Art of Wisdom

“People will hate you if you stand for what is right, and the gods will hate you if you stand for what is wrong.”

“Stubborn people are divided into three: the stubborn, the empty-headed and the thick-headed.”

“I consider the one who overcomes his desires more courageous than his enemies. For the most difficult victory is the one against oneself.”

“The most beautiful word is a word that the speaker speaks the truth and the listener benefits from it.”

“You cannot teach a stone to fly even if you throw it ten thousand times.”

“Happiness comes from a virtuous life.”

“First we think and act, then our emotions accompany them.”

“Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.”

“We are what we do all the time. Excellence, then, is a habit, not an action.”

“As much rain does not make grass grow on the rock, so much education does not benefit the foolish.”

“A single swallow does not make summer, nor a single sunny day; nor a single day, nor a single brief moment, makes a man happy and blessed.”

“People are like ears of wheat; when they are empty, their heads are high; when they are full, they bow down.”

“No one loves the man he fears.”

“Laughter is a physical exercise, important for health.”

“Learning is not child's play; we cannot learn without suffering.”

“The difference between those who read and write and those who don't is the difference between the living and the dead.”

“Philosophy arises from people's curiosity about life. Children are the most curious about life.”

“The greatest crimes are committed not to obtain what is necessary, but to obtain what is excessive.”

Alexander the Great sent a letter to Aristotle and asked:

“What should I do to keep the people of the lands I have conquered under my rule? Should I exile the leading men of the country, imprison them? Put them to the sword?”

Aristotle replies and says:

“If you send them into exile, they will gather and rebel against you. If you send them to prison, prisons will become hotbeds of militants and get out of control. If you put them to the sword, the next generation will grow up with a desire for revenge and will shake your throne. You will sow discord between people. When they fight each other, you will establish yourself as the arbiter. But you will block all paths to agreement. So that they will always depend on you, always do what you say.”

“Who enjoys solitude is either a wild animal or God.”