Leo Tolstoy
Translated by
Dmitry Fadeyev
The true good is not obtained at once, but by constant effort, because the true good consists only in ever greater self-perfection.
When we learn grammar, we learn how to read and write. But grammar does not teach us whether or not we should write a letter to our friend. Likewise, music teaches us to sing or to play an instrument, but it does not teach us when we should sing or play.
Reason alone shows us what we should and should not do.
Having endowed us with reason, God has placed at our disposal that which we most require and which we can handle.
Having created me the way I am, God seemingly said to me: “Epictetus! There is much more I could have given your insignificant body and your little destiny. But do not reproach me for not doing so. I did not want to give you complete freedom to do everything you like, but I instilled in you a divine particle of myself. I made you capable of pursuing the good and avoiding evil; I gave you free thought. If you apply your reason to everything that happens to you, then nothing in the world will stand in your way or restrain you on the path that I have set for you; you will never shed tears about your fate or about other people; you will not condemn them or ingratiate yourself with them. Do not think that this is not enough for you. Is it really not enough for you to live your whole life rationally, calmly and joyfully? So be content with that!”
— Epictetus
The following words were carved on the bath of king Ji Chang: “Every day renew yourself completely; do this again, again and again.”
— Chinese wisdom
The virtue of the sages reminds us of a journey to a faraway land and an ascent to a great height: those who go to a faraway land begin their journey with their first step; those who ascend a great height begin at the base of a mountain.
— Confucius
In order to do anything correctly and well, you must learn how to do it. Everyone understands this. Likewise, in order to live correctly and well, you must learn how to live correctly and well.
— Epictetus
No one, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for God’s Kingdom.
— Luke 9:62
A human being is happy only when he can say that he has done his own work, that he has put his heart into his work and finished it to the best of his ability. If he does otherwise, then, having done the work, he will feel neither comfort, nor peace.
— Emerson
Expect neither quick nor visible success in your pursuit of the good. You are not going to see the fruits of your efforts, because as you advance towards perfection, the perfection you aspire to advances also. Effort is not a means of attaining the good, effort itself is what gives you the good.