To live is so startling, it leaves but little room for other occupations.
There is no more light in a genius than in any other honest man – but he has a particular kind of lens to concentrate this light into a burning point.[Das Genie hat nicht mehr Licht als ein andrer, rechtschaffener Mensch — aber es sammelt dies Licht durch eine bestimmte Art von Linse in einen Brennpunkt.]
The mind that has no fixed goal loses itself; for, as they say, to be everywhere is to be nowhere.[L’ame qui n’a point de but estably, elle se perd: Car comme on dit, c’est n’estre en aucun lieu, que d’estre par tout.]
People who are too much concerned with little things usually become incapable of big ones.[Ceux qui s’appliquent trop aux petites choses deviennent ordinairement incapables des grandes.]
One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus,- we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular.
If you disperse energy in speech, it doesn’t leave you too much over for action.
How much valuable time may be gained by not looking at what some neighbour says or does or thinks, but only taking care that our own acts are just and holy.[Ὅσην εὐσχολίαν κερδαίνει ὁ μὴ βλέπων τί ὁ πλησίον εἶπεν ἢ ἔπραξεν ἢ διενοήθη, ἀλλὰ μόνον τί αὐτὸς ποιεῖ, ἵνα αὐτὸ τοῦτο δίκαιον ᾖ καὶ ὅσιον ἢ † κατὰ τὸν ἀγαθὸν.]
Give thyself time to learn something new and good, and cease to be whirled around.[πάρεχε σεαυτῷ τοῦ προσμανθάνειν ἀγαθόν τι καὶ παῦσαι ῥεμβόμενος.]
Divinely bent to meditation, and no worldly suit would he be moved to draw him from his holy exercise.
Archaeologists only look at what lies beneath their feet. The sky and the heavens don’t exist for them.
