
“Man is a make-believe animal — he is never so truly himself as when he is acting a part.”
Notes of a Journey through France and Italy (1824), ch. XVI
Book XLV, sec. 8
History of Rome
Is demum vir erit, cuius animum neque prosperae res flatu suo efferent nec adversae infringent
“Man is a make-believe animal — he is never so truly himself as when he is acting a part.”
Notes of a Journey through France and Italy (1824), ch. XVI
Characters, ch. 9 (12); translation from R. C. Jebb and J. E. Sandys (trans.), The Characters of Theophrastus (London: Macmillan, 1909), p. 75.
“When Fortune is on our side, popular favor bears her company.”
Maxim 275
Sentences, The Moral Sayings of Publius Syrus, a Roman Slave
“Adversity introduces a man to himself.”
X, 36
Meditations (c. 121–180 AD), Book X
Context: There is no man so fortunate that there shall not be by him when he is dying some who are pleased with what is going to happen. Suppose that he was a good and a wise man, will there not be at least some one to say to himself, Let us at last breathe freely, being relieved from this schoolmaster? It is true that he was harsh to none of us, but I perceive that he tacitly condemns us.—This is what is said of a good man. But in our own case how many other things are there for which there are many who wish to get rid of us.
“A man who exposes himself when he is intoxicated, has not the art of getting drunk.”
April 24, 1779, p. 424
Life of Samuel Johnson (1791), Vol III
Napoleon : In His Own Words (1916)
Sermon III : The Angel's Greeting
Meister Eckhart’s Sermons (1909)
Context: When man humbles himself, God cannot restrain His mercy; He must come down and pour His grace into the humble man, and He gives Himself most of all, and all at once, to the least of all. It is essential to God to give, for His essence is His goodness and His goodness is His love. Love is the root of all joy and sorrow. Slavish fear of God is to be put away. The right fear is the fear of losing God. If the earth flee downward from heaven, it finds heaven beneath it; if it flee upward, it comes again to heaven. The earth cannot flee from heaven: whether it flee up or down, the heaven rains its influence upon it, and stamps its impress upon it, and makes it fruitful, whether it be willing or not. Thus doth God with men: whoever thinketh to escape Him, flies into His bosom, for every corner is open to Him. God brings forth His Son in thee, whether thou likest it or not, whether thou sleepest or wakest; God worketh His own will. That man is unaware of it, is man's fault, for his taste is so spoilt by feeding on earthly things that he cannot relish God's love. If we had love to God, we should relish God, and all His works; we should receive all things from God, and work the same works as He worketh.