Background Image
...
Thus Then A Single Harmony Orders The Composition Of The Whole...by The Mingling Of The Most Contrary Principles.
-Aristotle
...
Please Wait....
Translating....

Thus Then A Single

Aristotle
...
Thus Then A Single Harmony Orders The Composition Of The Whole...by The Mingling Of The Most Contrary Principles.

Understanding the Quote: "thus then a single harmony orders the composition of the whole...by the..."

This quote by Aristotle reflects deeply on the theme of order. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Order, Unity, Principles, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Aristotle interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Aristotle

Aristotle is celebrated for insightful thoughts on order and unity. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

Views: 40011
Topic
Order
Unity
Principles
More From Aristotle
Art Takes Nature As Its Model.
Art
Creativity
Models
We Are Masters Of Our Actions From The Beginning Up To The Very End. But, In The Case Of Our Habits, We Are Only Masters Of Their Commencement - Each Particular Little Increase Being As Imperceptible As In The Case Of Bodily Infirmities. But Yet Our Habits Are Voluntary, In That It Was Once In Our Power To Adopt Or Not To Adopt Such Or Such A Course Of Conduct.
Littles
Our Actions
Habit
In Part, Art Completes What Nature Cannot Elaborate; And In Part It Imitates Nature.
Art
Music Has A Power Of Forming The Character, And Should Therefore Be Introduced Into The Education Of The Young.
Character
Should
Young
Bravery Is A Mean State Concerned With Things That Inspire Confidence And With Things Fearful ... And Leading Us To Choose Danger And To Face It, Either Because To Do So Is Noble, Or Because Not To Do So Is Base. But To Court Death As An Escape From Poverty, Or From Love, Or From Some Grievous Pain, Is No Proof Of Bravery, But Rather Of Cowardice.
Pain
Mean
Bravery
Happiness Is The Highest Good
Inspirational
Philosophical
Highest
We Praise A Man Who Feels Angry On The Right Grounds And Against The Right Persons And Also In The Right Manner At The Right Moment And For The Right Length Of Time.
Anger
Men
Praise
For Well-being And Health, Again, The Homestead Should Be Airy In Summer, And Sunny In Winter. A Homestead Possessing These Qualities Would Be Longer Than It Is Deep; And Its Main Front Would Face The South.
Summer
Winter
Quality
This Much Then, Is Clear: In All Our Conduct It Is The Mean That Is To Be Commended.
Mean
Action
Clear
Human Beings Are Curious By Nature.
Educational
Curious
Humans
It Is Their Character Indeed That Makes People Who They Are. But It Is By Reason Of Their Actions That They Are Happy Or The Reverse.
Character
People
Action
. . . Political Society Exists For The Sake Of Noble Actions, And Not Of Mere Companionship.
Political
Noble
Sake
Virtue Makes Us Aim At The Right End, And Practical Wisdom Makes Us Take The Right Means.
Mean
Interesting
Virtue
To Let Them Share In The Highest Offices Is To Take A Risk; Inevitably, Their Unjust Standards Will Cause Them To Commit Injustice, And Their Lack Of Judgement Will Lead Them Into Error. On The Other Hand There Is A Risk In Not Giving Them A Share, And In Their Non Participation, For When There Are Many Who Have No Property And No Honours They Inevitably Constitute A Huge Hostile Element In The State. But It Can Still Remain Open To Them To Participate In Deliberating And Judging.
Hands
Errors
Giving
Think As Wise Men Do, But Speak As The Common People Do.
Wise
Men
Thinking
No One Loves The Man Whom He Fears.
Relationship
Fear
Anger
Yellow-colored Objects Appear To Be Gold
Yellow
Gold
Objects
...perhaps There Is Some Element Of Good Even In The Simple Act Of Living, So Long As The Evils Of Existence Do Not Preponderate Too Heavily.
Simple
Long
Evil
That Education Should Be Regulated By Law And Should Be An Affair Of State Is Not To Be Denied, But What Should Be The Character Of This Public Education, And How Young Persons Should Be Educated, Are Questions Which Remain To Be Considered. As Things Are, There Is Disagreement About The Subjects. For Mankind Are By No Means Agreed About The Things To Be Taught, Whether We Look To Virtue Or The Best Life. Neither Is It Clear Whether Education Is More Concerned With Intellectual Or With Moral Virtue.
Education
Character
Mean
We Ought Not To Listen To Those Who Exhort Us, Because We Are Human, To Think Of Human Things....we Ought Rather To Take On Immortality As Much As Possible, And Do All That We Can To Live In Accordance With The Highest Element Within Us; For Even If Its Bulk Is Small, In Its Power And Value It Far Exceeds Everything.
Thinking
Elements
Immortality
The Young Are Heated By Nature As Drunken Men By Wine.
Wine
Men
Young
The Purpose Of The Present Study Is Not As It Is In Other Inquiries, The Attainment Of Knowledge, We Are Not Conducting This Inquiry In Order To Know What Virtue Is, But In Order To Become Good, Else There Would Be No Advantage In Studying It. For That Reason, It Becomes Necessary To Examine The Problem Of Our Actions And To Ask How They Are To Be Performed. For As We Have Said, The Actions Determine What Kind Of Characteristics Are Developed.
Order
Would Be
Purpose
Because The Rich Are Generally Few In Number, While The Poor Are Many, They Appear To Be Antagonistic, And As The One Or The Other Prevails They Form The Government. Hence Arises The Common Opinion That There Are Two Kinds Of Government - Democracy And Oligarchy.
Two
Numbers
Government
The Appropriate Age For Marrige Is Around Eighteen And Thirty-seven For Man
Funny Relationship
Men
Age
While The Faculty Of Sensation Is Dependent Upon The Body, Mind Is Separable From It
Soul
Mind
Body
A Poet's Object Is Not To Tell What Actually Happened But What Could Or Would Happen Either Probably Or Inevitably.... For This Reason Poetry Is Something More Scientific And Serious Than History, Because Poetry Tends To Give General Truths While History Gives Particular Facts.
Truth
History
Giving
The Beginning Of Reform Is Not So Much To Equalize Property As To Train The Noble Sort Of Natures Not To Desire More, And To Prevent The Lower From Getting More.
Nature
Equality
Desire
The Right Constitutions, Three In Number- Kingship, Aristocracy, And Polity- And The Deviations From These, Likewise Three In Number - Tyranny From Kingship, Oligarchy From Aristocracy, Democracy From Polity.
Numbers
Political
Democracy
To Be Always Seeking After The Useful Does Not Become Free And Exalted Souls.
Education
Soul
Doe
Nothing In Life Is More Necessary Than Friendship.
Life Is
Memory Is The Scribe Of The Soul.
Memories
Soul
Scribes
A State Is Not A Mere Society, Having A Common Place, Established For The Prevention Of Mutual Crime And For The Sake Of Exchange. Political Society Exists For The Sake Of Noble Actions, And Not Mere Companionship.
Government
Political
Noble
So That The Lover Of Myths, Which Are A Compact Of Wonders, Is By The Same Token A Lover Of Wisdom.
Lovers
Wonder
Myth
Obstinate People Can Be Divided Into The Opinionated, The Ignorant, And The Boorish.
People
Ignorant
Obstinate
We Are What We Repeatedly Do... Excellence, Therefore, Isn't Just An Act, But A Habit And Life Isn't Just A Series Of Events, But An Ongoing Process Of Self-definition.
Self
Excellence
Events
A Tragedy Is A Representation Of An Action That Is Whole And Complete And Of A Certain Magnitude. A Whole Is What Has A Beginning And Middle And End.
Tragedy
Action
Ends
The Weak Are Always Anxious For Justice And Equality. The Strong Pay No Heed To Either.
Being Strong
Justice
Pay
Fate Of Empires Depends On The Education Of Youth
Educational
Fate
Empires
The Wise Man Does Not Expose Himself Needlessly To Danger, Since There Are Few Things For Which He Cares Sufficiently; But He Is Willing, In Great Crises, To Give Even His Life - Knowing That Under Certain Conditions It Is Not Worthwhile To Live.
Wise
Wisdom
Men
A True Friend Is One Soul In Two Bodies.
True Friend
Two
People
Of Mankind In General, The Parts Are Greater Than The Whole.
Diversity
Mankind
Character Education
Happiness Is A Certain Activity Of Soul In Conformity With Perfect Goodness
Happiness
Perfect
Soul
Men Agree That Justice In The Abstract Is Proportion, But They Differ In That Some Think That If They Are Equal In Any Respect They Are Equal Absolutely, Others That If They Are Unequal In Any Respect They Should Be Unequal In All. The Only Stable Principle Of Government Is Equality According To Proportion, And For Every Man To Enjoy His Own.
Men
Thinking
Law
Whether We Will Philosophize Or We Won't Philosophize, We Must Philosophize.
True Happiness Flows From The Possession Of Wisdom And Virtue And Not From The Possession Of External Goods.
Happiness
Flow
Virtue
One Swallow Does Not Make A Spring, Nor Does One Fine Day.
Spring
Doe
April
Quid Quid Movetur Ab Alio Movetur"(nothing Moves Without Having Been Moved).
Moving
Moved
Pleasure Causes Us To Do Base Actions And Pain Causes Us To Abstain From Doing Noble Actions.
Pain
Noble
Causes
The Word Is A Sign Or Symbol Of The Impressions Or Affections Of The Soul.
Soul
Affection
Impression
Money Originated With Royalty And Slavery, It Has Nothing To Do With Democracy Or The Struggle Of The Empoverished Enslaved Majority.
Struggle
Democracy
Majority
That Body Is Heavier Than Another Which, In An Equal Bulk, Moves Downward Quicker.
Moving
Body
Equal
Virtue Means Doing The Right Thing, In Relation To The Right Person, At The Right Time, To The Right Extent, In The Right Manner, And For The Right Purpose. Thus, To Give Money Away Is Quite A Simple Task, But For The Act To Be Virtuous, The Donor Must Give To The Right Person, For The Right Purpose, In The Right Amount, In The Right Manner, And At The Right Time.
Mean
Simple
Giving
Happiness Depends Upon Ourselves.
Inspirational
Happiness
Adventure
Thus Every Action Must Be Due To One Or Other Of Seven Causes: Chance, Nature, Compulsion, Habit, Reasoning, Anger, Or Appetite.
Nature
Causes
Chance
Something Is Infinite If, Taking It Quantity By Quantity, We Can Always Take Something Outside.
Infinity
Infinite
Quantity
It Would Then Be Most Admirably Adapted To The Purposes Of Justice, If Laws Properly Enacted Were, As Far As Circumstances Admitted, Of Themselves To Mark Out All Cases, And To Abandon As Few As Possible To The Discretion Of The Judge.
Law
Justice
Judging
Whereas Happiness Is The Highest Good, Being A Realization And Perfect Practice Of Virtue, Which Some Can Attain, While Others Have Little Or None Of It, The Various Qualities Of Men Are Clearly The Reason Why There Are Various Kinds Of States And Many Forms Of Government; For Different Men Seek After Happiness In Different Ways And By Different Means, And So Make For Themselves Different Modes Of Life And Forms Of Government.
Mean
Men
Practice
They Who Are To Be Judges Must Also Be Performers.
Justice
Judging
Social Justice
Happiness Is A Thing Honored And Perfect. This Seems To Be Borne Out By The Fact That It Is A First Principle Or Starting-point, Since All Other Things That All Men Do Are Done For Its Sake; And That Which Is The First Principle And Cause Of Things Good We Agree To Be Something Honorable And Divine.
Happiness
Men
Perfect
Men Must Be Able To Engage In Business And Go To War, But Leisure And Peace Are Better; They Must Do What Is Necessary And Indeed What Is Useful, But What Is Honorable Is Better. On Such Principles Children And Persons Of Every Age Which Requires Education Should Be Trained.
Education
Children
War
The Angry Man Wishes The Object Of His Anger To Suffer In Return; Hatred Wishes Its Object Not To Exist.
Men
Angry Man
Hatred
The Business Of Every Art Is To Bring Something Into Existence, And The Practice Of An Art Involves The Study Of How To Bring Into Existence Something Which Is Capable Of Having Such An Existence And Has Its Efficient Cause In The Maker And Not In Itself.
Art
Practice
Causes
He Who Cannot Be A Good Follower Cannot Be A Good Leader.
Leadership
Dancing
Followers
The High-minded Man Is Fond Of Conferring Benefits, But It Shames Him To Receive Them.
Men
Benefits
Shame
The Greatest Victory Is Over Self.
Greatest Victory
Self
Victory
Men Are Divided Between Those Who Are As Thrifty As If They Would Live Forever, And Those Who Are As Extravagant As If They Were Going To Die The Next Day.
Men
Next Day
Forever
Business Or Toil Is Merely Utilitarian. It Is Necessary But Does Not Enrich Or Ennoble A Human Life.
Business
Toil
Doe
The Virtue As The Art Consecrates Itself Constantly To What's Difficult To Do, And The Harder The Task, The Shinier The Success.
Art
Tasks
Virtue
Happiness Depends On Ourselves.
Happiness
Love You
Self Love
Justice Is That Virtue Of The Soul Which Is Distributive According To Desert.
Justice
Soul
Desert
There Are Three Qualifications Required In Those Who Have To Fill The Highest Offices, - (1) First Of All, Loyalty To The Established Constitution; (2) The Greatest Administrative Capacity; (3) Virtue And Justice Of The Kind Proper To Each Form Of Government.
Loyalty
Government
Justice
Man By Nature Desires To Know.
Men
Desire
Knows
Think As The Wise Men Think, But Talk Like The Simple People Do.
Wise
Simple
Men
Now, The Causes Being Four, It Is The Business Of The Student Of Nature To Know About Them All, And If He Refers His Problems Back To All Of Them, He Will Assign The "why" In The Way Proper To His Science-the Matter, The Form, The Mover, That For The Sake Of Which.
Science
Research
Four
The Honors And Rewards Fall To Those Who Show Their Good Qualities In Action.
Inspirational
Spiritual
Fall
Law Is Mind Without Reason.
Law
Mind
Reason
It Is No Easy Task To Be Good.
Philosophy
Educational
Tasks
Now The Soul Of Man Is Divided Into Two Parts, One Of Which Has A Rational Principle In Itself, And The Other, Not Having A Rational Principle In Itself, Is Able To Obey Such A Principle. And We Call A Man In Any Way Good Because He Has The Virtues Of These Two Parts.
Men
Two
Soul
Therefore, Even The Lover Of Myth Is A Philosopher; For Myth Is Composed Of Wonder.
Philosopher
Lovers
Wonder
All Are Agreed That The Various Moral Qualities Are In A Sense Bestowed By Nature: We Are Just, And Capable Of Temperance, And Brave, And Possessed Of The Other Virtues From The Moment Of Our Birth. But Nevertheless We Expect To Find That True Goodness Is Something Different, And That The Virtues In The True Sense Come To Belong To Us In Another Way. For Even Children And Wild Animals Possess The Natural Dispositions, Yet Without Intelligence These May Manifestly Be Harmful.
Children
Animal
Brave
We Must Not Feel A Childish Disgust At The Investigations Of The Meaner Animals. For There Is Something Marvelous In All Natural Things.
Nature
Animal
Natural
It Is Our Choice Of Good Or Evil That Determines Our Character, Not Our Opinion About Good Or Evil.
Character
Evil
Choices
The Man Who Confers A Favour Would Rather Not Be Repaid In The Same Coin.
Men
Coins
Favour
For Often, When One Is Asleep, There Is Something In Consciousness Which Declares That What Then Presents Itself Is But A Dream.
Dream
Insomnia
Consciousness
A Bad Man Can Do A Million Times More Harm Than A Beast.
Men
Beast
Harm
We Must Not Listen To Those Who Advise Us 'being Men To Think Human Thoughts, And Being Mortal To Think Mortal Thoughts' But Must Put On Immortality As Much As Possible And Strain Every Nerve To Live According To That Best Part Of Us, Which, Being Small In Bulk, Yet Much More In Its Power And Honour Surpasses All Else.
Men
Thinking
Nerves
Good Moral Character Is Not Something That We Can Achieve On Our Own. We Need A Culture That Supports The Conditions Under Which Self-love And Friendship Flourish.
Character
Self
Support
The So-called Pythagoreans, Who Were The First To Take Up Mathematics, Not Only Advanced This Subject, But Saturated With It, They Fancied That The Principles Of Mathematics Were The Principles Of All Things.
Math
Principles
Firsts
Happiness Is A Sort Of Action.
Happiness
Action
For Pleasure Is A State Of Soul, And To Each Man That Which He Is Said To Be A Lover Of Is Pleasant.
Men
Soul
Lovers
The Mass Of Mankind Are Evidently Slavish In Their Tastes, Preferring A Life Suitable To Beasts.
Taste
Beast
Mass
For Just As For A Flute-player, A Sculptor, Or An Artist, And, In General, For All Things That Have A Function Or Activity, The Good And The Well Is Thought To Reside In The Function, So Would It Seem To Be For Man, If He Has A Function.
Artist
Player
Men
All Art, All Education, Can Be Merely A Supplement To Nature.
Art
Nature
Supplements
Legislative Enactments Proceed From Men Carrying Their Views A Long Time Back; While Judicial Decisions Are Made Off Hand.
Men
Views
Hands
If You String Together A Set Of Speeches Expressive Of Character, And Well Finished In Point And Diction And Thought, You Will Not Produce The Essential Tragic Effect Nearly So Well As With A Play Which, However Deficient In These Respects, Yet Has A Plot And Artistically Constructed Incidents.
Character
Play
Together
Rhetoric May Be Defined As The Faculty Of Observing In Any Given Case The Available Means Of Persuasion.
Mean
May
Persuasion
Let Us Be Well Persuaded That Everyone Of Us Possesses Happiness In Proportion To His Virtue And Wisdom, And According As He Acts In Obedience To Their Suggestion.
Happiness
Suggestions
Virtue
Quite Often Good Things Have Hurtful Consequences. There Are Instances Of Men Who Have Been Ruined By Their Money Or Killed By Their Courage.
Men
Hurtful
Good Things
A True Disciple Shows His Appreciation By Reaching Further Than His Teacher.
Teacher
Appreciation
Teaching
He Who Confers A Benefit On Anyone Loves Him Better Than He Is Beloved.
Benefits
Beloved
Philanthropy
The Soul Becomes Prudent By Sitting And Being Quiet.
Soul
Sitting
Prudent
The Eyes Are The Organs Of Temptation, And The Ears Are The Organs Of Instruction.
Eye
Temptation
Listening
If We State The Function Of Man To Be A Certain Kind Of Life, And This To Be An Activity Or Actions Of The Soul Implying A Rational Principle, And The Function Of A Good Man To Be The Good And Noble Performance Of These, And If Any Action Is Well Performed When It Is Performed In Accordance With The Appropriate Excellence Human Good Turns Out To Be Activity Of The Soul In Accordance With Virtue, And If There Are More Than One Virtue, In Accordance With The Best And Most Complete.
Men
Soul
Good Man
All That One Gains By Falsehood Is, Not To Be Believed When He Speaks The Truth.
Lying
Deceit
Gains
All Food Must Be Capable Of Being Digested, And That What Produces Digestion Is Warmth; That Is Why Everything That Has Soul In It Possesses Warmth.
Soul
Digestion
Produce
Meanness Is Incurable; It Cannot Be Cured By Old Age, Or By Anything Else.
Anger
Age
Meanness
Friends Enhance Our Ability To Think And Act.
Thinking
Ability
Men Are Swayed More By Fear Than By Reverence.
Men
Reverence
Democracy Is When The Indigent, And Not The Men Of Property, Are The Rulers.
Freedom
Philosophical
Men
A Great City Is Not To Be Confounded With A Populous One.
Philosophical
Cities
City Life
For It Is Owing To Their Wonder That Men Both Now Begin And At First Began To Philosophize... They Were Pursuing Science In Order To Know, And Not For Any Utilitarian End.
Philosophical
Ignorance
Knowledge
But Since There Is But One Aim For The Entire State, It Follows That Education Must Be One And The Same For All, And That The Responsibility For It Must Be A Public One, Not The Private Affair Which It Now Is, Each Man Looking After His Own Children And Teaching Them Privately Whatever Private Curriculum He Thinks They Ought To Study.
Children
Teaching
Responsibility
Since We Think We Understand When We Know The Explanation, And There Are Four Types Of Explanation (one, What It Is To Be A Thing; One, That If Certain Things Hold It Is Necessary That This Does; Another, What Initiated The Change; And Fourth, The Aim), All These Are Proved Through The Middle Term.
Science
Thinking
Doe
When The Citizens At Large Administer The State For The Common Interest, The Government Is Called By The Generic Name - A Constitution.
Government
Names
Generic Name
The Soul Is The Cause Or Source Of The Living Body. The Terms Cause And Source Have Many Senses. But The Soul Is The Cause Of Its Body Alike In All Three Senses Which We Explicitly Recognize. It Is (a) The Source Or Origin Of Movement, It Is (b) The End, It Is (c) The Essence Of The Whole Living Body.
Essence
Soul
Three
Metaphysics Involves Intuitive Knowledge Of Unprovable Starting-points Concepts And Truth And Demonstrative Knowledge Of What Follows From Them.
Words Of Wisdom
Starting
Metaphysics
For Imitation Is Natural To Man From His Infancy. Man Differs From Other Animals Particularly In This, That He Is Imitative, And Acquires His Rudiments Of Knowledge In This Way; Besides, The Delight In It Is Universal.
Men
Animal
Way
The Energy Of The Mind Is The Essence Of Life.
Life
Positive
Buddhist
But The Whole Vital Process Of The Earth Takes Place So Gradually And In Periods Of Time Which Are So Immense Compared With The Length Of Our Life, That These Changes Are Not Observed, And Before Their Course Can Be Recorded From Beginning To End Whole Nations Perish And Are Destroyed.
Science
Earth
Length
The Basis Of A Democratic State Is Liberty
4th Of July
Liberty
States
A Friend Is Simply One Soul In Two Bodies.
Two
Soul
Body
[this Element], The Seat Of The Appetites And Of Desire In General, Does In A Sense Participate In Principle, As Being Amenable And Obedient To It
Soul
Desire
Principles
In The Human Species At All Events There Is A Great Diversity Of Pleasures. The Same Things Delight Some Men And Annoy Others, And Things Painful And Disgusting To Some Are Pleasant And Attractive To Others.
Men
Diversity
Events
When You Have Thrown A Stone, You Cannot Afterwards Bring It Back Again, But Nevertheless You Are Responsible For Having Taken Up The Stone And Flung It, For The Origin Of The Act Was Within You. Similarly The Unjust And Profligate Might At The Outset Have Avoided Becoming So, And Therefore They Are So Voluntarily, Although When They Have Become Unjust And Profligate It Is No Longer Open To Them Not To Be So.
Taken
Unjust
Stones
Patience S Bitter, But It's Fruit Is Sweet.
Sweet
Fruit
Bitter
People Do Not Naturally Become Morally Excellent Or Practically Wise. They Become So, If At All, Only As The Result Of Lifelong Personal And Community Effort.
Wise
People
Effort
How Many A Dispute Could Have Been Deflated Into A Single Paragraph If The Disputants Had Dared To Define Their Terms
Argument
Disputes
Term
All Art Is Concerned With Coming Into Being; For It Is Concerned Neither With Things That Are, Or Come Into Being By Necessity, Nor With Things That Do So In Accordance With Nature.
Art
Artist
Art Is
It Is The Repeated Performance Of Just And Temperate Actions That Produces Virtue.
Action
Virtue
Produce
Wit Is Cultured Insolence.
Humor
Insolence
Wit
Although It May Be Difficult In Theory To Know What Is Just And Equal, The Practical Difficulty Of Inducing Those To Forbear Who Can, If They Like, Encroach, Is Far Greater, For The Weaker Are Always Asking For Equality And Justice, But The Stronger Care For None Of These Things.
Justice
Stronger
Asking
For We Do Not Think That We Know A Thing Until We Are Acquainted With Its Primary Conditions Or First Principles, And Have Carried Our Analysis As Far As Its Simplest Elements.
Thinking
Principles
Analysis
How Strange It Is That Socrates, After Having Made The Children Common, Should Hinder Lovers From Carnal Intercourse Only, But Should Permit Love And Familiarities Between Father And Son Or Between Brother And Brother, Than Which Nothing Can Be More Unseemly, Since Even Without Them Love Of This Sort Is Improper. How Strange, Too, To Forbid Intercourse For No Other Reason Than The Violence Of The Pleasure, As Though The Relationship Of Father And Son Or Of Brothers With One Another Made No Difference.
Brother
Children
Father
Life Cannot Be Lived, And Understood, Simultaneously.
Mindfulness
Understood
The Hand Is The Tool Of Tools.
Hands
Tools
Materials
A Constitution Is The Arrangement Of Magistracies In A State.
Philosophical
Constitution
States
That The Equalization Of Property Exercises An Influence On Political Society Was Clearly Understood Even By Some Of The Old Legislators. Laws Were Made By Solon And Others Prohibiting An Individual From Possessing As Much Land As He Pleased.
Exercise
Law
Land
Plants, Again, Inasmuch As They Are Without Locomotion, Present No Great Variety In Their Heterogeneous Pacts. For, When The Functions Are But Few, Few Also Are The Organs Required To Effect Them. ... Animals, However, That Not Only Live But Perceive, Present A Great Multiformity Of Pacts, And This Diversity Is Greater In Some Animals Than In Others, Being Most Varied In Those To Whose Share Has Fallen Not Mere Life But Life Of High Degree. Now Such An Animal Is Man.
Animal
Men
Diversity
He Who Sees Things Grow From The Beginning Will Have The Best View Of Them.
Nature
Science
Views
He Who Can Be, And Therefore Is, Another's, And He Who Participates In Reason Enough To Apprehend, But Not To Have, Is A Slave By Nature.
Slave
Reason
Enough
For It Is Not True, As Some Treatise-mongers Lay Down In Their Systems, Of The Probity Of The Speaker, That It Contributes Nothing To Persuasion; But Moral Character Nearly, I May Say, Carries With It The Most Sovereign Efficacy In Making Credible.
Character
May
Sovereign
Hence Both Women And Children Must Be Educated With An Eye To The Constitution, If Indeed It Makes Any Difference To The Virtue Of A City-state That Its Children Be Virtuous, And Its Women Too. And It Must Make A Difference, Since Half The Free Population Are Women, And From Children Come Those Who Participate In The Constitution.
Children
Eye
Differences
A Man's Happiness Consists In The Free Exercise Of His Highest Faculties.
Freedom
Exercise
Men
The Beauty Of The Soul Shines Out When A Man Bears With Composure One Heavy Mischance After Another, Not Because He Does Not Feel Them, But Because He Is A Man Of High And Heroic Temper.
Inspirational
Courage
Yoga
In Most Constitutional States The Citizens Rule And Are Ruled By Turns, For The Idea Of A Constitutional State Implies That The Natures Of The Citizens Are Equal, And Do Not Differ At All.
Government
Ideas
Citizens
Between Friends There Is No Need For Justice, But People Who Are Just Still Need The Quality Of Friendship; And Indeed Friendliness Is Considered To Be Justice In The Fullest Sense.
People
Justice
Quality
You'll Understand What Life Is If You Think About The Act Of Dying. When I Die, How Will I Be Different From The Way I Am Right Now? In The First Moments After Death, My Body Will Be Scarcely Different In Physical Terms Than It Was In The Last Seconds Of Life, But I Will No Longer Move, No Longer Sense, Nor Speak, Nor Feel, Nor Care. It's These Things That Are Life. At That Moment, The Psyche Takes Flight In The Last Breath.
Life
Moving
Thinking
To Perceive Is To Suffer.
Life
Depression
Education
Now All Orators Effect Their Demonstrative Proofs By Allegation Either Of Enthymems Or Examples, And, Besides These, In No Other Way Whatever.
Example
Way
Proof
Personal Beauty Is A Greater Recommendation Than Any Letter Of Reference.
Beauty
Philosophical
Letters
Money Was Established For Exchange, But Interest Causes It To Be Reproduced By Itself. Therefore This Way Of Earning Money Is Greatly In Conflict With The Natural Law.
Law
Way
Earning
If Then Nature Makes Nothing Without Some End In View, Nothing To No Purpose, It Must Be That Nature Has Made All Of Them For The Sake Of Man.
Men
Views
Sake
Maybe Crying Is A Means Of Cleaning Yourself Out Emotionally. Or Maybe It's Your Last Resort; The Only Way To Express Yourself When Words Fail, The Same As When You Were A Baby And Had No Words.
Baby
Mean
Way
Why Do Men Seek Honour? Surely In Order To Confirm The Favorable Opinion They Have Formed Of Themselves.
Men
Order
Opinion
To Leave The Number Of Births Unrestricted, As Is Done In Most States, Inevitably Causes Poverty Among The Citizens, And Poverty Produces Crime And Faction.
Numbers
Political
Poverty
The True Nature Of A Thing Is The Highest It Can Become.
Life Changing
True Nature
Highest
There Also Appears To Be Another Element In The Soul, Which, Though Irrational, Yet In A Manner Participates In Rational Principle.
Soul
Principles
Elements
The Worst Form Of Inequality Is To Try To Make Unequal Things Equal.
Philosophical
Equality
Egalitarianism
Different Men Seek After Happiness In Different Ways And By Different Means, And So Make For Themselves Different Modes Of Life And Forms Of Government.
Happiness
Happy
Mean
Everything Is Done With A Goal, And That Goal Is "good."
Goal
Meaning Of Life
Done
Every Virtue Is A Mean Between Two Extremes, Each Of Which Is A Vice.
Mean
Two
Vices
Nor Was Civil Society Founded Merely To Preserve The Lives Of Its Members; But That They Might Live Well: For Otherwise A State Might Be Composed Of Slaves, Or The Animal Creation... Nor Is It An Alliance Mutually To Defend Each Other From Injuries, Or For A Commercial Intercourse. But Whosoever Endeavors To Establish Wholesome Laws In A State, Attends To The Virtues And Vices Of Each Individual Who Composes It; From Whence It Is Evident, That The First Care Of Him Who Would Found A City, Truly Deserving That Name, And Not Nominally So, Must Be To Have His Citizens Virtuous.
Animal
Law
Cities
There Are, Then, Three States Of Mind ... Two Vices--that Of Excess, And That Of Defect; And One Virtue--the Mean; And All These Are In A Certain Sense Opposed To One Another; For The Extremes Are Not Only Opposed To The Mean, But Also To One Another; And The Mean Is Opposed To The Extremes.
Mean
Two
Mind
No Science Ever Defends Its First Principles.
Principles
Firsts
Wickedness Is Nourished By Lust.
Lust
Wickedness
Music Has The Power Of Producing A Certain Effect On The Moral Character Of The Soul, And If It Has The Power To Do This, It Is Clear That The Young Must Be Directed To Music And Must Be Educated In It.
Character
Soul
Theatre
Our Youth Should Also Be Educated With Music And Physical Education.
Education
School
Youth
Modesty Is Hardly To Be Described As A Virtue. It Is A Feeling Rather Than A Disposition. It Is A Kind Of Fear Of Falling Into Disrepute.
Fall
Humble
Feelings
To Be Conscious That We Are Perceiving Or Thinking Is To Be Conscious Of Our Own Existence.
Thinking
Justice
Diversity
...virtue Is Not Merely A State In Conformity With The Right Principle, But One That Implies The Right Principle; And The Right Principle In Moral Conduct Is Prudence.
Principles
Ethics
Moral
The One Exclusive Sign Of Thorough Knowledge Is The Power Of Teaching.
Life
Teacher
Teaching
Neglect Of An Effective Birth Control Policy Is A Never-failing Source Of Poverty Which, In Turn, Is The Parent Of Revolution And Crime.
Parent
Birth Control
Poverty
It Belongs To Small-mindedness To Be Unable To Bear Either Honor Or Dishonor, Either Good Fortune Or Bad, But To Be Filled With Conceit When Honored And Puffed Up By Trifling Good Fortune, And To Be Unable To Bear Even The Smallest Dishonor And To Deem Any Chance Failure A Great Misfortune, And To Be Distressed And Annonyed At Everything. Moreover The Small-minded Man Is The Sort Of Person To Call All Slights An Insult And Dishonor, Even Those That Are Due To Ignorance Or Forgetfulness. Small-mindedness Is Accompanied By Pettiness, Querulousness, Pessimism And Self-abasement.
Ignorance
Men
Self
. . . The Man Is Free, We Say, Who Exists For His Own Sake And Not For Another's.
Men
Sake
He Man
He Who Is By Nature Not His Own But Another's Man Is By Nature A Slave.
Men
Class
Slave
Praise Invariably Implies A Reference To A Higher Standard.
Praise
Standards
Higher Standards
We Ought, So Far As It Lies Within Our Power, To Aspire To Immortality, And Do All That We Can To Live In Conformity With The Highest That Is Within Us; For Even If It Is Small In Quantity, In Power And Preciousness, It Far Excels All The Rest.
Lying
Aging
Conformity
The Purpose Of Art Is To Represent The Meaning Of Things. This Represents The True Reality, Not External Aspects.
Art
Reality
Purpose
Knowing What Is Right Does Not Make A Sagacious Man.
Wisdom
Men
Knowing
Choice Not Chance Determines Your Destiny [my Family Motto...credited To Aristotle]
Destiny
Choices
Chance
The Ridiculous Is Produced By Any Defect That Is Unattended By Pain, Or Fatal Consequences; Thus, An Ugly And Deformed Countenance Does Not Fail To Cause Laughter, If It Is Not Occasioned By Pain.
Laughter
Pain
Doe
Suppose, Then, That All Men Were Sick Or Deranged, Save One Or Two Of Them Who Were Healthy And Of Right Mind. It Would Then Be The Latter Two Who Would Be Thought To Be Sick And Deranged And The Former Not!
Men
Two
Sick
Intuition Is The Source Of Scientific Knowledge.
Inspirational
Spiritual
Educational
Men Become Richer Not Only By Increasing Their Existing Wealth But Also By Decreasing Their Expenditure.
Men
Wealth
Expenditures
Greatness Of Spirit Is Accompanied By Simplicity And Sincerity.
Greatness
Simplicity
Spirit
The Citizens Begin By Giving Up Some Part Of The Constitution, And So With Greater Ease The Government Change Something Else Which Is A Little More Important, Until They Have Undermined The Whole Fabric Of The State.
Giving Up
Government
Important
A Tragedy Is The Imitation Of An Action That Is Serious And Also, As Having Magnitude, Complete In Itself . . . With Incidents Arousing Pity And Fear, Wherewith To Accomplish Its Catharsis Of Such Emotions.
Fear
Tragedy
Catharsis
We Can't Learn Without Pain.
Pain
Without Pain
Man's Best Friend Is One Who Wishes Well To The Object Of His Wish For His Sake, Even If No One Is To Know Of It.
Real
Men
Wish
Happiness Seems To Require A Modicum Of External Prosperity.
Prosperity
Seems
When The Storytelling Goes Bad In A Society, The Result Is Decadence.
Storytelling
Results
Decadence
We Become Just By The Practice Of Just Actions, Self-controlled By Exercising Self-control, And Courageous By Performing Acts Of Courage.
Ambition
Exercise
Self
If Purpose, Then, Is Inherent In Art, So Is It In Nature Also. The Best Illustration Is The Case Of A Man Being His Own Physician, For Nature Is Like That - Agent And Patient At Once.
Art
Nature
Men
Happiness Itself Is Sufficient Excuse. Beautiful Things Are Right And True; So Beautiful Actions Are Those Pleasing To The Gods. Wise Men Have An Inward Sense Of What Is Beautiful, And The Highest Wisdom Is To Trust This Intuition And Be Guided By It. The Answer To The Last Appeal Of What Is Right Lies Within A Man's Own Breast. Trust Thyself.
Beautiful
Wise
Lying
The Soul Suffers When The Body Is Diseased Or Traumatized, While The Body Suffers When The Soul Is Ailing.
Soul
Suffering
Body
The Blood Of A Goat Will Shatter A Diamond.
Blood
Goats
Diamond
Injustice Results As Much From Treating Unequals Equally As From Treating Equals Unequally.
Injustice
Results
Happiness Involves Engagement In Activities That Promote One's Highest Potentials.
Engagement
Activity
Highest
What You Have To Learn To Do, You Learn By Doing.
A Government Which Is Composed Of The Middle Class More Nearly Approximates To Democracy Than To Oligarchy, And Is The Safest Of The Imperfect Forms Of Government.
Class
Government
Democracy
Trending Author
Stewart Alsop
Amanda Holden
Dale Evans
John Denver
Trey Parker
John McEnroe
Category
Information