Revert "html update"
[clinton/website/site/unknownlamer.org.git] / Wisdom.html
CommitLineData
2aff8b5c 1<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
2<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
3 "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
4<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
5 <head>
6 <title>The Wisdom of the Ancients</title>
7 <meta name="generator" content="muse.el" />
8 <meta http-equiv="Content-Type"
9 content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
11f9bd69
CE
10 <meta name="viewport"
11 content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
98266870 12 <link href="https://feeds.unknownlamer.org/rss/site-updates"
54a817d4 13 rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Updates Feed" />
14
c2a3216c 15<link rel="stylesheet" href="default.css" />
2aff8b5c 16 </head>
17 <body>
18 <h1>The Wisdom of the Ancients</h1>
19 <div class="contents">
20<dl>
21<dt>
22<a href="#sec1">Mencius</a>
23</dt>
24<dd>
25<dl>
26<dt>
27<a href="#sec2">III.B.1</a>
28</dt>
29<dt>
30<a href="#sec3">VI.A.10</a>
31</dt>
32</dl>
33</dd>
34<dt>
35<a href="#sec4">Qohelet</a>
36</dt>
4615542e 37<dd>
38<dl>
2aff8b5c 39<dt>
40<a href="#sec5">One</a>
41</dt>
4615542e 42</dl>
43</dd>
aa72714c 44<dt>
45<a href="#sec6">Søren Kierkegaard</a>
46</dt>
47<dd>
48<dl>
49<dt>
50<a href="#sec7">Either/Or I</a>
51</dt>
52</dl>
53</dd>
54<dt>
55<a href="#sec8">Nietzsche</a>
56</dt>
57<dd>
58<dl>
59<dt>
60<a href="#sec9">Beyond Good and Evil</a>
61</dt>
62</dl>
63</dd>
2aff8b5c 64</dl>
65</div>
66
67
11f9bd69
CE
68<!-- Page published by Emacs Muse begins here -->
69<h2><a name="sec1" id="sec1"></a>
2aff8b5c 70Mencius</h2>
71
72<h3><a name="sec2" id="sec2"></a>
73III.B.1</h3>
74
75<blockquote>
76<p class="quoted">
77Ch'en Tai said, &quot;When you refused even to see them, the feudal lords
78appeared insignificant to you. Now that you have seen them, they are
79either kings, or, at least, leaders of the feudal lords. Moreover,
80it is said in the <em>Records</em>, 'Bend the foot in order to straighten
81the yard.' That seems worth doing.&quot;</p>
82<p class="quoted">&quot;Once,&quot; said Mencius, &quot;Duke Ching of Ch'i went hunting and summoned
83his gamekeeper with a pennon. The gamekeeper did not come, and the
84Duke was going to have him put to death. 'A man whose mind is set on
85high ideals never forgets that he may end in a ditch; a man of valor
86never forgets that he may forfeit his head.' What did Conficius find
87praiseworthy in the gamekeeper? His refusal to answer to a form of
88summons to which he was not entitled. What can one do about those
89who go without even being summoned? Moreover, the saying, 'Bend the
90foot in order to straighten the yard' refers to profit. If it is for
91profit, I suppose one might just as well bend the yard to straighten
92the foot.</p>
93<p class="quoted">&quot;Once, Viscount Chien of Chao sent Wang Liang to drive the chariot
94for his favorite, Hsi. In the whole day they failed to catch one
95single bird. Hsi reported to his master, 'He is the worst charioteer
96in the world.' Someone told Wang Liang of this. Liang asked, 'May I
97have another chance?' It was with difficulty that Hsi was persuaded,
98but in one morning they caught ten birds. Hsi reported to his
99master, 'He is the best charioteer in the world.' 'I shall make him
100drive for you,' said Viscount Chien. He asked Wang Liang, but
101Wang Liang refused. 'I drove for him according to the proper rules,'
102said he, 'and we did not catch a single bird all day. Then I used
103underhand methods, and we caught ten birds in one morning. The <em>Book
104of Odes</em> says,</p>
c2a3216c 105<p class="quoted"></p>
2aff8b5c 106
107<p class="verse">
108He never failed to drive correctly,<br />
109And his arrows went straight for the target<br />
54a817d4 110</p><br />
2aff8b5c 111</p>
54a817d4 112<p class="quoted">I am not used to driving for small men. May I be excused?'</p>
2aff8b5c 113<p class="quoted">&quot;Even a charioteer is ashamed to be in league with an archer. When
114doing so means catching enough birds to pile up like a mountain, he
115would still rather not do it. What can one do about those who bend
116the Way in order to please others? You are futher mistaken. There
117has never been a man who could straighten others by bending
118himself.&quot;</p>
119
120</blockquote>
121
122
123<h3><a name="sec3" id="sec3"></a>
124VI.A.10</h3>
125
126<blockquote>
127<p class="quoted">
128Mencius said, &quot;Fish is what I want; bear's palm is also what I
129want. If I cannot have both, I would rather take bear's palm than
130fish. Life is what I want; dutifulness is also what I want. If I
131cannot have both, I would rather take dutifulness than life. On the
132one hand, though life is what I want, there is something I want more
133than life. That is why I do not cling to life at all costs. On the
134other hand, though death is what I loathe, there is something I
135loathe more than death. That is why there are troubles I do not
136avoid. If there is nothing a man wants more than life, then why
137should he have scruples about any means, so long as it will serve to
138keep him alive? if there is nothing a man loathes more than death,
139then why should have have scruples about any means, so long as it
140helps him to avoid trouble? Yet there are ways of remaining alive
141and ways of avoiding death to which a man will not resort. In other
142words, there are things a man wants more than life and there are
143also things he loathes more than death. This is an attitude not
144confined to the moral man but common to all men. The moral man simply
145never loses it.</p>
146<p class="quoted">&quot;Here is a basketful of rice and a bowful of soup. Getting them will
147mean life; not getting them will mean death. When these are given
148with abuse, even a wayfarer would not accept them; when these are
149given after being trampled upon, even a beggar would not accept
150them. Yet when it comes to ten thousand bushels of grain one is
151supposed to accept without asking if it is in accordance with the
152rites or if it is right to do so. What benefit are then thousand
153bushels of grain to me? [Do I accept them] for the sake of beautiful
154houses, the enjoyment of wives and concubines, or for the sake of
155the gratitude my needy acquaintances will show? What I would not
156accept in the first instance when it was a matter of life and death
157I now accept for the sake of beautiful houses; what I would not
158accept when it was a matter of life and death I now accept for the
159enjoyment of wives and concubines; what I would not accept when it
160was a matter of life and death I now accept for the sake of the
161gratitude my needy acquaintances will show me. Is there no way of
162putting a stop to this? This way of thinking is known as losing
163one's original heart.&quot;</p>
164
165</blockquote>
166
167
168
169<h2><a name="sec4" id="sec4"></a>
170Qohelet</h2>
171
4615542e 172<h3><a name="sec5" id="sec5"></a>
173One</h3>
2aff8b5c 174
175<p class="verse">
176&nbsp;&nbsp;1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.<br />
177&nbsp;&nbsp;2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.<br />
178&nbsp;&nbsp;3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?<br />
179&nbsp;&nbsp;4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth<br />
180abideth for ever.<br />
181&nbsp;&nbsp;5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place<br />
182where he arose.<br />
183&nbsp;&nbsp;6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it<br />
184whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his<br />
185circuits.<br />
186&nbsp;&nbsp;7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place<br />
187from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.<br />
188&nbsp;&nbsp;8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not<br />
189satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.<br />
190&nbsp;&nbsp;9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done<br />
191is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.<br />
192&nbsp;&nbsp;10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been<br />
193already of old time, which was before us.<br />
194&nbsp;&nbsp;11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any<br />
195remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.<br />
196&nbsp;&nbsp;12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.<br />
197&nbsp;&nbsp;13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things<br />
198that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man<br />
199to be exercised therewith.<br />
200&nbsp;&nbsp;14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is<br />
201vanity and vexation of spirit.<br />
202&nbsp;&nbsp;15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting<br />
203cannot be numbered.<br />
204&nbsp;&nbsp;16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and<br />
205have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem:<br />
206yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.<br />
207&nbsp;&nbsp;17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I<br />
208perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.<br />
209&nbsp;&nbsp;18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge<br />
210increaseth sorrow.<br />
211</p>
212
213
4615542e 214
aa72714c 215<h2><a name="sec6" id="sec6"></a>
216Søren Kierkegaard</h2>
217
218<h3><a name="sec7" id="sec7"></a>
219Either/Or I</h3>
220
221<blockquote>
222<p class="quoted">
223A feature in which our age certainly excels that age in Greece is that
224our age is more depressed and therefore deeper in despair. Thus, our
225age is sufficiently depressed to know that there is something called
226responsibility and that this means something. Therefore, although
227everyone wants to rule, no one wants to have responsibility. It is
228still fresh in our memory that a French statesman, when offered a
229portfolio the second time, declared that he would accept it but on the
230condition that the secretary of state be made responsible. It is well
231known that the king in France is not responsible, but the prime
232minister is; the prime minister does not wish to be responsible but
233wants to be prime minister provided that the secretary of state will
234be responsible; ultimately it ends, of course, with the watchmen or
235street commissioners becoming responsible. Would not this inverted
236story of responsibility be an appropriate subject for Aristophanes! On
237the other hand, why are the government and the governors so afraid of
238assuming responsibility, unless it is because they fear an opposition
239party that in turn continually pushes away responsibility on a similar
240scale. When one imagines these two powers face to face with each other
241but unable to catch hold of each other because the one is always
242disappearing and is replaced by the other&mdash;such a situation would
243certainly not be without comic power.</p>
244
245</blockquote>
246
247
248
249<h2><a name="sec8" id="sec8"></a>
250Nietzsche</h2>
251
252<h3><a name="sec9" id="sec9"></a>
253Beyond Good and Evil</h3>
254
5d446cbd 255<blockquote>
256<p class="quoted">
257<strong>30.</strong> Our highest insights must&mdash;and should&mdash;sound
aa72714c 258like follies and sometimes like crimes when they are heard without
259permission by those who are not predisposed and predestined for
260them. The difference between the exoteric and the esoteric, formerly
261known to philosophers&mdash;among the Indians as among the Greek,
262Persians, and Muslims, in short, wherever one believed in an order of
263rank and <em>not</em> in equality and equal rights&mdash;does not so much
264consists in this, that the exoteric approach comes from the outside
265and sees, estimates, measures, and judges from the outside, not the
266inside; what is much more essential is that the exoteric approach sees
267things from below, the esoteric looks <em>down from above</em>. There
268are heights of the soul from which even tragedy ceases to look tragic;
269and rolling together all the woe of the world&mdash;who could dare to
270decide whether its sight would <em>necessarily</em> seduce us and
271compel us to feel pity and thus double this woe?</p>
5d446cbd 272<p class="quoted">What serves the higher type of men as nourishment or delectation must
aa72714c 273almost be poison for a very different and inferior type. The virtues
274of the common man might perhaps signify vices and weaknesses in a
275philosopher. It could be possible that a man of a high type, when
276degenerating and perishing, might only at that point acquire qualities
277that would require those in the lower sphere into which he had sunk to
278begin to venerate him like a saint. There are books that have opposite
279values for soul and health, depending on whether the lower soul, the
280lower vitality, or the higher and more vigorous ones turn to them: in
281the former case, these books are dangerous and lead to crumbling and
282disintegration; in the latter, heralds' cries that call the bravest to
283<em>their</em> courage. Books for all the world are always
284foul-smelling books: the smell of small people clings to them. Where
285the people eat and drink, even where they venerate, it usually
286stinks. One should not go to church if one wants to breathe
287<em>pure</em> air.</p>
288
5d446cbd 289</blockquote>
290
aa72714c 291
292
2aff8b5c 293 <!-- Page published by Emacs Muse ends here -->
294
295 <p class="cke-buttons">
296 <!-- validating badges, any browser, etc -->
98266870
CE
297 <a href="https://validator.w3.org/check/referer"><img
298 src="https://www.w3.org/Icons/valid-xhtml10"
2aff8b5c 299 alt="Valid XHTML 1.0!" /></a>
300
98266870 301 <a href="https://www.anybrowser.org/campaign/"><img
2aff8b5c 302 src="img/buttons/w3c_ab.png" alt="[ Viewable With Any Browser
303 ]" /></a>
304
98266870 305 <a href="https://www.debian.org/"><img
2aff8b5c 306 src="img/buttons/debian.png" alt="[ Powered by Debian ]" /></a>
307
98266870 308 <a href="https://hcoop.net/">
2aff8b5c 309 <img src="img/buttons/hcoop.png"
310 alt="[ Hosted by HCoop]" />
311 </a>
312
98266870 313 <a href="https://www.fsf.org/register_form?referrer=114">
2aff8b5c 314 <img src="img/buttons/fsf_member.png"
315 alt="[ FSF Associate Member ]" />
316 </a>
317 </p>
318
98266870
CE
319<p class="cke-footer">* jeffcovey becomes too groggy to read the directions and becomes
320 the year's first nasal spray overdose fatality.
2aff8b5c 321</p>
322<p class="cke-timestamp">Last Modified:
f6d19803 323 January 21, 2013</p>
2aff8b5c 324 </body>
325</html>