Bits of Wisdom #1 : Aristotle

From the ancient till modern times, Greece has been the homeland for many important historical events and people who have marked the history of the country and have influenced the course of the world. People with talent, inspiration, and vision have set the grounds of modern civilization. Ancient thinkers words on life, success, courage and character hold true centuries later and can be just the pick-me-up we need, whatever the work day throws at us. The Ancient Greek philosophers used few words, 'quotes', to express pearls of wisdom that stand up today as guidelines for living wisely and compassionately.

ARISTOTLE

Philosopher of the 4th century BC

“Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy”.

“Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies”.

“At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst”.

“Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work”.

“Dignity does not consist in possessing honors, but in deserving them”.

“You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor”.

“It is just that we should be grateful, not only to those with whose views we may agree, but also to those who have expressed more superficial views; for these also contributed something, by developing before us the powers of thought”.

“Persuasion is achieved by the speaker's personal character when the speech is spoken as to make us think him credible. We believe good men more fully and more readily than others. This is true generally whatever the question is, and absolutely true where exact certainty is impossible and opinions are divided”.

“The life of money-making is one undertaken under compulsion, and wealth is evidently not the good we are seeking; for it is merely useful and for the sake of something else”.

“The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet”

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom”

“What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies”

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it”

“Hope is a waking dream”

“Happiness depends upon ourselves”

“No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness”

“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all”

“Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence”

“To avoid criticism say nothing, do nothing, be nothing”

“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”

“The educated differ from the uneducated as much as the living differ from the dead”

“He who has overcome his fears will truly be free”

“Those who know, do. Those that understand, teach”

“I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies, for the hardest victory is over self”

“Whosoever is delighted in solitude, is either a wild beast or a god”

“The antidote for fifty enemies is one friend”

“The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance”

“The high-minded man must care more for the truth than for what people think”

“It is not enough to win a war; it is more important to organize the peace”

“Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work”

“I have gained this by philosophy … I do without being ordered what some are constrained to do by their fear of the law”