Oizys Beautiful Garden
Sometimes we get too enchanted by Analytic Philosophy that we forget about the original purpose of Philosophy: to give practical wisdom that every maneven the blindest and poorestcould understand and apply to their lives to better themselves. In light of that, I decided to share my ever-growing list of aphorisms that I re-read every morning to help calibrate my mind to have a good day; and I hope that these may be of some use to others.
I added citations loosely when applicable, but since it is a personal list I never felt the need (when constructing it over-time) to give formal citations and some of them I either made up or sublated. For those that are paraphrased or refurbished, I am still including a loose citation for what originally inspired it. Any discussions or thoughts about these aphorisms are welcome in this thread :smile: ; and I open to any aphorisms that anyone believes are good for practical life/wisdom, and will add them to the list if I find any of them worthy.
1. Ive been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened. (Mark Twain)
2. Excellent people plan in centuries and think in days.
3. It can only harm you if it manages to damage your characterremember that. (Meditations, Book 4, p.39, #8)
4. A shallow well overflowing with water.
5. Reality is not a reflection.
6. Having hope is like drinking salt water.
7. Angels are made in hell.
8. The impossibility of one being wrong does not entail that they are absolutely right.
9. Dont mistake self-reliance for arrogance, and dont become arrogant to be self-reliant.
10. Fight your emotions to control themnot to eradicate them.
11. People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character. (Emerson)
12. All the Devil truly has the power to do is hurt your flesh. Train your spirit to be so self-sufficient, so tranquil and untampered by the external, that the Devil can no longer find you.
13. When parsing a persons position, always remember that the schema one uses depends on the data they think needs explaining; and, so, each concept they deploy will be evolvedso to speakto function specifically for the sake of getting at the problems which they wish to address.
14. Have so much control that even when you have none you can still laugh.
15. Question your questions before finding answers.
16. The greatest enemy is an assumption.
17. The mind is radioactive until it decays into itself.
18. There is nothing more honorable than the ant which gladly accepts being crushed to retain its values.
19. When you are receiving the blows, take comfort in the fact that it is impossible to play and fight with a demon at the same time.
20. It is time to venture to the most insufferable of places, so that my demons will not dare to join me.
21. Your greatest strength or weakness is that you are a social creatureit is up to you to decide which one it will be.
22. The pains of heaven are far better than the comforts of hell.
23. To truly understand a person, you must swim in the waters that drowned them.
24. Suffering is the currency of greatness.
25. Ridicule from those on a path which I do not wish to follow is praise.
26. Just as the body is made up of 70% water, so is the soul made up of 70% darkness. You will surely never step foot into heaven, if you are not willing to tear off your face and dive into that abyss.
27. I can think of no better qualification of love, than to be able to converse through old age while still finding each others company invigorating.
28. You were born many men, and will die oneso choose carefully.
29. Life only makes sense backwards, but must be lived forwards.
30. Authentic people have a tendency to be killed.
31. The colors of your thoughts are the shadows of the depths of your soul: color them with the kind of things you would proud of when you are an old person sitting on a bench watching the birds sing while reminiscing about life.
32. Holding people accountable is best properly understood as the mean between criticizing a persons actions and having sympathy for the factors which made them the way they are.
33. Only say what aligns with what you do.
34. Writing is just the linguistic expression of a feeling that escaped.
35. My sickness is what makes me well, and their wellness makes them sick.
36. When people reform themselves, they take prisoners when they should be making executions: the only way is through.
37. Take the blows, and they lose; take the praise, and you lose.
38. Needing a knife that is sharper than a knife is a sign of irrationality.
39. The right thing to do and the hardest thing to do are usually the same thing.
40. You do not truly love someone if a part of you does not die with them.
41. Be the harshest monster to protect her, and the gentlest angel to love her. In every man, the demon and angel should be there.
42. She died for beauty; he for truth; and I for myself.
43. The way people treat you is a reflection of how they see you; the way you let people treat you is a reflection of how you see yourself.
44. Confidence is silent; insecurity is loud.
45. Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom. (Aristotle)
46. Fear is a mile wide, but only an inch deep.
47. Natures wants are small, while those of opinion are limitless. (Letters From a Stoic [Seneca], L XVI, p. 65)
48. Choose not to be harmedand you wont feel harmed. Dont feel harmedand you havent been. (Meditations, Book 4, p. 39, #7)
49. No random actions, none not based on underlying principles. (Meditations, Book 4, p. 37)
50. What doesnt transmit light creates its own darkness. (Meditations, Book 8, p. 113, #57)
51. A cage went in search of a bird. (Zuerau Aphorisms, Aphorism 16, p. 14)
52. Success is failing better. (Samuel Beckett)
53. To be immortal is to be a prisoner to existence.
54. I am a slow walker, but I never walk back. (Abraham Lincoln)
55. Do not explain ones philosophyembody it. (Epictetus)
56. The tree which strives towards heaven must send its roots to hell. (Thus Spoke Zarathustra, p. 69)
57. If one wants something theyve never had, then they must do something theyve never done.
58. A mans worth is measured by what he devotes his energy towards. (Meditations, Book 7, p. 85)
59. The man who walks in the pure light and the man who walks in pure darkness are equally blind. (Science of Logic, s. 36, p. 77)
60. Be strict with yourself, and lenient with others.
61. True love makes you no longer want to be self-sufficient.
62. Ill take care of me for you; and you take care of you for me.
63. It is not a valid excuse that virtue was inconvenient at the time, or that so-and-so told you do this or that. Your soul is in your keeping alone. (King Baldwin IV)
64. In dating, allowing ones insecurities to dictate their actions turns into a self-fulfilled prophecy.
65. Everybody that you fight is not your enemy; and everyone that helps you is not your friend. (Mike Tyson)
66. The road to hell feels like heaven; and the road to heaven feels like hell.
67. Listen to your mindnot your body.
68. If you wrote a book about your life and gave it to someone, would it change their life for the better? (David Goggins)
69. We become what we think about most of the time.
70. The reason most people fail is not because they lack the potential; but because they trade their long-term goals for short-term gains. (Napoleon Bonaparte)
71. Purpose over pleasure.
72. Let me fall if I must fall. The one I am becoming will catch me. (Baal Shem Tov)
73. You grow proportionately to the weight you take on voluntarily. (Jordan Peterson)
74. If you win, then you dont have to explain yourself; and if you lose, then you shouldnt even be there to explain it. Dont take easy paths.
75. If they dont have what you want, then dont listen to what they say [about it].
76. What you are too afraid to overcome, becomes your limitations.
77. Value truth more than people. (Kant)
78. Love should be played like a chess game where the rules are broken from time-to-time: it is about finding the right balance between rationality and arationality.
79. No carelessness in your actions. No confusion in your words. No imprecision in your thoughts. No retreating into your soul, or trying to escape things. No overactivity. (Meditations, Book 8, p. 112)
80. Happiness and unhappiness are twin sisters: they either grow up together or remain small together. (The Gay Science, Book 4, p. 270)
81. Normality is a paved road: its comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow on it. (Vincent Van Gogh)
82. Every man I meet is in some way my superior, and in that, I can learn from him. (Emerson)
83. If you want peace, then prepare for war. (si vis pacem, para bellum)
84. Skipping a habit twice is a new habit.
85. Suffering is a choice. [ Pain is not a choice, but suffering is. ]
86. You can give them the key, but you cannot show them how to use it.
I added citations loosely when applicable, but since it is a personal list I never felt the need (when constructing it over-time) to give formal citations and some of them I either made up or sublated. For those that are paraphrased or refurbished, I am still including a loose citation for what originally inspired it. Any discussions or thoughts about these aphorisms are welcome in this thread :smile: ; and I open to any aphorisms that anyone believes are good for practical life/wisdom, and will add them to the list if I find any of them worthy.
1. Ive been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened. (Mark Twain)
2. Excellent people plan in centuries and think in days.
3. It can only harm you if it manages to damage your characterremember that. (Meditations, Book 4, p.39, #8)
4. A shallow well overflowing with water.
5. Reality is not a reflection.
6. Having hope is like drinking salt water.
7. Angels are made in hell.
8. The impossibility of one being wrong does not entail that they are absolutely right.
9. Dont mistake self-reliance for arrogance, and dont become arrogant to be self-reliant.
10. Fight your emotions to control themnot to eradicate them.
11. People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character. (Emerson)
12. All the Devil truly has the power to do is hurt your flesh. Train your spirit to be so self-sufficient, so tranquil and untampered by the external, that the Devil can no longer find you.
13. When parsing a persons position, always remember that the schema one uses depends on the data they think needs explaining; and, so, each concept they deploy will be evolvedso to speakto function specifically for the sake of getting at the problems which they wish to address.
14. Have so much control that even when you have none you can still laugh.
15. Question your questions before finding answers.
16. The greatest enemy is an assumption.
17. The mind is radioactive until it decays into itself.
18. There is nothing more honorable than the ant which gladly accepts being crushed to retain its values.
19. When you are receiving the blows, take comfort in the fact that it is impossible to play and fight with a demon at the same time.
20. It is time to venture to the most insufferable of places, so that my demons will not dare to join me.
21. Your greatest strength or weakness is that you are a social creatureit is up to you to decide which one it will be.
22. The pains of heaven are far better than the comforts of hell.
23. To truly understand a person, you must swim in the waters that drowned them.
24. Suffering is the currency of greatness.
25. Ridicule from those on a path which I do not wish to follow is praise.
26. Just as the body is made up of 70% water, so is the soul made up of 70% darkness. You will surely never step foot into heaven, if you are not willing to tear off your face and dive into that abyss.
27. I can think of no better qualification of love, than to be able to converse through old age while still finding each others company invigorating.
28. You were born many men, and will die oneso choose carefully.
29. Life only makes sense backwards, but must be lived forwards.
30. Authentic people have a tendency to be killed.
31. The colors of your thoughts are the shadows of the depths of your soul: color them with the kind of things you would proud of when you are an old person sitting on a bench watching the birds sing while reminiscing about life.
32. Holding people accountable is best properly understood as the mean between criticizing a persons actions and having sympathy for the factors which made them the way they are.
33. Only say what aligns with what you do.
34. Writing is just the linguistic expression of a feeling that escaped.
35. My sickness is what makes me well, and their wellness makes them sick.
36. When people reform themselves, they take prisoners when they should be making executions: the only way is through.
37. Take the blows, and they lose; take the praise, and you lose.
38. Needing a knife that is sharper than a knife is a sign of irrationality.
39. The right thing to do and the hardest thing to do are usually the same thing.
40. You do not truly love someone if a part of you does not die with them.
41. Be the harshest monster to protect her, and the gentlest angel to love her. In every man, the demon and angel should be there.
42. She died for beauty; he for truth; and I for myself.
43. The way people treat you is a reflection of how they see you; the way you let people treat you is a reflection of how you see yourself.
44. Confidence is silent; insecurity is loud.
45. Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom. (Aristotle)
46. Fear is a mile wide, but only an inch deep.
47. Natures wants are small, while those of opinion are limitless. (Letters From a Stoic [Seneca], L XVI, p. 65)
48. Choose not to be harmedand you wont feel harmed. Dont feel harmedand you havent been. (Meditations, Book 4, p. 39, #7)
49. No random actions, none not based on underlying principles. (Meditations, Book 4, p. 37)
50. What doesnt transmit light creates its own darkness. (Meditations, Book 8, p. 113, #57)
51. A cage went in search of a bird. (Zuerau Aphorisms, Aphorism 16, p. 14)
52. Success is failing better. (Samuel Beckett)
53. To be immortal is to be a prisoner to existence.
54. I am a slow walker, but I never walk back. (Abraham Lincoln)
55. Do not explain ones philosophyembody it. (Epictetus)
56. The tree which strives towards heaven must send its roots to hell. (Thus Spoke Zarathustra, p. 69)
57. If one wants something theyve never had, then they must do something theyve never done.
58. A mans worth is measured by what he devotes his energy towards. (Meditations, Book 7, p. 85)
59. The man who walks in the pure light and the man who walks in pure darkness are equally blind. (Science of Logic, s. 36, p. 77)
60. Be strict with yourself, and lenient with others.
61. True love makes you no longer want to be self-sufficient.
62. Ill take care of me for you; and you take care of you for me.
63. It is not a valid excuse that virtue was inconvenient at the time, or that so-and-so told you do this or that. Your soul is in your keeping alone. (King Baldwin IV)
64. In dating, allowing ones insecurities to dictate their actions turns into a self-fulfilled prophecy.
65. Everybody that you fight is not your enemy; and everyone that helps you is not your friend. (Mike Tyson)
66. The road to hell feels like heaven; and the road to heaven feels like hell.
67. Listen to your mindnot your body.
68. If you wrote a book about your life and gave it to someone, would it change their life for the better? (David Goggins)
69. We become what we think about most of the time.
70. The reason most people fail is not because they lack the potential; but because they trade their long-term goals for short-term gains. (Napoleon Bonaparte)
71. Purpose over pleasure.
72. Let me fall if I must fall. The one I am becoming will catch me. (Baal Shem Tov)
73. You grow proportionately to the weight you take on voluntarily. (Jordan Peterson)
74. If you win, then you dont have to explain yourself; and if you lose, then you shouldnt even be there to explain it. Dont take easy paths.
75. If they dont have what you want, then dont listen to what they say [about it].
76. What you are too afraid to overcome, becomes your limitations.
77. Value truth more than people. (Kant)
78. Love should be played like a chess game where the rules are broken from time-to-time: it is about finding the right balance between rationality and arationality.
79. No carelessness in your actions. No confusion in your words. No imprecision in your thoughts. No retreating into your soul, or trying to escape things. No overactivity. (Meditations, Book 8, p. 112)
80. Happiness and unhappiness are twin sisters: they either grow up together or remain small together. (The Gay Science, Book 4, p. 270)
81. Normality is a paved road: its comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow on it. (Vincent Van Gogh)
82. Every man I meet is in some way my superior, and in that, I can learn from him. (Emerson)
83. If you want peace, then prepare for war. (si vis pacem, para bellum)
84. Skipping a habit twice is a new habit.
85. Suffering is a choice. [ Pain is not a choice, but suffering is. ]
86. You can give them the key, but you cannot show them how to use it.
Comments (35)
Hi Bob, quick question: is this Thread only for discussing or sharing our thoughts on those aphorisms, or are you inviting other people to mention their favorite aphorisms as well? Let's clear up that point just to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.
That's a good point: I am open to people bringing to the table their favorite aphorisms and if I think it is worthy then I will add it to the list in the OP. I'll update the OP accordingly.
EDIT: I have moved the contents of this comment .
Wonder if there is a correlation with that creation myth and John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God".
My version of that was My life has been a whole series of crises, most of which never occurred. A favourite saying.
I would say so. Probably. What would that mean?
EDIT: @Hanover I've found an English translation of that part (it's not my translation, but I'm linking it anyways)
EDIT 2: I've moved it to another Thread
I appreciate you sharing your favorites, but most of those are NOT aphorisms. An aphorism is a short and concise statement that contains a general maxim or expression. Most of yours are just long paragraph quotes.
It's a good one for sure. I also like the Stoic one about man suffering in the imagination more than reality: same idea.
Hmmm... Ok, I'll bite. By your lights, what should I do in this case in relation to my previous posts, then? What would be the best thing to do here, objectively speaking? Should I delete them? Edit them? Just leave them there? What?
This one gave me a chill.
Quoting Bob Ross
Yet this one escapes me.
--
These few seem to be incredibly useful for 98% of people alive:
It can basically be it's own 6-tenet religion.
(though I perhaps would have worded that last one as: "Pain is not a choice, suffering is." -- just to give it some context that might be otherwise easily missed or dismissed)
:fire: :up:
Some of my own 'aphorisms' ...
(2023)
https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussion/comment/851181
(2025)
https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussion/comment/959723
This is cruel and simplistic. While there is plenty of suffering that might be avoidable if one could muster the courage/will to act rationally, there is plenty of suffering that is not avoidable. Tell that to the soldiers/victims of war, gang violence, rape, addiction, depression, illness and other gnarly incidents of nature.
Maybe this means we can justify harming others more if all suffering is an individual affair.
Damn, this got real dark all of the sudden.
Quoting Nils Loc
That would be either a scientific hypothesis or a philosophical thesis. Or both. Or perhaps none.
Some gems in there, thanks Bob.
I don't mind what you do with your previous post: I am just letting you know that most of them are not aphorisms and this OP is a list of aphorisms.
Yeah, it is one of my favorites. It stems from Jung and, in turn, from Nietzsche. The idea is that suffering and happiness are intertwined insofar as one has to be willing to suffer proportionately for what is good. We tendor at least I tendto forget this and think that what is good involves avoiding suffering. Nietzsche triesmany timesto break us out of that line of thinkingbeing that it is anti-thetical to natural lifein his works. I like to remember this every day so that I am more likely to embrace the sufferingno matter how smallI must go through to become greater.
Yeah, that one isnt too amazing; but I have it in there because I have a tendency to be like Kafkas metamorphic creature in Der Bau: reasonand specifically my personalitytends to gravitate towards an irrational sense of security and absoluteness which cannot be afforded in real life. Kafkas pointby my lightswas that reason tends to want something so incredibly secure that it is impossibly secure; and I just basically modified it to target my personality such that my soul wants a knife (for self-preservation) that is sharper than any knifewhich is patently irrational and impossible. It serves as a reminder for me to let go of that OCD urge.
:up:
This is fair and a good point. Personally, I like to force myself to think a bit about it by having to decrypt the message; but you are absolutely right that your version is more clear. I will add that as an additional version to the OP. Good suggestion!
Ok, here's what I think would be the best thing to do: I will move them over to the Ultimate Truth about Reality Thread. So, they will be deleted from this thread, but they will be preserved in the other Thread.
Those are good: keep them coming. I like the "there are no antirealists in foxholes" :lol: :ok:
The aphorism doesnt say all suffering is avoidable: it says all suffering is a choice. Suffering is not reducible to the pain or torment of the body: it is, rather, attachment to something by the mind in such a manner where the mind wants it to be other than it is (or is going to be).
Ironically, Ive found that most people dont understand this until they end up with relentless and persistent suffering from some sort of trauma (and still many dont realize it then too). Usually when I explain to someone that I have experienced being in extreme pain and physical unwellness for long periods of time in absolutely relentless manners while being completely at peace in my mind; it sounds absurd and almost unimaginable to themnevertheless, that state can be achieved.
If you think about it, suffering can only coherently be posited in this wayunlike pain; for two people with the same exact injury can suffer different amounts, and one person with a lesser injury can suffering tremendously more than a person with a greater injury. The minds attachment to what is happeningof not properly sizing up the situation and remaining irrationally attached to that which is outside of its control or outside of what will happenis what generates the mental torment.
The point of the aphorism to make a person aware that sufferingunlike painis always in their control; and that they can choose to properly shape their mind to be unaffected by (or only affected in a healthy manner towards) problems of the body.
It is also worth mentioning that suffering can be chosen in a manner where it is a good thing; which relates to the other aphorism about the tree striving towards heaven. We must volunteer to suffer to become great; and this is the other aspect of the aphorism that is powerful.
Thanks for unwrapping the aphorism. Sounds like a very tall order all the same, to become immune to worry and the torments of the mind by whatever means. So many people don't have a hope in hell. You must be one of those everyday Joe Buddhas, a non-fancy stoic kind.
It is a tall order for sure; but that doesn't mean people shouldn't strive towards it. Everyone can do it: it just takes hard work and practice. I still struggle with this, and that is why it is one of my aphorisms I rehearse.
I really don't mind if you want to keep discussing them in here: I just was pointing out that they are not aphorisms: they were quotes that you like, which is fine.
And I appreciate that, it's mighty kind of you. However, just to keep things tidy and neat, I've moved them to a more topic-appropriate location. They do not belong in this Garden (Thread), because they are not "Garden words" (i.e., aphorisms).
But I will tell you one aphorism that I like, that I can contribute here, speaking of gardens. I do not know who said it:
"It is better to be a Warrior in a Garden, than to be a Gardener in a War."
These stoic aphorisms are kind of annoying. Drinking salt water is ok, assuming the concentration is low, but maybe we are intended to think of someone who is drinking only sea water as opposed to broth, which is a death sentence. Drinking salt water is ok if you have the means to dilute with fresh water in alternation.
I'll fix it absurdly:
Having some hope, like salt, improves the soup of life.
If hope is salt, you can't live without it.
If one is overcoming, suffering for the sake of transformation, isn't there always hope for the object of achievement. Or are we imagining an absurd hope, like wishing for God to grant us our prayers in the absence of any action to pursue the object of our hope? Even this kind of hope might have unusual power to protect the individual from nihilism (hopelessness). False beliefs (or philosophies) may actually protect people.
What motivates the stoic to overcome if he can't rely on his/her own desire? People do not act from reason alone, as reasoning always has a state of future preference, one preferable by some measure to another.
I think is it preferable to have hope (the feeling that something desired can be achieved or will happen) than to have no hope.
Good questions.
First, I want to note that an aphorism is meant to be pungent, short, and puzzling. The point is to simplify a proverb down into a thought-provoking sentence, which will cause one to think about it more deeply exactly the way you are. (:
Second, lets dive into its meaning.
The immediate point is that salt water doesnt quench ones thirstnot that it may kill you. Hope is the same way: when you are really thirstyperhaps when stranded on a boatit is really tempting to see the salty water as a viable solution, but the more you drink it the more it slowly causes more of the issue needing to be solved. Hope, schopenhauer famously stated, is the confusion of the possibility of something with its probability: it to latch onto something in a manner where it is despite its probability being disproportionate thereto.
When we are in despair, we tend to see hope as a viable antidotea solution to the problemjust like using salt water to quench ones thirst; but, in reality, it is contributing to the problem. How so? The problem, the Stoic would say, is that the person is discontent with what is outside of their control; and the attachment thereto is causing their mind a disturbanceviz., from which the problem arises in the first place needing to be solvedand procuring hope only temporarily alleviates the problem by consoling the person swiftly but making them, so to speak, thirstier. Hope just makes a person more attached to what is not in their control, which adds fuel to that fire of discontent. The Stoic is going to say that it would be betterand a real solutionto detach from what is outside of ones control and to work towards whatever one wishes with respect to what is within their control.
The important thing to note here is that the Stoics are talking about hope as an irrational passion because it only arises when one is irrationally attached. They are not claiming that one cannot be wishful of the futurejust that one needs to equally detached from what is outside of their control and they must be able to size up the probability of it occurring properly. Most instances of hope are not like this: they are, instead, irrational fits of emotion.
I think in some of what you mentioned, you are just using the term hope in the sense of merely wishing or desiring; and that is not what is meant by hope here. Hope, traditionally, is more than a mere wishit is more than a mere desire: it is much stronger than that.
.I wouldnt want to join a club that would have me as a member
That is pungent, short, and puzzling....but I have no clue what the moral of the story is. Could you elaborate?
Is it that we should strive to push ourselves beyond our limits (viz., to avoid the comforts of joining a club which we already qualify for the hard work required to join one we don't)?
I just followed the required criteria, with particular interest in the puzzling part.
Its a contradiction on the one hand, self-deprecation on the other, both merely aesthetic judgements.
Ol Groucho, of course, was just trying to be funny.
Ah, I see. But what does it mean? An aphorism has an underlying principle of (practical) wisdom.
Then I guess I didnt put one forward after all. Maybe it just means whatever you get out of it.
Just like anything else.
Told you already: a contradiction on the one hand or a self-deprecation on the other.
Pick a kind of person for yourself, see which one works for that person.
I picked jackass, in which case I wouldnt want to join a club full of jackasses. But being one, I should love to be a club full of them. Hence the contradiction.
On the other hand, when I pick Super Dad for myself, to join a club full of Super Dads puts me at risk of being too competitive, in which case I would have to lower my standards. But I wouldnt lower my standards, which is a form of self-deprecation, hence would not want to join a club that may foist that upon me.
It's because you like Metallica.