Good character is not formed in a week or a month. It is created little by little, day by day. Protracted and patient effort is needed to develop good character.
HeraclitusRead
And some men are as ignorant of what they do when awake as they are forgetful of what they do when asleep.
Interpretation
What this quote means
People often lack awareness of their actions both in consciousness and in dreams.
Heraclitus highlights the human tendency to be oblivious to one's own behaviors and choices, whether awake or asleep. This quote serves as a reflection on how self-awareness can elude us, suggesting that many individuals are disconnected from their true selves and actions, which can lead to a lack of understanding of their own motivations and desires.
Themes
Self-AwarenessIgnoranceConsciousnessDreamsPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about self-reflection during a philosophy class.
More from Heraclitus
All quotes →Thinking is a sacred disease and sight is deceptive.
HeraclitusRead
Things of which there is sight, hearing, apprehension, these I prefer.
HeraclitusRead
Our envy always lasts longer than the happiness of those we envy.
HeraclitusRead
For when is death not within our selves? And as Heracleitus says: “Living and dead are the same, and so are awake and asleep, young and old. The former when shifted are the latter, and again the latter when shifted are the former."
HeraclitusRead
Whosoever wishes to know about the world must learn about it in its particular details. Knowledge is not intelligence. In searching for the truth be ready for the unexpected. Change alone is unchanging. The same road goes both up and down. The beginning of a circle is also its end. Not I, but the world says it: all is one. And yet everything comes in season.
HeraclitusRead
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