The foolβs life is empty of gratitude and full of fears; its course lies wholly toward the future.
EpicurusRead
It is better for you to be free of fear lying upon a pallet, than to have a golden couch and a rich table and be full of trouble.
Interpretation
True contentment comes from freedom from fear rather than material wealth.
This quote by Epicurus emphasizes the idea that a peaceful and fear-free state of being is far more valuable than living in luxury while being plagued by anxiety and troubles. It suggests that inner peace and happiness are foundational to a good life, overshadowing the importance of external possessions and wealth.
In practice
This quote can be used to inspire individuals struggling with anxiety about their financial situation.
The foolβs life is empty of gratitude and full of fears; its course lies wholly toward the future.
Accustom yourself to believe that death is nothing to us, for good and evil imply awareness, and death is the privation of all awareness; therefore a right understanding that death is nothing to us makes the mortality of life enjoyable, not by adding to life an unlimited time, but by taking away the yearning after immortality. For life has no terror; for those who thoroughly apprehend that there are no terrors for them in ceasing to live.
The wise man who has become accustomed to necessities knows better how to share with others than how to take from them, so great a treasure of self-sufficiency has he found.
We should look for someone to eat and drink with before looking for something to eat and drink.
I was not, I was, I am not, I care not. (Non fui, fui, non sum, non curo)
Of all the means to insure happiness throughout the whole life, by far the most important is the acquisition of friends.
One of Satan's greatest tools is pride: to cause a man or a woman to center so much attention on self that he or she becomes insensitive to his Creator or fellow beings. It is a cause for discontent, divorce, teenage rebellion, family indebtedness, and most other problems we face.
The future always looks good in the golden land, because no one remembers the past.
Goodness was more difficult than evil. Evil men knew that more than good men. That's why they became evil. That's why it stuck with them. Evil was for those who could never reach the truth. It was a mask for stupidity and lack of love. Even if people laughed at the notion of goodness, if they found it sentimental, or nostalgic, it didn't matter -- it was none of those things, he said, and it had to be fought for.
The doctrine of immortality rests upon human affection. We love; therefore, we wish to live.
The little incidents and accidents of every day fill us with emotion, anxiety, annoyance, passion, as long as they are close to us, when they appear so big, so important, so serious; but as soon as they are borne down the restless stream of time they lose what significance they had; we think no more of them and soon forget them altogether. They were big only because they were near.
But there are some situations of the human mind in which good sense has very little power.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.