Treasure Shelf Week III
& IV
These past two weeks have
been full of so many wonderful words, some lighter and some more serious in
nature, but all delightful. Included were Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, Alice
in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, the last 18 chapters of David Copperfield and
the first 10 chapters of Phantastes by George MacDonald. There are far too many
quotes to type out all of them here, so take the passages as tasty little
crumbs of the delights and riches these books hold. Happy Reading!!!
5) Meditations
Marcus Aurelius
*Note: It is astonishing
(as many have observed) how close Aurelius comes to the doctrines and practices
of Christianity without espousing them. The Meditations are, in many ways, a
stoic Ecclesiastes. With this in mind, there is much to be gained by reading
his practical wisdom through the lens of Christianity, not hesitating to
substitute the fuller truth of the Christian scriptures where Aurelius stops
short. The resulting riches are a
lifetime of comfort and strength.*
"Every moment think
steadily as a Roman and a man to do what you have in hand with perfect and
simple dignity and feeling of affection and freedom and justice; and to give
yourself relief from all other thoughts and you will give yourself relief if
you do every act of your life as if it were the last, laying aside all
carelessness, passionate aversion form the commands of reason, hypocrisy,
self-love, and discontent with the portion that has been given to you."
"How quickly all
things disappear: in the universe the bodies themselves, but in time the memory
of them; what is the nature of all sensible things, and particularly those that
attract the bait of pleasure or terrify
by pain, or are noised abroad by vapory fame; how worlds and contemptible and
sordid and perishable and dead they are - all this it is the par too the
intellectual factually to observe ... To observe, too, how man comes near to
the deity, and by what part of him, and when this part of man is so
disposed."
"These two things you
must bear in mind; the one, that all things from eternity are of like forms and
come round in a circles, and that it makes no difference whether a man shall
see the same things during a hundred years or two hundred, or an infinite time;
and the second, that he who lives longest and he who will die soonest lose just
the same. For the present is the lonely thing of which a man can be deprived,
it if is true that this is the only thing which he has, and that a man cannot
lose something he does not already possess."
"...even the smallest
things should be done with reference to an end."
"We ought to observe
also that even the things which follow after the things that are produced
according to nature contain something pleasing and attractive. For instance,
when bread is baked, some parts are split at the surface, and these parts which
thus open, and have a certain fashion contrary to the purpose of the baker's
art, are beautiful in a manner, and in a peculiar way excite a desire for
eating. And again, figs, when they are quite ripe, gape open; and in the ripe
olives the very circumstance of their being near to rottenness adds a peculiar
beauty to the fruit."
"...dyed deep with
justice, accepting with all his soul everything that happens and is assigned to
him as his portion..."
"Casting aside other
things, hold to the precious few; and besides bear in mind that every man lives
on ly the present, which is an indivisible point, and that all the rest of his
life is either past or is uncertain. Brief is man's life an dismal the nook of
the earth where he lives..."
"For there is no
retreat that is quieter or freer from trouble than a man's own soul, especially
when he has within him such thoughts that by looking into them he is
immediately in perfect tranquility; and tranquility is nothing else than the
good ordering of the mind."
"Note that everything
that happens, happens justly, and if you observe carefully, you will find it to
be so, not only with respect the continuity of the series of things but with
respect to what is just as if it were done by [O]ne who assigns to each thing
its value. Observe than as you have begun; and whiter you do, do it in
conjunction with goodies, in the sense in which a man is properly understood to
be good. keep to this in every action."
"Accordingly on ever
occasion a man should ask himself, Is this one of the unnecessary things? Now a
man should take away not only unnecessary acts,, but also unnecessary thoughts
so that superfluous acts will not follow after."
"You are a little
soul bearing up a corpse, as Epictetus used to say."
"It is no evil for
things to undergo change, and no good for things to subsist in consequence of
change."
"Be like the
promontory against which the waves continually break; but it stands firm and
tames the fury of the water around it.
'I am unhappy, because
this has happened to me.' Not so: say, 'I am happy, though this has happened to
me, because I continue free from pain , neither crushed by the present nor
fearing the future.'"
"Remember, too, on
every occasion that leads you to vexation to apply this principle: not that
this is a misfortune, but that to bear it nobly is good fortune."
"In the morning, when
you arise unwillingly, let this thought be present I am rising to the work of a
human being . Why then am I dissatisfied if I am going to do the things for
which I exist and for which i was brought in to the world? Or have I been made
for this, to lie under the blankets and keep myself warm? But this is more
pleasant. Do you exist then to take your pleasure, and not at all for action or
exertion? Do you not see this little plants, the little birds, the ants, the
spiders, the bees working together to put in order their separate parts of the
universe? And are you unwilling to do the work of a human being, and do you not
make haste to do that which is according to your nature? But it is necessary to
take rest also. It is necessary: nature, however, has fixed bound to this, too:
she has fixed bounds both to eating and drinking, and yet you go beyond these
bound, beyond what is sufficient; yet in your acts it is not so, but you stop short
of what you can do."
"As a horse when he
has run, a dog when he has tracked the game, a bee when it has made the honey,
so a man when he has done a good act, does not call outdoor others to come and
see, but he goes on to another act, as a vine goes on to produce again the
grapes in season."
"For two reasons then
it is right to be content with what happens to you; the one, because it was
done for you and prescribed for you and in a manner had reference to you,
originally form the most ancient causes spun with your destiny; and the other,
because even what comes separately to every man is to the power that
administers the universe cause of felicity and perfection, even of its very
continuance. For the integrity of the whole is mutilated if you cut off
anything whatever from the conjunction and the continuity either of the parts
or of the causes. And you do cut off, as far as it is in your power, when you
are dissatisfied, and in a manner try to put anything out of the way."
"Such as are your
habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of your mind; for the soul
is dyed by the thoughts"
"Nothing happens to
any man that he is not formed by nature to bear."
"Think of a universal
substance, of which you have a very small portion; and of universal time, of
which a short and indivisible interval has been assigned to you; and of that
which is fixe by destiny, and how small a part of it you are."
"Let the part of your
soul that leads and covers be undisturbed by the movements in the flesh,
whether of pleasure or of pain; and let it not unit with them, but let it
circumscribe itself and limit those
affects to their parts."
"Let it make no
difference to you whether you are cold or warm, of you are doing your duty; and
whether you are drowsy or satisfied with sleep; and whether ill-spoken of or
praised; and whether dying or doing something else. For it is one of the acts
of life, this act by which we die: it is sufficient then in this act also to do
well what we have in hand."
"Take pleasure in one
thing and rest in it: in passing from one social act to another social act,
think of God."
"When you have been
compelled by circumstances to be disturbed in a manner, quickly return to
yourself and do not continue out of tune longer than the compulsion lasts; for
you will have more mastery over the harmony by continually recurring to
it."
"Some things are
hurrying into existence, and others are hurrying out of it; and of that which is
coming into existence, part is already extinguished. Mottos and changes are
continually renewing the world, just as the uninterrupted course of time is
always renewing the infinite duration of ages. In this flowing stream, then, on
which there is no abiding, what is there of the things that hurry by on which a
man would set a high price? It would be just as if a man should fall in love
with one of the sparrows that fly by, when as already passed out of sight.
Something of this kind is the very life of every man, like the exhalation of
the blood and the respiration of the air."
"...what remains that
is worth valuing? This, in my opinion; to move yourself and to restrain
yourself in conformity to your proper constitution, to which end all
employments and arts lead. For every art aims at this, that the thing that has
been made should be adapted to the work from which it has been made..."
"If any man is able
to convince me and show me that I do not think or act right, I will gladly
change; for I seek the truth by which no man was every injured. Be he is
injured who abides in his error and ignorance."
"All things are
little, changeable, perishable. All things come from that universal ruling
power either directly or mediately. And accordingly the lion's gaping jaws, and
that which is poisonous, and every harmful thing, such as a thorn or mud, are
byproducts of the grand and beautiful."
"Adapt yourself to
the things with which you lot has been cast; and the men among whom you have
received your portion, love them, and do it truly, sincerely.
"...for he who rules
all things will certainly make right use of you..."
"When you wish to
delight yourself, think of the virtues of those who live with you; for
instance, the activity of one, the modesty of another, the liberality of a
third, and some other good quality of a fourth. For nothing delights so much as
the examples of the virtues when they are exhibited in the morals of those who
live with use and present themselves in abundance, as far as is possible. Hence
we must keep them before us."
"Do not be ashamed to
be helped; for it is your business to do your duty like a soldier in the
assault on a town. What if, being lame, you cannot mount up on the battlements
along, but with the help of another it is possible?"
"Al things are
mutually intertwined, and the bond is holy; and there is hardly anything
unconnected with any other thing. For things have been coordinated and they
combine to form one universal order. For there is one universe made up of all
things, and one God who pervades all things..."
"Be upright or be
made upright"
"Is any man afraid of
change? What can take place without change? What then is more pleasing or more
suitable to the universal nature? And can you take a hot bath unless the wood
for the fire undergoes a change? And can you be nourished unless the food
undergoes a change? and can anything else that is useful be accomplished
without change? Do you not see then that for yourself also to change is just he
same, and equally necessary for the universal nature?"
"Think not so much of
what you lack as of what you have: but of the things that you have, select the
best, and then reflect how eagerly you would have sought them if you did not
have them. At the same time, however, take care that you do not through being
so pleased with them accustom yourself to overvalue them, so as to be disturbed
if you should ever not have them."
"About pain: The pain
that is intolerable carries us off; but that which lasts a long time is
tolerable; and the mind maintains its own tranquility by retiring into itself,
and the ruling faculty is not made worse. But the parts that are harmed by
pain, let them, if they can, give their opinion about it."
"Indeed in the case
of most pains let this remark of Epicurus aid you, that pain is neither
intolerable nor everlasting if you bear in mind that it has its limits, and if
you add nothing to it in imagination and remember this, too, that we do not
perceive that many things that are disagreeable to us are the same as pain, such
as excessive drowsiness, and being scorched by heat, and having no appetite.
When then you are discontented abut any of these things, say to yourself that
you are yielding to pain."
"If you are pained by
an y external things, it is not this thing that disturbs you, but your own
judgment about it. And it is in your power to wipe out this judgement now. But
if anything in your own disposition gives you pain, who hinders you from
correcting your opinion? And even if you are opined because you aren to doing
some particular thing that seems to you to be right, why do you not rather act
than complain?"
"Everything that
happens either happens in such way as you are formed by nature to bear it, or
as you are not formed by nature to bear it. If, then, it happens to you in such
way as you are formed by nature to bear it, do not complain, but bear it
accordingly. But if it happens in such way as you are not formed by nature to
bear it, do not complain, for it will perish after it has consume you.
Remember, however, that you are formed by nature to bear everything whose
tolerability depends on your own opinion to make it so, by thinking that it is
in your interest or duty to do so."
"...magnanimity is
the elevation of the intelligent part above the pleasurable or painful
sensations of the flesh, and above that poor thing called fame, and death, and
all such things."
"But as to what any
man shall say or think about him or do against him, he never even thinks of it,
being himself contented with these two things, with acting justly in what he
now does, and being satisfied with what snow assigned to him; and he lays aside
all distracting and busy pursuits, and desires nothing else than to accomplish
the straight course through the law, and by accomplishing the straight course
to follow God. "
"In everything that
you do, pause and ask yourself if death is a dreadful thing because it deprives
you of this."
"The healthy ought to
see all visible things and not say, "I wish for green things"; for
this is the condition of a diseased eye. And the healthy hearing and smelling
bought to be ready to perceive all that can be hearted and smelled. And the
healthy stomach ought to be with respect all food just as the mill with respect
to all things that it is formed to grind."
"You will set little
value on pleasant song and dancing and the pancatium, if you will analyze the
melody of the voice into its several sounds, and ask yourself as to each,
"Am I mastered by this ?"
"...begin at last to
be a man while you live."
"And let this truth
be present to you in the excitement of anger, that to be moved by passion is
not manly, but that excitement of anger, but that mildness and gentleness, as
they are more agreeable to human nature, so also are they more manly, and he
who possesses these qualities possesses strength, nerves, and courage, and not
the man who is subject to fits of passion and discontent. For in the degree to
which a man's mind is nearer to freedom from all passion, in the same degree
also it is nearer to strength..."
"...and if you shall
strive to live what is really your life, that is, the present - then you will
be able to pass that portion of life that remains for you up to the time of
your death, free from perturbations, nobly and obedient..."
"What shall be a
complete drama is determined by Him who was once the cause of its composition,
and now of its dissolution; but you are the cause of neither. Depart then
satisfied, for He also who releases you is satisfied."
6) David Copperfield
Charles Dickens
7) Alice's Adventures in
Wonderland
Lewis Carroll
... 'I wonder what latitude and longitude I've got to?' (Alice hadn't the slightest idea what Latitude was, or Longitude either, but she thought they were nice grand words to say.) Presently she began again. 'I wonder if I shall fall right through the earth! How funny it'll seem to come out among the people that walk with their heads downwards! The antipathies, I think --' (she was rather glad there was no one listening, this time, as it didn't sound at all the right word)
It was all very well to say "Drink me," but the wise little Alice was not going to do that in a hurry. "No, I'll look first," she said, "and see whether it's marked 'poison' or not"; for she had read several nice little stories about children who had got burnt, and eaten up by wild beasts, and other unpleasant things, all because they would not remember the simple rules their friends had taught them: such as , that a red-hot poker will burn you if you hold it too long; and that, if you cut your finger very deeply with a knife, it usually bleeds; and she had never forgotten that, if you drink much from a bottle marked "poison," it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later.
"Come, there's no use in crying like that!" said Alice to herself rather sharply. "I advise you to leave off this minute!" She generally gave herself very good advice (though she very seldom followed it), and sometimes she scolded herself so severely as to bring tears into her eyes; and once she remembered trying to box her own ears for having cheated herself in a game of croquet she was playing against herself.
"The game is going on rather better now, " [Alice] said, by way of keeping up the conversation a little.
"'Tis so," said the Duchess: "and the moral of that is - 'Oh, 'tis love, 'tis love that makes the World go round!'"
"Somebody said," Alice whispered, "that it's done by everybody minding their own business!"
"Ah well! it means much the same thing," said the Duchess, digging her sharp little chin into Alice's shoulder...
"I quite agree with you," said the Duchess; "and the moral of that is - 'Be what you would seem to be' - or if you'd like it put more simply - 'Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise.'"
"I only took the regular course."
"What was that? " inquired Alice.
"Reeling and Writhing, of course to begin with," the Mock Turtle replied; "and then the different branches of Arithmetic - Ambition, Distraction, Uglification, and Derision."
"What else had you to learn?"
"Well, there was Mystery," the Mock Turtle replied, counting off the subjects on his flappers - "Mystery, ancient and modern, with Seaography: then Drawling - the Drawling-master was an old conger-eel, that used to come once a week: he taught us Drawling, Stretching, and Fainting in Coils.
"What was that like?" said Alice.
"Well, I can't show it you, myself," the Mock Turtle said: "I'm too stiff. And the Gryphon never learnt it."
"Hadn't time," said the Gryphon: "I went to the Classical master, though. He was an old crab, he was."
"I never went to him," the Mock Turtle said with a sigh. "He taught Laughing and Grief, they used to say."
"No wise fish would go anywhere without a porpoise."
Wouldn't it, really?" said Alice, in a tone of great surprise.
"Of course not," said the Mock turtle. "Why if a fish came to me, and told me he was going a journey, I should say, 'With what porpoise?'"
Here one of the guinea-pigs cheered, and was immediately suppressed by the officers of the court. (As that is rather a hard word, I will just explain to you how it is done. They had a large canvas bag, which tied up at the mouth with strings; into this they slipped the guinea-pig, head first, and then sat upon.) "I'm glad I've seen that done," thought Alice. "I've so often read in the newspapers, at the end of trials, 'There was some attempt at applause, which was immediately suppressed by the officers of the court,' and I never understood what it meant till now."
8) Phantastes (Chapters
1-10)
George MacDonald
"I walked listlessly
along. What distressed me most--more even than my
own folly--was the
perplexing question, How can beauty and ugliness
dwell so near? Even with
her altered complexion and her face of dislike;
disenchanted of the belief
that clung around her; known for a
living, walking sepulchre,
faithless, deluding, traitorous; I felt
notwithstanding all this,
that she was beautiful. Upon this I pondered
with undiminished
perplexity, though not without some gain."
"I cannot quite
tell," she said; "but I am sure she would not look so
beautiful if she did not
take means to make herself look more beautiful
than she is. And then, you
know, you began by being in love with
her before you saw her
beauty, mistaking her for the lady of the
marble--another kind
altogether, I should think. But the chief thing
that makes her beautiful
is this: that, although she loves no man, she
loves the love of any man;
and when she finds one in her power, her
desire to bewitch him and
gain his love (not for the sake of his love
either, but that she may
be conscious anew of her own beauty,
through the admiration he
manifests), makes her very lovely--with a
self-destructive beauty,
though; for it is that which is constantly
wearing her away within,
till, at last, the decay will reach her face,
and her whole front, when
all the lovely mask of nothing will fall to
pieces, and she be
vanished for ever."
"Why are all
reflections lovelier than what we call the reality?--not
so grand or so strong, it
may be, but always lovelier? Fair as is the
gliding sloop on the
shining sea, the wavering, trembling, unresting
sail below is fairer
still. Yea, the reflecting ocean itself, reflected
in the mirror, has a
wondrousness about its waters that somewhat
vanishes when I turn
towards itself. All mirrors are magic mirrors. The
commonest room is a room
in a poem when I turn to the glass. (And this
reminds me, while I write,
of a strange story which I read in the fairy
palace, and of which I
will try to make a feeble memorial in its place.)
In whatever way it may be
accounted for, of one thing we may be sure,
that this feeling is no
cheat; for there is no cheating in nature and
the simple unsought
feelings of the soul. There must be a truth involved
in it, though we may but
in part lay hold of the meaning. Even the
memories of past pain are
beautiful; and past delights, though beheld
only through clefts in the
grey clouds of sorrow, are lovely as Fairy
Land. But how have I
wandered into the deeper fairyland of the soul,
while as yet I only float
towards the fairy palace of Fairy Land! The
moon, which is the
lovelier memory or reflex of the down-gone sun, the
joyous day seen in the
faint mirror of the brooding night, had rapt me
away."
"From this I was
partly aroused by a glimmering of white, that, through
the trees on the left,
vaguely crossed my vision, as I gazed upwards.
But the trees again hid
the object; and at the moment, some strange
melodious bird took up its
song, and sang, not an ordinary bird-song,
with constant repetitions
of the same melody, but what sounded like
a continuous strain, in
which one thought was expressed, deepening in
intensity as evolved in
progress. It sounded like a welcome already
overshadowed with the
coming farewell. As in all sweetest music, a tinge
of sadness was in every
note. Nor do we know how much of the pleasures
even of life we owe to the
intermingled sorrows. Joy cannot unfold
the deepest truths,
although deepest truth must be deepest joy. Cometh
white-robed Sorrow,
stooping and wan, and flingeth wide the doors she
may not enter. Almost we
linger with Sorrow for very love."
