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THE PATHWAY OF LIFE 47
3. If you truly believe in the correctness of your understanding of life and (lesire to do good to people, you will, if the occasion calls for it, endeavor to lay your opinions before others, in order to assure those with whom you converse of the justice of your understanding of life. And in such instances, the more your companion is in error, the more important it is and the more desirable it is that he should understand and appreciate that which you would prove to him.
And yet frequently we act in a manner entirely contrary to this. We converse well with the man who is agreed 0Г' almost agreed with us; but when we see that our companion does not believe in the truth which we accept, or even does not tmderstand it, we, indeed, try to explain the truth to him, but if he persists in disagreeing with us, or assumes as we think a stubborn attitude, or perverts the meaning of our words, how easily do we become irritated and lose our serenity. We either grow angry and say mean things to our companion, or stop the conversation, thinking that it is not worth while to argue with this dull or stub-bom man.
If you mean to show the man with*whom you converse some particular truth, the main thing is not to be irritated, not to make use of a single unkind or offensive expression.
Epictetus,
4. If you discover a fault in any man, correct him meekly, and show him wherein he is at fault. If your attempt is fruitless, blame only yourself, or better still blame
^ ^^^' Marcus Aurelius.
5. If you fall out with a man, if he is dissatisfied with you, if he disagrees with you though you are in the right— the guilt is not his, but it is in your \acV. ol VatAx^^s's.,
THE PATHWAY OF ЫЕЕ
Without Truthfulness No Good Deed Can Be Perfonned. No Truth Can Be Uttered
1. Goodness and truth are one and the same.
Giusti.
2. A stalk springs up at times and fails to bring forth blossoms. Or it blossoms at times and fails to bring forth fruit.
Those who know the truth are not equal to those w;ho love it; and those who love it are unequal to those who lovingly do the works of truth. Confncius.
3. "And why cart ye me. Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
"Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
"He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was found upon a rock.
"But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great."
Luke, VI. 46-49.
4. Answer hatred with love. Examine a difficulty while it is yet easy of solution. Take up great matters, while they are still small. The most difficult enterprises in the world have their inception while they are still easy. The greatest enterprises in the world have thdr inception while they are still small. Lao-Tse.
5. There are two paths leading to perfect virtue: to be just and to refrain from harming any living creature.
The Book of ManUr.
There is nothing worse than pretension to goodness. Pretension to goodness is more repulsive than out and out malice.
IX.
What a Necessary Condiment to Everything is Kindness. The Best of Qualities are Worthless Without Kindness, and the Greatest Vices May Be Forgiven
Because of It
1. There is a natural kindness, depending on external and bodily causes—inheritance, good digestion or success. This kindness is very agreeable both to him who manifests it and to others. And there is a kindness proceeding from inner spiritual labor. This sort of kindness is less attractive, but whereas the first may not only disappear but even turn into malice, the second not only can not disappear, but constantly g^ows stronger.
2. If when doing a good deed you experience a pang of hostility or cause others to experience hostility towards yourself, stop immediately. It is a proof that you do not know how to do that which you undertook to do. Do you feel a physical or a spiritual pain, do you feel bitterness? stop, and on the one hand learn to do good without experiencing a feeling of pain, and on the other hand eliminate that which has caused the pain.
3. We must value even the appearance of goodness in others, because from this game of pretence whereby they secure respect for themselves which may be possibly undeserved, something more serious may ultimately develop.
It is only the mere appearance of good in our own self
so THE PATHWAY OF LIFE
which we must relentlessly extirpate, tearing down that veO with which our egotism would cover up our defects.
Kant
4. A good deed accomplished gratifies, but does not satisfy. We have always the feeling that we ought to have done much more.
5. No matter how much good you do, there will remain something more to be desired.
6. There is no spontaneous inclination towards morally evil actions, but there is indubitably such a spontaneous inclination to good actions. Kant.
7. A holy man has no relentless heart. He attunes his heart to the hearts of all people. He acts towards a virtuous man as towards a man possessing virtue, towards a vicious man as towards a man capable of virtue.
Eastern wisdom.
8. The wiser and kindlier a man is, the more good he observes in others. Pascal.
9. To stimulate goodness is an important part of life.
Johnson.
10. In order to find joy in serving human beings and all the creatures endowed with life in general, you must first learn to do no evil to human beings and other living creatures, nor to build your life upon the sufferings and the life of others.
Goodness is a basic characteristic of the soul. If a man is not good, he was yielded to some delusion, error or passion which violates this natural characteristic.
ON REFRAINING
«■
ON REFRAINING
Men spoil their lives not so much by failing to do what they ought to do, as by doing that which they ought not to do. Therefore the greatest effort man requires in the attainment of a good life is to refrain from doing that which he ought not to do.
I.
A Good Life Requires Restraint Above All Else
1. There is one thing which is most essential to all men. It is to live a good life. To live a good life, however, means not so much to do the good things which we can do as to refrain from doing the evil things which we can leave undone.
2. All men of our present age know our life is evil, and they not only condemn the order of our life but do things which in their opinion should make life better. But life instead of improving g^rows thereby steadily worse. Why is it so? Because men adopt the most intricate and ingenious expedients, but fail to do the simplest and easiest thing; they do not abstain from participation in those things which make our life evil.
3. A man can only then know what he ought to do when he clearly understands what he ought not to do. Refraining from doing that which he ought not to do, he will inevitably do the things which he ought to do, though he may not realize why he is doing that which he does.
4. Question: what is best to do when you are in a hurry?
Answer: nothing.
5. When courage fails you act towards yourself as towards an invalid; but in particular undertake nothin^«
6. If you are m doubt how to act, whether to do a thing or not to do it, know in advance that it is always better to forbear than to do. If you are not able to restrain yourself, or if you know for a certainty that the deed is good, you will not debate with yourself whether to do it or not to do it; but if you debate with yourself then, in the first instance, you know you can refrain from doing it, and further you may be sure that the thing is not wholly good. If it were wholly good you would not debate with yourself.