character Archives | Page 3 of 4 | In Other Words

A New Year in ancient Babylon. The particulars of the ceremonial pomp may be different, but the idea of a new year is the same. A look at the humbling of the king and what the coming of a new year means for us today. With quotes from Hal Borland, T. S. Eliot & more.

In Letter XXVIII of ‘Letters from a Stoic’, Seneca discusses the fallacy surrounding travel; what it achieves, and what it simply can’t. “A change of character, not a change of air, is what you need.”

Fatalism is a dead-end road and enthusiasm isn’t something we can ever afford to abandon. With quotes from Bishop Doane, R.W Emerson, D. Carnegie & F. Guizot.

Marcus Aurelius was once the most powerful man on earth- a Roman Emperor. ‘Meditations’ reveals ‘The Philosopher’; a king concerned with being a good man. Including quotes from Meditations.

In recent history, the virtue of temperance has been associated with strict asceticism. A joyless lifestyle, filled with self-deprivation and suppression. But temperance was never meant to be an extreme. When we look further back in time, we find its essence and purpose. Quotes from Aristotle, Aquinas, Seneca & more.

And to the wounded- there will be further battles, but we shouldn’t live in fear of returning to the trenches. Quotes from Aristotle, Keats, Lewis & Chapin.

When overcome by a sense of urgency, we tend to bulldoze forward blindly. The mistakes we make in impatience are often grave. With quotes from Paulo Coelho, Saint Luke & Ovid.

How about taking responsibility for it all? Every bit; whether you’re to blame or not. Quotes from Viktor Frankl, G. K. Chesterton and Terry Pratchett.

Fear offers us a very plain choice; be courageous or be a coward. A hero or a reprobate. With quotes from Michel de Montaigne, Seneca, George R.R. Martin & William Shakespeare.

“Blessed is he, who has learned to bear what he cannot change, and to give up with dignity, what he cannot save.” We take on the responsibility of appeasing someone’s feelings, foolishly attempting to control something we can’t. Quotes from Schiller & Huxley.