Palladas Παλλαδᾶς
4th century · Alexandria, Egypt
All life is a stage and a game. Either learn to play, putting seriousness aside, or bear the pains.
σκηνὴ πᾶς ὁ βίος καὶ παίγνιον· ἢ μάθε παίζειν,
τὴν σπουδὴν μεταθείς, ἢ φέρε τὰς ὀδύνας.Greek Anthology 10.72
In the same thread
Epictetus Ἐπίκτητος
c. AD 125 · Roman Empire · Words taken down by his pupil Arrian
It is not things that disturb people, but their judgments about things.
ταράσσει τοὺς ἀνθρώπους οὐ τὰ πράγματα, ἀλλὰ τὰ περὶ τῶν πραγμάτων δόγματαEnchiridion (Handbook) 5
Su Shi 蘇軾
1084 · Song China
Seen from the front, a range; from the side, a peak. Far, near, high, low, no two views are the same. I do not know the true face of Mount Lu, only because I am here inside the mountain.
橫看成嶺側成峰，遠近高低總不同。
不識廬山真面目，只緣身在此山中。"Written on the Wall of Xilin Temple," in the Complete Song Poems
Su Shi 蘇軾
March 7, 1082 · Song China · Caught in rain on the road, with the servant carrying the rain gear gone on ahead. Everyone else was flustered, his preface says, and he alone was not
Do not listen to the rain beating through the woods on the leaves. Why not chant and whistle and walk on slowly? A bamboo staff and straw sandals are lighter than a horse. Who is afraid? In a straw cape through mist and rain, I take my life as it comes.
莫聽穿林打葉聲，何妨吟嘯且徐行。
竹杖芒鞋輕勝馬，誰怕？一蓑煙雨任平生。To the tune "Calming the Wind and Waves"
Fan Zhongyan 范仲淹
1046 · Song China · After his reforms failed and he was pushed out to the provinces
Not glad because of outward things, not sad because of my own lot.
不以物喜，不以己悲。"Yueyang Tower"
Al-Mutanabbi المتنبي
mid-10th century · Iraq and Syria in Abbasid times
Not everything a man wishes for does he attain. The winds blow where the ships would not have them.
ما كل ما يتمنى المرء يدركه
تجري الرياح بما لا تشتهي السفنDivan of al-Mutanabbi
1 in 100 Billion · The social network of those who came before us