#36: Wisdom Quotes
Below are quotes that resonate, from Leo Tolstoy’s ‘A Calendar Of Wisdom’.
[1]
Act during the day so that you can sleep soundly at night, and in your youth so that you can have a calm old age. – Indian proverb
[2]
If your own faith is weak, you will be unable to awaken faith in others. – Lao-tzu
[3]
We cannot comprehend the final goal of our life and of the world any more than a workman, in gathering building materials, can understand either the structure or the purpose of the proposed building. But we can and do know that in the structure we are helping to build there is something rational, beautiful and necessary for us and for the entire world. This is the essence of faith. – Tolstoy
[4]
Do not put your faith in what you and other people say; put your faith only in what you and other people do. – Tolstoy
[5]
In itself, truth is not a virtue, but it is an essential condition of everything good. – Tolstoy
[6]
The blessed and sacred nature of truth immeasurably surpasses all joys. – Buddhist wisdom
[7]
We must constantly learn to do, speak and think the truth. It is only when we begin to do that that we shall understand how far we are removed from it. – Tolstoy
[8]
Love is a dangerous word. In the name of love for the family all kinds of evil acts are committed; in the name of love for one’s country even worse acts are committed; and in the name of love for mankind the worst acts of all are committed. It has been known that love gives meaning to human life, but what exactly is love? The wise people of this world have tried endlessly to answer this question, but have always come up with a negative answer. It turns out that that which has incorrectly gone under the label of love is not love at all. – Tolstoy
[9]
A branch that has been separated from a bough has also been separated from the whole tree. When someone is in conflict with someone else he becomes separated from the whole of mankind. But the branch is cut off by someone else, whereas people alienate themselves from their neighbour with their malicious hatred – unaware, it is true, that they are thereby cutting themselves off from the whole of mankind. But the diivine force summoning people to live together like brothers has given them the ability and the freedom to become reconciled again after their quarrel. – Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
[10]
Even the fittest and healthiest people can fall ill, large amounts of wealth can disappear, and even the greatest power can be undermined. Everything is transient and liable to decay, and those who stake their all on such things as good health, wealth and power will always lead fearful, anxious and tormented lives. They will never be able to achieve what they want, and will be afflicted with precisely what they want to avoid. – Epictetus, Discourses