Ancient Collections of Maxims 39
56-57. The wise man feels no more pain when he is tortured <than
when his friend is tortured, and will die on his behalf; for if he betrays>
his friend, his entire life will be confounded and utterly upset because
of a lack of confidence.- They must free themselves from the prison of general education
and politics. - The stomach is not insatiable, as the many say, but rather the
opinion that the stomach requires an unlimited amount of filling is false. - Everyone leaves life as though he had just been born.
- The sight of one's neighbours is most beautiful if the first meeting
brings concord or [at least] produces a serious commitment to this. - For if parents are justifiably angered at their children, it is surely
pointless to resist and not ask to be forgiven; but if [their anger] is not
justifiable but somewhat irrational, it is ridiculous for someone with
irrationality in his heart to appeal to someone set against appeals and not
to seek in a spirit of good will to win him over by other means. - There is also a proper measure for parsimony, and he who does
not reason it out is just as badly off as he who goes wrong by total neglect
of limits. - Praise from other men must come of its own accord; and we must
be concerned with healing ourselves. - It is pointless to ask from the gods what one is fully able to supply
for oneself. - Let us share our friends' suffering not with laments but with
thoughtful concern. - A free life cannot acquire great wealth, because the task is not easy
without slavery to the mob or those in power; rather, it already possesses
everything in constant abundance. And if it does somehow achieve great
wealth, one could easily share this out in order to obtain the good will
of one's neighbours. - Nothing is enough to someone for whom enough is little.
- The ingratitude of the soul makes an animal greedy for unlimited
variation in its life-style. - Let nothing be done in your life which will cause you to fear if it
is discovered by your neighbour. - One should bring this question to bear on all one's desires: what
will happen to me if what is sought by desire is achieved, and what will
happen if it is not? - Even some bodily pains are worthwhile for fending off others
like them. - In a joint philosophical investigation he who is defeated comes out
ahead in so far as he has learned something new.