In the course of a man's life, he is beset by turmoil—the insolence of others, the frailty of the body, the whims of fortune....

Friend, know this: we are not disturbed by events, but by the judgments we form about them. A man insults you; another takes your...

I am Phidias. I do not merely carve stone or cast bronze; I shape the very soul of a space. When a man entered...

I have seen the Republic itself swayed by the whims of passion and fear. True strength, for a man as for a state, is...

I have seen that much of our suffering arises from a clenched fist, a mind that clings to things as 'mine.' We fear their...

All the world's a stage, and each man in his time plays many parts. Yet the most vital scene is oft that which plays...

To rebuild a world of order and harmony, one must first build the self. A house with a weak foundation will surely fall, as...

I have found that the clamor of many voices, even those of friends, can be like dust in the air, clouding one's sight. Before...

I have journeyed from the lands of the Berbers to the courts of Cathay, and I tell you truly, the greatest provision for any...

In my long exile, I have learned that the world of men is a dark wood, where the straight way is often lost. Yet,...

Hearken, you who would wander into lands unknown. I have sung of heroes whose fortunes turned on the whims of the gods, men who...

An idle mind is the Devil's workshop, and a wasted hour can never be reclaimed. I offer here a simple, practical scheme for the...

Do not think poetry is a mere diversion for idle courtiers. It is a crucible for the soul. As I release a figure from...

Just as a farmer tends his fields each day, so too must we tend the garden of our own mind. In times of great...

Fortune may grant or strip away your possessions, your status, your very health. Why, then, would you chain your inner peace to such fickle...

In my long walk towards truth and freedom for India, I discovered a powerful ally: silence. I call this practice Mauna. It is not...

I have spent more nights with the moon for a companion and a mountain for a pillow than I have in the gilded halls...

I have seen many build their homes, and truly I say to you, a house built on sand will not stand when the storms...

Each evening, when the light has been removed and my household has fallen silent, I follow a custom of my own: I examine my...

The world insists we follow paths as straight as canals, our days measured by plans as rigid as a scholar's grid. But when the...

Men seek freedom in wealth, status, or the absence of a master. I tell you, having been a slave, that this is a profound...

I have seen men, like the foolish frog in my tale, destroy themselves by trying to puff themselves up to the size of an...

For too long, men have been content to learn of the world by reading ancient texts, as if Truth were a thing to be...

The world is a book, and each leaf, each stone, is a letter from the Beloved. But we have forgotten how to read. This...

I have known many days where my body has been a poor servant, afflicted by pains and weariness. Yet the duties of an Emperor...

In times of turmoil, men look for clever new solutions and are led astray by Greek sophistry and empty novelty. This is folly. True...

Fortune is fickle, and the path of life is strewn with impediments. The untrained mind sees a blocked road and despairs. But the wise...

The world presents itself as a series of choices: strong or weak, knowing or ignorant, acting or yielding. The striving mind, in trying to...

I was once a slave, and lame in one leg. Yet, was I ever truly harmed? No, for harm cannot touch the will. This...

My friend, do not turn away from what is broken. The world may teach you to discard the cracked pot and the torn garment,...

The workings of Heaven are profound and orderly. The seasons proceed without error, and the ten thousand things flourish according to their nature. By...

I have sung of Achilles's rage and Odysseus's long journey home, and in their struggles, the Muses have shown me a great truth: the...

Man is a rational animal. While our hands must labor to rebuild the world, our highest function lies in the exercise of reason. This...

The world shouts and clamors, pulling your soul in a thousand directions until you forget its true name. But do not despair. Within you...

I have spent my life staring at the heavens, not with the eyes of faith or poetry alone, but with lenses I ground myself....

Many believe that greatness is found only in mighty deeds or loud proclamations. But I tell you, the Kingdom of God is like a...

A Roman's strength, and thus the strength of the Republic itself, is not found in lavish banquets or the soft cushions of the Greeks....

I will teach you a practice of the mind, an exercise for the reasoning soul. We are often tossed about by the impressions of...

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true science. Many believe science is a book...

For too long, men have sought knowledge only in dusty books and the pronouncements of ancient masters. But I say to you, the great...

I have seen how even the fiercest beasts remember a kindness. A lion, his paw swollen by a thorn, did not forget the man...

My friend, when the world's tavern seems to offer only bitter wine, do not despair. The heart is a garden that can bloom even...

I have dedicated my life to the pursuit of knowledge, not for fame or fortune, but for the profound beauty of understanding the universe....

Just as a skilled physician first diagnoses an ailment before prescribing a cure, so too must we understand our own mind. Anger is a...

The world offers endless clamor, but true understanding is found in stillness. With this simple cup, I will show you how to quiet the...

Many have asked me how they should pray. Do not be like those who make a show of it in the synagogues and on...

The world pulls you in ten thousand directions, and the mind becomes a restless monkey. To know peace, you must return to the source....

I have long taught that the foundation of a well-ordered family, and thus a well-ordered state, rests upon the character of the individual. At...

Since my girlhood, the Living Light has shown me marvels not of this world. Yet this sight is not mine alone; it is a...

For a thousand and one nights, I learned that a story is far more than a way to pass the time until dawn. It...

All human arts and inquiries, and all actions and pursuits, are thought to aim at some good. The highest good is human flourishing, or...

Do you seek a life free from disappointment, fear, and lamentation? The path is not found in changing the world, but in changing your...

I have seen that much of our human sorrow arises from a mind that forever seeks what it does not have. It is like...

I have long believed that civilization, in the real sense of the term, consists not in the multiplication of wants but in their deliberate...

A man's purpose is not found by gazing at the clouds, but by tilling the soil of his own life. True contentment and societal...

For many years, I have watched how men, much like the beasts of the field, fall into the same traps time and again. It...

Just as the natural world operates according to fixed and universal laws, so too can the meaning of essential texts be uncovered through systematic...

Why do you tremble at the mention of your final day? It is a destination toward which we all travel from the moment we...

Do not mistake fleeting inspiration for the power that builds monuments or frees a figure from stone. That power is discipline, a fire that...

I have walked among you and seen how heavy the burdens of this world can be. Many are anxious, asking, ‘What shall we eat?’...

I have told the story of the ant and the grasshopper to many a master and many a slave, and its truth is as...

The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. This principle extends beyond the battlefield to all endeavors. Knowing when to...

In the great shipwreck of the world, a man must cling to what floats. While others busy themselves with brick and mortar, do not...

In the tumult of public and private life, we are often assailed by choices where the honorable path is obscured. This is no mere...

In my journeys, I have seen that all beings are assailed by the eight worldly winds: pleasure and pain, gain and loss, fame and...

The popular imagination pictures scientific discovery as a flash of brilliance, a sudden Eureka. This is a dangerous fiction. True progress is born not...

In the court of a wounded king, my life hung by the thread of a story, spun out from dusk until dawn. Survival demanded...

The world presses in from all sides. Men will vex you, fortune will shift like the sands, and your own thoughts can be a...

The world, even in its ruin, is a book of signs. Most men blunder through it, their minds a clatter of anxieties and plans,...

Fortune is a fickle mistress, and to be subject to her whims is to be a slave. The world will present you with provocations,...

Fortune is fickle, and the world outside our minds is a tempest. Yet, Nature has granted us a secure fortress within: our own reason....

Fortune is a capricious mistress, granting favors one moment and ruin the next. The wise man does not wait for her blows to land....

I have learned that the heart's breaking is not its end, but its opening. We try so hard to patch our sorrows, to hide...

Beloved friend, the world outside may rage like a winter tempest, and the voices of fear may clamor for your attention. But within you,...

I have seen the business of the court and the chaos of the battlefield. In all circumstances, I have found that our vexation and...

At the close of each day, the soul requires an accounting. We are tossed by the waves of fortune and the demands of others,...

I have found that fasting is one of the most powerful tools not only for cleansing the body, but for purifying the soul and...

Fate, that cruel demon, seized me by the ears and began to wring from me the very sense that should have been most perfect...

A man who would rule the world must first learn from water. I have spent a thousand nights with the moon as my cupbearer...

In my long years of wandering beneath the heavens, I have learned that loneliness is but a closed door. The world aches to be...

The world of men is a cage of dust, full of endless striving and clamor that muddies the spirit. I have found that true...

The Sage does not look to the writings of men for wisdom; he looks to the world as it is. The great Tao flows...

The wise ruler keeps the people's minds empty and their bellies full. In the same way, you must learn to empty your own mind...

The great Tao flows everywhere. To find it, one must become like it: still, deep, and yielding. In times of chaos, men strive and...

The world reveals its secrets not to the hurried glance, but to the patient, contemplative gaze. Within these pages, I offer a method not...

I have come to see that the human soul, much like a plant, does not grow through force, but through a steady, patient cultivation...

The world without may crumble, but the world within roars on, a veritable Dublin of crisscrossing thoughts, half-recalled melodies, and sudden, piercing anxieties. This...

In my visions, the Lord has shown me that the soul is like a green and flourishing tree. The divine life force that makes...

People marvel at how a concertist can hold hours of music within his mind and hands, performing without a single sheet. This is no...

Men are disturbed not by events, but by the principles and notions which they form concerning events. An insult, a loss, a fear—these things...

I offer you a daily practice to bring tranquility to your soul. Each day, we are beset by events and impressions. This exercise, undertaken...

I have journeyed through the dark wood of despair and the infernal abyss, and I tell you truly that the path to a righteous...

I, Dante Alighieri, having been cast out from my beloved Florence and finding myself lost in a dark wood of the soul, have charted...

Midway upon the journey of our life, I found myself within a forest dark, for the straightforward path had been lost. Many souls wander...

Greetings to you. I have found that much of our suffering arises from a mind that is lost in the past or anxious about...

I have seen that much of our suffering arises not from the world itself, but from our own minds, which are like wild horses...

In this fleeting world, the mind is often like a wild monkey, leaping from branch to branch of thought, fear, and desire. This causes...

Having conceived the bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection, I found that mere conviction was insufficient. I therefore contrived the following...

Imagination is more important than knowledge. While knowledge is limited, imagination encircles the world. In my own work, it was not complex equipment but...

People believe my mind is special. This is not so. I have no special talent; I am only passionately curious. This quality, this insatiable...

I have found that the tranquility of the day is often won or lost in its first moments. Before the demands of the Empire...

So, hands up, I’ve just stolen this from an interview/masterclass with Gary Oldman (referred to by my brother as Gary Old Man – and...

Really bad things happen, they always will: we can never be in full control of our environment or even of ourselves. But by adopting...

All societies, secular or religious, have their God, or Gods. Implicit in doing anything with a specific aim in mind is a value system....