“The more we desire for that which is superfluous, the more we meet with difficulties; our strength and possessions are spent in unnecessary things, and are wanting when required for that which is necessary.”

Source: Guide for the Perplexed (c. 1190), Part III, Ch.12

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "The more we desire for that which is superfluous, the more we meet with difficulties; our strength and possessions are …" by Maimónides?
Maimónides photo
Maimónides 180
rabbi, physician, philosopher 1138–1204

Related quotes

Maimónides photo
Aurelius Augustinus photo

“The superfluities of the rich are the necessaries of the poor. They who possess superfluities, possess the goods of others.”

Aurelius Augustinus (354–430) early Christian theologian and philosopher

Patrologia Latina, vol. 37, p. 1922

Sri Aurobindo photo
Léon Walras photo
Vincent Van Gogh photo

“As we advance in life it becomes more and more difficult, but in fighting the difficulties the inmost strength of the heart is developed.”

Vincent Van Gogh (1853–1890) Dutch post-Impressionist painter (1853-1890)

Quote from Vincent's letter to Theo, from Amsterdam, 30 May 1877; Dear Theo: the Autobiography of Vincent Van Gogh;, ed. Irving Stone and Jean Stone (1995), p. 26
1870s
Context: When we are working at a difficult task and strive after a good thing, we are fighting a righteous battle, the direct reward of which is that we are kept from much evil. As we advance in life it becomes more and more difficult, but in fighting the difficulties the inmost strength of the heart is developed.

Errico Malatesta photo
Willa Cather photo
Plutarch photo

“Said Scopas of Thessaly, "We rich men count our felicity and happiness to lie in these superfluities, and not in those necessary things."”

Plutarch (46–127) ancient Greek historian and philosopher

Of the Love of Wealth
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)

Slavoj Žižek photo

“What we focus on, we empower and enlarge. Good multiplies when focused upon. Negativity multiplies when focused upon. The choice is ours: Which do we want more of?”

Julia Cameron (1948) American writer

Blessings (1998)
Context: Focused on our good, focused on our abundance we naturally attract more of the same. This is spiritual law. Our consciousness is creative. What we focus on, we empower and enlarge. Good multiplies when focused upon. Negativity multiplies when focused upon. The choice is ours: Which do we want more of?

Related topics