“Don’t live by generalities, unless it be to act virtuously, and don’t ask desire to follow precise laws, for you will have to drink tomorrow from the water you scorn today.”
-Baltasar Gracián
(more…)Virtue
940 – 「君子以多識前言往行，以畜其德。」
“Jūnzǐ yǐ duō shì qiányán wǎng xíng, yǐ chù qí dé.”
“The superior man acquaints himself with many sayings of antiquity and many deeds of the past, in order to strengthen his character thereby.”
-Fuxi
(more…)857 – “Happiness, whether consisting in pleasure or virtue, or both, is more often found with those who are highly cultivated in their minds and in their character, and have only a moderate share of external goods, than among those who possess external goods to a useless extent but are deficient in higher qualities.”
–Aristotle (more…)
746 – “The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, the capacity for sacrifice. Ironically, their virtues make them vulnerable; they are often wounded, sometimes destroyed.”
–Ernest Hemingway [Possibly misatrributed, See Source Notes for details]
Quote Number: 320
Source: Unknown source
Source Notes: Upon further review there is a possibility that this is not a Hemingway quote, however because I cannot confirm this I am not going to change it at this time. I still have been unable to identify the original source. However, a reference was made to an unpublished work titled “Crossroads” in volume 16 of the New York Times Biographical Service, online here. While it is hard to see from just the snippet view, it may not be quoting Hemingway at all.
Also, after reviewing several different editions of Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms online, I am fairly certain it is not contained in there. If you have any further information, please leave a comment, thank you!
715 – “La grandeur des actions humaines se mesure à l’inspiration qui les fait naître. Heureux celui qui porte en soi un Dieu, un idéal de la beauté et qui lui obéit: idéal de l’art, idéal de la science, idéal de la patrie, idéal des vertus de l’Évangile! Ce sont là les sources vives des grandes pensées et des grandes actions. Toutes s’éclairent des reflets de l’infini.”
“The greatness of human actions is measured by the inspiration that it brings. Blessed is he who carries within himself a God, an ideal of beauty and obeys it: an ideal of art, ideal of science, ideal of country, ideal virtues of the Gospel! These are the wellsprings of great thoughts and great actions. All reflections illuminate infinity.”
–Louis Pasteur (more…)
478 – Definition of Love from 1690s Advice Column
“Q: What’s love?
A: Love, and you’ll know … We’ll give you the best description we can of that passion, which we have some reason to know … ‘Tis a mixture of friendship and desire, bounded by the rules of honor and virtue … Love, being a medium between pure friendship and perfect desire, ’tis warm enough to keep friendship from an ague, but not so furiously hot as to set all on fire. They manage matters so between ’em, that the sweet melts the strong; and from this agreeable mixture or harmony, especially where reciprocal, result the tenderest, noblest pleasure that’s purely humane. …”
–A Member of the Athenian Society
[Note this quote has been edited for clarity and length, the quote in its entirety can be found in the original source posted below]
157 – “Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.”
–anonymous
[Often misattributed to Marcus Aurelius, see source note for more information]
(more…)
87 – “Etenim, iudices, cum omnibus virtutibus me adfectum esse cupio, tum nihil est quod malim quam me et esse gratum et videri. Haec enim est una virtus non solum maxima sed etiam mater virtutum omnium reliquarum.”
“In truth, O judges, while I wish to be adorned with every virtue, yet there is nothing which I can esteem more highly than the being and appearing grateful. For this one virtue is not only the greatest, but is also the parent of all the other virtues.”
– Cicero (Full Name: Marcus Tullius Cicero) [Often misquoted, see note]
1000 Quotes Project 