Philosophy: Wisdom (Part 2)
/wɪzdəm/
According to the Random House Dictionary, wisdom is:
- The
quality or state of being wise; knowledge of what is true or right
coupled with just judgment as to action; sagacity, discernment, or
insight.
- Scholarly knowledge or learning: the wisdom of the schools.
- Wise sayings or teachings; precepts.
- a wise act or saying.
My personal definition is:
- The knowledge of how to use the knowledge you have.
Below
are several quotations from many individuals across various time
periods and locations around the world. As you read them, ponder the
wisdom in them.
Though
these historical and modern figures are often noted as wise, beware -
Many of these quotations will contradict other wise words in this Hub.
This is for the purpose of exemplifying that wisdom is not universal.
Pythagoras
[c. 582-500 B.C.]
Don't eat your heart.
From Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, VIII, 17
Reason is immortal, all else mortal.
From Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, VIII, 30
Aesop
[fl. c. 550 B.C.]
Appearances often are deceiving.
The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Do not count your chickens before they are hatched.
The Milkmaid and Her Pail
No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.
The Lion and the Mouse
Self-conceit may lead to self-destruction.
The Frog and the Ox
People often grudge others what they cannot enjoy themselves
The Dog in the Manger
I will have nought to do with a man who can blow hot and cold with the same breath.
The Man and the Satyr
Union gives strength.
The Bundle of Sticks
Theognis
[fl. c. 545 B.C.]
One finds many companions for food and drink, but in a serious business a man's companions are very few.
Elegies, 115
Adopt the character of the twisting octopus, which takes on the appearance the nearby rock. Now follow in this direction, now turn a different hue.
Elegies, 215
No man takes with him to Hades all his exceeding wealth.
Elegies, 725
Bright youth passes swiftly as a thought.
Elegies, 985
Xenophanes
[c. 570-475 B.C.]
It takes a wise man to recognize a wise man.
From Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, IX
Simonides
[c. 556-468 B.C.]
It is hard to be truly excellent, four-square in hand and foot and mind, formed without blemish.
Fragment 4
The city is the teacher of the man.
Fragment 53
Painting is silent poetry, and poetry painting that speaks.
From Plutarch, De Gloria Antheniensium, III, 346
Confucious
[551-479 B.C.]
Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom associated with true virtue.
The Confucian Analects, 1:3
A youth, when at home, should be filial, and, abroad, respectful to his elders.
The Confucian Analects, 1:6
Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles.
The Confucian Analects, 1:8, ii
Have no friends not equal to yourself.
The Confucian Analects, 1:8, iii
[The superior man] acts before he speaks, and afterward speaks according to his actions.
The Confucian Analects, 2:13
The cautious seldom err.
The Confucian Analects, 4:23
Is virtue a thing remote? I wish to be virtuous, and lo! virtue is at hand.
The Confucian Analects, 7:29
To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.
The Confucian Analects, 11:15, iii
He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good.
The Confucian Analects, 14:21
What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.
The Confucian Analects, 15:23
Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know men.
The Confucian Analects, 20:3, iii
Heraclitus
[c. 540-480 B.C.]
All is flux, nothing stays still.
From Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, IX, 8
Nature is wont to hide herself.
On the Universe, 10
God is day and night, inder and summer, war and peace, surfeit and hunger.
On the Universe, 36
The road up and the road down are one and the same.
On the Universe, 69
Man, like a light in the night, is kindled and put out.
On the Universe, 77
It is better to hide ignorance, but it is hard to do this when we relax over wine.
On the Universe, 108
A man's character is his fate.
On the Universe, 121
Pindar
[c. 518-c. 438 B.C.]
Do not peer too far.
Olympian Odes, I, 184
I will not steep my speech in lies; the test of any man lies in action.
Olympian Odes, IV, 27
The issue is in God's hands.
Olympian Odes, XIII, 147
Words have a longer life than deeds.
Nemean Odes, IV, 10
Unsung, the noblest deed will die.
Fragment 120
What is God? Everything.
Fragment 140d
Anaxagoras
[c. 500-428 B.C.]
The descent to Hades is the same from every place.
From Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Anaxagoras, 2
The Pali Canon
[c. 500-c. 250 B.C.]
All that is comes from the mind; it is based on the mind, it is fashioned by the mind.
Suttapitaka. Dhammapada, 1:1
Avoid what is evil; do what is good; purify the mind - this is the teaching of the Awakened One [Buddha].
Suttapitaka. Dhammapada, 14:183
Be lamps unto yourselves. Be a refuge unto yourselves. Do not turn to any external refuge. Hold fast to the teaching as a lamp.
Suttapitaka. Mahaparinibbana-sutta, 2:33
This noble eightfold path ... right views, right aspirations, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right contemplation.
