X, 33
Meditations (c. 121–180 AD), Book X
Context: It is not given to a cylinder to move everywhere by its own motion, nor yet to water nor to fire nor to anything else which is governed by nature or an irrational soul, for the things which check them and stand in the way are many. But intelligence and reason are able to go through everything that opposes them, and in such manner as they are formed by nature and as they choose. Place before thy eyes this facility with which the reason will be carried through all things, as fire upwards, as a stone downwards, as a cylinder down an inclined surface, and seek for nothing further. For all other obstacles either affect the body only, which is a dead thing; or, except for opinion and the yielding of reason itself, they do not crush nor do any harm of any kind; for if they did, he who felt it would immediately become bad.
“The most reasonable way of blessings and honesties will be obtained through opposing sensuality.”
Musa al-Kadhim (745–799) Seventh of the Twelve Imams and regarded by Sunnis as a renowned scholar
Ibn Shu’ba al-Harrani, Tuhaf al-'Uqul, p. 421.
Religious Wisdom
Pema Chödron (1936) American philosopher
When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times (1997)
Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867) French poet
Tout ce qui plaît a une raison de plaire, et mépriser les attroupements de ceux qui s'égarent n'est pas le moyen de les ramener où ils devraient être. <br class="br">"Quelques mots d'introduction," Salon de 1845 (May 1845) http://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Salon_de_1845_%28Curiosit%C3%A9s_esth%C3%A9tiques%29#Quelques_mots_d.E2.80.99introduction
“English: "Through and despite everything, we're still going"”
Carlos Menem (1930) Argentine politician who was President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999
"Pese a todo y contra todo, seguimos remando"
Said one day before getting off the presidential elections on May 13th, 2003
“Everything in excess is opposed to nature.”
Hippocrates (-460–-370 BC) ancient Greek physician
As quoted in Catholic Morality : Selected Sayings and Some Account of Various Religions (1915) by E Comyns Durnford, p. 90.
“Reason is intelligence taking exercise; imagination is intelligence with an erection.”
Victor Hugo (1802–1885) French poet, novelist, and dramatist
Unpublished notebook from 1845-50. Published in Seebacher (ed.), Oeuvres Complètes, vol. 10, p. 158 (Laffont, 1989). English translation from Robb, Victor Hugo p. 249 (Norton, 1997).
