NOTHING is more usual than for writers, even, on moral, political, or physical subjects, to distinguish between reason and experience, and to suppose, that these species of argumentation are entirely different from each other. The former are taken for the mere result of our intellectual faculties, which, by considering à priori the nature of things, and examining the effects, that must follow from their operation, … Continue reading Hume on the false dichotomy of Reason and Experience
Lord Bacon on wives and children
He that hath Wife and Children hath given Hostages to Fortune; For they are Impediments to great Enterprises, either of Vertue, or Mischiefe. Certainly, the best workes, and of greatest Merit for the Publike, have proceeded from the unmarried or Childlesse Men, which, both in Affection and Meanes, have married and endowed the Publike. (“Of Marriage … Continue reading Lord Bacon on wives and children
Thomas Gray on levelling death
Let not Ambition mock their useful Toil,Their homely Joys and Destiny obscure;Nor Grandeur hear with a disdainful Smile,The short and simple Annals of the Poor. The Boast of Heraldry, the Pomp of Pow'r,And all that Beauty, all that Wealth e'er gave,Awaits alike th' inevitable Hour.The Paths of Glory lead but to the Grave. From Gray's … Continue reading Thomas Gray on levelling death
John Morley on intellectual perseverance
"nobody here needs to be reminded that the great successes of the world have been affairs of a second, a third, nay, a fiftieth trial. The history of literature, of science, of art, of industrial achievements, all testify to the truth that success is only the last term of what looked like a series of … Continue reading John Morley on intellectual perseverance
Seneca to Lucilius on the death of his friend
I am grieved to hear that your friend Flaccus is dead, but I would not have you sorrow more than is fitting. That you should not mourn at all I shall hardly dare to insist; and yet I know that it is the better way. But what man will ever be so blessed with that … Continue reading Seneca to Lucilius on the death of his friend
Joseph Addison on the quest for happiness
Enquiries after Happiness, and Rules for attaining it, are not so necessary and useful to Mankind as the Arts of Consolation, and supporting oneself under Affliction. The utmost we can hope for in this World is Contentment; if we aim at any thing higher, we shall meet with nothing but Grief and Disappointments. A Man … Continue reading Joseph Addison on the quest for happiness
The vanity of human wishes
Enlarge my Life with Multitude of Days, In Health, in Sickness, thus the Suppliant prays; Hides from himself his State, and shuns to know, That Life protracted is protracted Woe. Time hovers o'er, impatient to destroy, And shuts up all the Passages of Joy: In vain their Gifts the bounteous Seasons pour, The Fruit autumnal, … Continue reading The vanity of human wishes
Seneca to Lucilius on philosophy
I point other men to the right path, which I have found late in life, when wearied with wandering. I cry out to them: “Avoid whatever pleases the throng: avoid the gifts of Chance! Halt before every good which Chance brings to you, in a spirit of doubt and fear; for it is the dumb … Continue reading Seneca to Lucilius on philosophy
Cicero on magnanimity
'A spirit which is utterly courageous and noble is conspicuous especially for two features. The first of these is disregard for external circumstances, springing from the conviction that a man ought to revere or aspire to or seek nothing except what is honourable and proper, and should not lie down before any man or emotional … Continue reading Cicero on magnanimity
Seneca on Anger
A description of anger. "Some of the wisest of men have ... called anger a short madness: for it is equally devoid of self-control, regardless of decorum, forgetful of kinship, obstinately engrossed in whatever it begins to do, deaf to reason and advice, excited by trifling causes, awkward at perceiving what is true and just, … Continue reading Seneca on Anger
Notes in the Margins of the Days 