I delight to lodge in such temples as are not regularly kept closed. None of the gods reject me; they make me partner of their roof.
Apollonius Of TyanaRead
If any man has left us for fear of Nero, I shall not account him a coward; but I shall hail as a philosopher any man who has been superior to this fear, and I shall teach him all I know.
Interpretation
True courage is not the absence of fear, but the ability to overcome it.
In this quote, Apollonius of Tyana highlights the distinction between those who flee from fear and those who confront it. He argues that while escaping danger may not be seen as cowardice, true merit lies in the individual who rises above their fears, earning respect and wisdom in the process. This perspective sheds light on the essence of courage and philosophical thought.
In practice
During a motivational speech about resilience and facing adversity.
I delight to lodge in such temples as are not regularly kept closed. None of the gods reject me; they make me partner of their roof.
Just as an individual of pre-eminent worth transforms democracy into a monarchy of the best man, even so the rule of one man, if in all things it has an eye to the common welfare, is democracy.
A man must fortify himself and understand that a wise man who yields to laziness or anger or passion or love of drink, or who commits any other action prompted by impulse and inopportune, will probably find his fault condoned; but if he stoops to greed, he will not be pardoned, but render himself odious as a combination of all vices at once.
Never may a man prone to believe scandal be a despot or a popular leader! Under his guidance, democracy itself will be despotism.
If you have problems of conduct that are difficult and hard to settle, I will furnish you with solutions, for I not only know matters of practice and duty, but I even know them beforehand.
O ye gods, grant unto me to have little and to want nothing.
Slavery is something that is all too often swept under the carpet. The shame doesn't even belong to us, but we still experience it because we're a part of the African race. If it happened to one, it happened to all. We carry that burden.
This I choose to do. If there is a price, this I choose to pay. If it is my death, then I choose to die. Where this takes me, there I choose to go. I choose. This I choose to do.
And ain't I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman?
The best protection any woman can have... is courage.
I was in the Air Force a while and they had what they call "policing the area." That's where you looked around and if there's anything wrong here, there, anywhere, you took care of your own area. And I think that's a pretty good thing to go by. If everyone just takes care of their own area then we won't have any problems. Be here. Be present. Wherever you are, be there. And look around you and see what needs to be changed.
When I started at the Air Force Academy, I found out that I couldn't be a fighter pilot simply because I had ovaries. That was enough to make me go for it.
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