Book of Wise Sayings Part 6

Mahabharata.

193.

To address a judicious remark to a thoughtless man is a mere threshing of chaff.

Hitopadesa.

194.

All the blessings of a household come through the wife, therefore should her husband honour her.

Talmud.

195.

Certain books seem to be written, not that we might learn from them, but in order that we might see how much the author knows.

Goethe.

196.

All that is old is not therefore necessarily excellent; all that is new is not despicable on that account alone. Let what is really meritorious be p.r.o.nounced so by the candid judge after due investigation; blockheads alone are influenced by the opinion of others.

Hindu Drama.

197.

One of the diseases of this age is the mult.i.tude of books. It is a thriftless and a thankless occupation, this writing of books: a man were better to sing in a cobbler's shop, for his pay is a penny a patch; but a book-writer, if he get sometimes a few commendations from the judicious, he shall be sure to reap a thousand reproaches from the malicious.

Barnaby Rich.

198.

We rather confess our moral errors, faults, and crimes than our ignorance.

Goethe.

199.

The angel grows up in divine knowledge, the brute, in savage ignorance, and the son of man stands hesitating between the two.

Persian.

200.

She is a wife who is notable in her house; she is a wife who beareth children; she is a wife whose husband is as her life; she is a wife who is obedient to her lord. The wife is half the man; a wife is man's dearest friend; a wife is the source of his religion, his worldly profit, and his love. He who hath a wife maketh offerings in his house. Those who have wives are blest with good fortune. Wives are friends, who, by their kind and gentle speech, soothe you in your retirement. In your distresses they are as mothers, and they are refreshment to those who are travellers in the rugged paths of life.

Mahabharata.

201.

He that is ambitious of fame destroys it. He that increaseth not his knowledge diminishes it. He that uses the crown of learning as an instrument of gain will pa.s.s away.

Talmud.

202.

While the slightest inconveniences of the great are magnified into calamities, while tragedy mouths out their sufferings in all the strains of eloquence, the miseries of the poor are entirely disregarded; and yet some of the lower ranks of people undergo more real hardships in one day than those of a more exalted station suffer in their whole lives.

Goldsmith.

203.

It is impossible for those who are engaged in low and grovelling pursuits to entertain n.o.ble and generous sentiments. Their thoughts must always necessarily be somewhat similar to their employments.

Demosthenes.

204.

The interval is immense between corporeal qualifications and sciences: the body in a moment is extinct, but knowledge endureth to the end of time.

Hitopadesa.

205.

If thou lackest knowledge, what hast thou then acquired? Hast thou acquired knowledge, what else dost thou want?

Talmud.

206.

Be modest and simple in your deportment, and treat with indifference whatever lies between virtue and vice. Love the human race; obey G.o.d.

Marcus Aurelius.

207.

Bootless grief hurts a man's self, but patience makes a jest of an injury.

R. Chamberlain.

208.

Poverty without debt is independence.

Arabic.

209.

Just as the track of birds that cleave the air Is not discovered, nor yet the path of fish That skim the water, so the course of those Who do good actions is not always seen.

Mahabharata.

210.

He who has wealth has friends; he who has wealth has relations; he who has wealth is a hero among the people; he who has wealth is even a sage.

Hitopadesa.

211.

Like a beautiful flower, full of colour but without scent, are the fine but fruitless words of him who does not act accordingly.

Dhammapada.

212.

When men are doubtful of the true state of things, their wishes lead them to believe in what is most agreeable.

Arria.n.u.s.

213.

Most men the good they have despise, And blessings which they have not prize: In winter, wish for summer's glow, In summer, long for winter's snow.

Sanskrit.

214.

The best conduct a man can adopt is that which gains him the esteem of others without depriving him of his own.

Talmud.

215.

Whoso a.s.sociates with the wicked will be accused of following their ways, though their principles may have made no impression upon him; just as if a person were in the habit of frequenting a tavern, he would not be supposed to go there for prayer, but to drink intoxicating liquor.

Sa'di.

216.

The loss of a much-prized treasure is only half felt when we have not regarded its tenure as secure.

Goethe.

217.

The dull-hued turkey apes the gait Of lordly peac.o.c.k, richly plumed; And thus the poetaster shows When he would fain his verse recite.

Hindu Poetess.

218.

Knowledge acquired by a man of low degree places him on a level with a prince, as a small river attains the irremeable ocean; and his fortune is then exalted.

Hitopadesa.

219.

An evil-minded man is quick to see His neighbour's faults, though small as mustard seed; But when he turns his eyes towards his own, Though large as bilva fruit, he none descries.

Mahabharata.

220.

Two persons die remorseful: he who possessed and enjoyed not, and he who knew but did not practise.

Sa'di.

221.

With regard to a secret divulged and kept concealed, there is an excellent proverb, that the one is an arrow still in our possession, the other is an arrow sent from the bow.

Jami.

222.

The thing we want eludes our grasp, Some other thing is given; sometimes Our wish is gained, and gifts unsought Are ours; these all are G.o.d's own work.

Hindu Poetess.

223.

If a man conquer in battle a thousand times a thousand men, and if another conquer himself, he is the greater of conquerors.[10]

Dhammapada.

[10] Cf. Prov. XVI, 32.

224.

The man who is in the highest state of prosperity, and who thinks his fortune is most secure, knows not if it will remain unchanged till the evening.

Demosthenes.

225.

Amongst all possessions knowledge appears pre-eminent. The wise call it supreme riches, because it can never be lost, has no price, and can at no time be destroyed.