotten. Where can I find a man who has forgotten the words, so that I can talk to him?” — Chuang Tzu
• “Complete people have no self, spiritual people have no merit, saintly people have no name.” — Chuang Tzu
• “Achievement is the beginning of failure. Fame is the beginning of disgrace.” — Chuang Tzu
• “To act without needing a reason… to ride the current of what is — this is the primal virtue.” — Chuang Tzu
• “If we are content with whatever happens and follow the flow, joy and sorrow cannot affect us. This is what the ancients called freedom from bondage.” — Chuang Tzu
• “Chuang Tzu dreamed that he was a butterfly. When he woke up he wondered if was Chuang Tzu dreaming he was a butterfly or now a butterfly dreaming it was Chuang Tzu.” — Chuang Tzu
• “During our dreams we do not know we are dreaming. We may even dream of interpreting a dream. Only on waking do we know it was a dream. Only after the great awakening will we realize that this is the great dream.” ― Zhuangzi
• “The man of spirit hates to see people gather around him. He avoids the crowd… There is nothing to be gained from the support of a lot of half-wits who are doomed to end up in a fight with each other.” — Chuang Tzu
• “The wise do not rejoice when they succeed or lament when they fail because they know that conditions aren’t constant” — Chuang Tzu
• “Like a person whose senses function properly each in its own field but do not cooperate with one another, philosophers emphasize one particular aspect and hold on to it… philosophy is thus cut up and falls apart.” — Chuang Tzu
• “Beware when the so-called sagely men come limping into sight.” — Chuang Tzu
• “Perfect kindness does not concern itself with kindness… Kindness that has fixed objects loses its integrity.” — Chuang Tzu
• “The master understands that there is nothing to understand.” — Chuang Tzu
• “How can speech be so obscured that there should be a distinction of right and wrong? Can we, or can we not, distinguish it from the chirping of young birds?” — Chuang Tzu
• “Give a ceremonial bath to your mind! Light comes from darkness, predicables from the formless, life springs into existence without a visible source, disappears into infinity.” — Chuang Tzu
• “Forget the years, forget distinctions. Leap into the boundless and make it your home.” — Chuang Tzu
• “The sound of water says what I think.” — Chuang Tzu
• “Nowadays I see with my whole being not with my eyes. I sense the natural lines, and my knife slides through by itself… I stand there and let the joy of the work fill me.” — Chuang Tzu
• “Water is for fish and air for men. Natures differ, and needs with them. Hence the wise men of old did not lay down one measure for all.” — Chuang Tzu
• “Do not let the artificial obliterate the natural; do not let will obliterate destiny; do not let virtue be sacrificed to fame” — Chuang Tzu
• “Reality is ever elusive and formless, all life is constant change.” — Chuang Tzu
• “To start from nowhere and follow no road is the first step.” — Chuang Tzu
• “Not-doing [wu wei] is the opposite of inaction. Because acting without effort, each job does itself in its own time.” — Chuang Tzu
• “The ancients ruled the world by [wu wei] doing nothing. This is the Virtue of Heaven — Heaven moves without moving.” — Chuang Tzu
• “Those who dream of the banquet wake up to lamentation and sorrow.” — Zhuangzi

• “You shouldn’t rely on what you believe to be true. You might be mistaken. Everything can be questioned, everything doubted. The best option, then, is to keep an open mind. — Pyrrho c. 360–270 BCE, philosophical skeptic
• “We know nothing about reality, for truth lies in the deeps.” — Pyrrho
• “Every reason has a corresponding reason against it.” — Pyrrho

• “There is no such thing as justice in the abstract; it is merely a compact between men.” — Epicurus 341–270 BCE, philosopher and sage (cultural physician)
• “He who is not satisfied with a little, is satisfied with nothing.” — Epicurus
• “The wealth required by nature is limited and is easy to procure; but the wealth required by vain ideals extends to infinity.” ― Epicurus
• “I have never wished to cater to the crowd; for what I know they do not approve, and what they approve I do not know.” — Epicurus
• “If the gods listened to the prayers of men, all humankind would quickly perish since they constantly pray for many evils to befall one another.” ― Epicurus
• “There is no such thing as justice in the abstract; it is merely a compact between men.” — Epicurus
• “The art of living well and the art of dying well are one.” — Epicurus
• “We cannot enjoy full happiness, untroubled by suffering unless we realize the nature of things.” — Epicurus
• “Vain is the word of a philosopher which does not heal any human suffering. Just as there is no profit in medicine if it does not cure a disease of the body, to there is no profit in philosophy if it does not cure suffering of the mind.” — Epicurus
• “Everything natural is easily procured, and only the useless is costly.” — Epicurus
• “Death, therefore, the most awful of evils, is nothing to us, seeing that, when we are, death is not come, and, when death is come, we are not.” ―Epicurus
• “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?” ―Epicurus
• “He who is not satisfied with a little, is satisfied with nothing.” — Epicurus

• “You can win over a greedy person by offering money, a proud person by cowering, a foolish one by agreeing with him; but you can only win over the wise with truth.” — Chandragupta Maurya 340–297 BCE, founder of the Maurya Empire
• “Once one has made a decision, one should not turn back and revisit it. Those that keep turning to look back at their decisions do not make history.” — Chandragupta Maurya

Eric Lee
aka H.narrator

Quotes To Consider but Not Believe

Page 0 Introduction

Includes links to posted pages and unposted drafts viewable by Medium members.