Qu Yuan 屈原
3rd century BC · Chu, Warring States China · The song the fisherman sang, smiling, as he tapped his oar and went away after hearing what Qu Yuan had said
When the Canglang's water is clear, I can wash my hat strings in it. When the Canglang's water is muddy, I can wash my feet.
滄浪之水清兮，可以濯吾纓。
滄浪之水濁兮，可以濯吾足。"The Fisherman," in the Songs of Chu: the fisherman's song
In the same thread
Kim Siseup 金時習
later 15th century · Joseon Korea
Now clear, then rain again; rain, then clear again. If Heaven's way is like this, how much more the hearts of men. The one who praised me turns and runs me down. The one who fled from fame goes seeking fame himself.
乍晴還雨雨還晴 天道猶然況世情
譽我便是還毀我 逃名却自爲求名Maewoldang jip, "Now Clear, Now Rain"
Qu Yuan 屈原
3rd century BC · Chu, Warring States China · Handed down as the words of Qu Yuan
The whole world is muddy and I alone am clean. Everyone is drunk and I alone am sober. That is why I was banished.
舉世皆濁我獨清，衆人皆醉我獨醒，是以見放。"The Fisherman," in the Songs of Chu
Marcus Aurelius Μᾶρκος Αὐρήλιος
170s · Roman Empire
Say to yourself at daybreak: today I shall meet the meddler, the ungrateful, the insolent, the deceitful, the envious, the unsociable.
Ἕωθεν προλέγειν ἑαυτῷ· συντεύξομαι περιέργῳ, ἀχαρίστῳ, ὑβριστῇ, δολερῷ, βασκάνῳ, ἀκοινωνήτῳMeditations 2.1
Jane Austen
December 24, 1798 · England
I do not want people to be very agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them a great deal.
Letter to her sister Cassandra
Natsume Soseki 夏目漱石
1906 · Meiji–Taisho Japan
Work by reason alone and you grow sharp corners. Pole along the stream of feeling and you are swept away. Insist on your own will and you are cramped. Either way, the human world is a hard place to live.
智に働けば角が立つ。情に棹させば流される。意地を通せば窮屈だ。とかくに人の世は住みにくい。The novel Kusamakura (The Grass Pillow), the opening
Confucius 孔子
5th century BC · Lu, Spring and Autumn China
"I have never yet seen anyone who loves virtue as much as he loves beauty."
子曰：「吾未見好德如好色者也。」Analects, book 9 (Zihan)
1 in 100 Billion · The social network of those who came before us