Ancient Quotes and Modern Quotes...What's the Difference?

Did you ever notice or observe any difference between ancient quotes and modern quotes? Did it ever occur in your mind which of these two types of quotes stuck up in your memory? Are quotes really useful to us? If you are in a bad situation, do you still remember any of the quotes that you once liked?

Modern quotes are everywhere...in social websites the most. Very beautiful and meaningful quotes with images, beautiful background images, "liked" by millions of people...if you total up the websites where quotes are posted in the Internet. Online and offline, because if you go to bookstores, a lot of books where you can find modern quotes. They are inspiring quotes that as soon as you read it...immediately you say "it's true". 

Ancient quotes are not as famous as modern quotes...only my observation though. Unless you do your google search, seldom that you see ancient quotes in social websites. I observed this is the first difference. However, ancient quotes are recorded in "History Books", and even included in the History lessons at school. Why?

"It Is Better To Light One Small Candle Than To Curse the Darkness" - Confucius

Kerosene Lamp

Darkness separates the day, and the light of the day separates darkness. God had already created that way so darkness should not be cursed. 

We all know that there are two kinds of darkness. Darkness because of separation between night and day and darkness which pertains  to the dark force. I don't know much about the other darkness, with the little knowledge that I have, I'd rather not talk about it.

Confucius taught us not to curse darkness, and really we should not. God created darkness, or we call it night, for us to make use of it as a time to rest. At sunset, we can see the slowly changing of the light of day into night or evening. 

"The Cautious Seldom Err" - Confucius

To err is human, to forgive is Divine. I just continued the second phrase because "to err is human" is always followed with "to forgive is Divine". 

Caution should always be practiced so that we can minimize errors. But to what extent should you use caution in your life? The practice of being cautious is important to avoid damage, accidents, and other incidents that can harm your life, or others' lives especially in accidents. However, caution should be practiced in a case by case basis...depending on the situation.

In business, caution is important to minimize losses. But there is also another saying that "a fear of risk shall never win", and you cannot learn without making first a mistake or mistakes. For you to succeed, you have to go through a lot of trial and error. True that it is costly, but the knowledge and expertise that you achieved while learning from your mistakes is more than worth the money that you lost.

"A Journey of A Thousand Miles Begins with A Single Step" - Confucius

A single step

YES! Your single step, step with no support started when you were 4 - 5 months old. You can already do your single step but your support is just beside you in case you stumble...and that is your mother. 

This particular proverb is a reminder for us that no matter how we have gone too far in our journey, we should not forget that "single step" where we had started. You should not forget that single step that although you had already a strong knee to pursue what you want in life and reached that goal, had it not been for that single step with the support of your mother not to stumble, you should not have reached even a hundred miles of your journey.

"You Cannot Open A Book Without Learning" - Confucius

A book is like a vast storage where knowledge of everything is written. It is from a book where all information is stored. True that we don't need too much books now to read in order to learn everything around us because with just a click of a mouse, we can now know what we want to know. Even then, in the Internet, posts that are published online have references that comes from a book or books.

How can you open a book when you don't know how to read and understand it. Like an alphabet that starts with "A", you have to "learn" first how to pronounce your ABC, which is taught by your parents. That's the first step. The second step, you have to learn how to completely pronounce the 26 letters of the alphabet, still taught by your parents. From your birth, you have to wait for 4-6 years before you can learn how to write the alphabets. You cannot start your elementary grade until you reach the age of 6-7 years old. In your first grade, your teacher will slowly teach you how to read words using flash cards. You will spend 6 years in your elementary grade to be able to read and understand what you are reading. Depending on your IQ, or if you are a slow learner, maybe 6 years in elementary is not enough to be able to understand how to read even a pocket book. 

"Silence Is A Friend Who Will Never Betray" - Confucius

"Silent water runs deep". Be very careful because if you make a mistake to try its silence, you're dead. If there is a sudden absolute silence that surrounds you, the old folks say, "be alert, there is an angel passing by". You should be careful to deal with a person that is so quiet because you don't know what's in his mind...and son on.

I must admit that it is very difficult for me to understand this proverb. What kind of "silence" and "friend" that he is referring to? Could it be that what he meant is "oneself"? 

If the "friend" in this proverb is your inner-self, and the "silence"  is the silence of your "friend" (inner-self or the subconscious mind), then this will not contradict with the meaning of silence in the dictionary. Our inner-self is a gift that God gave us all to be our companion in our whole life and will never, ever betray us. 

The songs of Mariah Carey "Hero" and "Wind Beneath My Wings" by Bette Midler, will remind us always of our "friend". Please listen...

"Everything Has Beauty, But Not Everyone Sees It" - Confucius

This proverb is very much applicable and seen in life. The most difficult thing to do is "to see what you can't see in your physical eyes". Sometimes it's true that first impression is lasting especially if the beauty of what you see is right before your very eyes, but there are exceptions which we all know very well.

One example is a book  with a very nice cover that you can't refuse to buy in a bookstore. You bought that book because you want to include it in your collection of books. As soon as you reach home, you throw yourself in a couch and lying down, relaxed with your two feet stretched in the arms of the couch, you begin to flip the pages. You are just excited what's interesting inside the book that you can't wait to see all the pages. As you go on reading, you slowly feel disappointed because nothing much of the contents are interesting. Until your excitement disappeared and you felt sleepy. When you woke up, you picked up the book that dropped on the floor which slipped off from your hand when you fell asleep while reading. With dismay, you threw the book  in the corner where you put the other books that you are planning to discard. And so the book that you had once been attracted by its beauty because of the cover is there now waiting to be thrown or burned.  

"The Strength of A Nation Derives from the Integrity of the Home" - Confucius

My late Aunt, a Grade lV teacher, always say "education comes first at home". This is very true. The very first word that you learn comes from your home. Your first teacher/s is your mother or father. Before you step your feet at school, you already know your ABC.

Another proverbial saying "know them by their fruits". I remember my late brother, when he was still in his young age, my father used to scold him because he has an attitude of being hot-tempered, impatient and moody. My father told him that "from whom did you duplicate that kind of attitude"? My late brother answered him back by saying "a mango tree will not bear a tomato fruit". It was a sad memory between a father and a son, but it proves that the proverbial saying is true.

A house is not called a home because it is just a structure built from materials. A house can only be called a home when a person, persons or a family is living in it. But what kind of home is a home?

"Never Contract Friendship with A Man That Is Not Better Than Thyself" - Confucius

It took me hours to think of the meaning of this particular proverb of Confucius. What did he mean with this?

If you make a contract friendship with a friend, are you going to find out first the level of standard he has? If you know fully well your standard does not meet his standard, are you going to just back off and find another one? Does this proverb points us to the "harmonious balance" that Confucius always stressed during his time?

This is how I understand this proverb if I think it on the negative side. I don't know if my reader agrees. If I make a contract friendship with such a friend, there will be no balance between us because where knowledge is concerned, I know more than him. There are possibilities for me to be demanding, to always look down on him, will seldom listen to his ideas, might be disrespectful to him...and so on. Respect between the two of us will not exist and the break-up as friends is inevitable that in the end, we shall end up as enemies.

"Respect and Good Conduct" - Confucius

Public Domain, Link

Confucius' Chinese name is K'ung Futzu which means "master king". In history, it has been told that his parents gave him the name K'ung Futzu because, when he was born (531-479 B.C.), it was foretold that he would be a king without a crown.

Confucius was one of the greatest Chinese philosopher who taught his followers to help others, to value the family and to respect others. 

How many of us keep and observe the teachings of Confucius? 

His philosophy and teachings at a time of great disturbance in China was really great that it is not about religion that shrines and temples were erected in his honor. He helped the Chinese people during that period of great disturbance to enlighten their hearts through his teachings to bring peace and order in his country. 

To respect for their ancestors and parents, work hard, and good conduct was very important. He taught that if everyone did their duty to the emperor and behaved well, the country could be strong and at peace.

How Did the Pursuit of Knowledge Begin?

Civilization started from the earliest people who lived simply through hunting animals and gathering fruits surrounding them. The day-to-day lives of these earliest people were so simple that they were just contented from the natural produce of Nature like fruits and other basic needs to keep them alive. 

But as people began to discover farming centuries ago, the first towns and cities were built in the Middle East. This is because, these people realized that they have various needs to be met as their population grows. Thus, their way of living started to change and science and technology began.

Chinese History in the Field of Medicine

Chinese are well known for their remarkable contribution in the field of medicine. Chinese medicine developed over thousands of years, almost without any outside influence from other medical systems. The Chinese' Yin and Yang represents the rule of opposites that is very important in their medicine process. The Yin is the force that represents qualities such as darkness, while its opposite, the Yang, stands for qualities such as light. It is the attempt to restore the balance between the opposite in Chinese medicine.

The Emperor, Huang Ti, who lived from 2698 B.C. to 2598 B.C., was said to be the author of the great Chinese medical work called, the Nei Ching, which forms the basis of all Chinese medicine.

The Nei Ching (Book of Medicine) is an ancient medical work, that is believed, according to legend, which was written 4,000 years ago by the Yellow Emperor, Huang Ti, that it was more likely to have been written sometime about 200 B.C., but this has formed the basis for most Chinese medical literature since.

Early Communities in Asia

Agriculture began in Eastern Asia because of its good soil and useful local crops. Such places are the highlands of northwest and central India and areas around the banks of the Yellow River in China. Both regions had good natural resources and a climate suitable for farming. Archaeologists  have found the remains of several early farming villages in both places.

What Man Needs, Nature Has It

When I watched the movie "Iron Will", I was impressed with the scene when "Will" felt sad as he received the letter from the University where he was accepted to go to college. He knew he can't pursue his studies for financial reasons. However, his father gave him motivation with his words "the money is there when you need it". Little did Will know that he will really get the money he needed but through the hard way. His decision to participate in the race seems impossible to the organizers, how much more with his counterparts. However, his faith that he will succeed made his dream possible while impossible with others.

Tributes to Scientists

The study of Science has the most broad definition because it covers a large number and wide scope of subjects, the behaviour of the physical and natural world through an observation and experiment.

Tributes to Archaeologists

Archaeologists and Historians are almost the same. The only difference is that archaeologists study human history and prehistory through the excavation of sites, analyze artefacts and physical remains. Archaeologists as a profession, in my understanding are doing a very difficult profession. As I read and see in videos what they do, I can just imagine the efforts and capital that they spend in finding out evidences of earlier humans. Unless a person has the passion and interest in this line of profession, one does not choose this kind of profession. Nature has always the way to direct anybody or

Tributes to Historians

Through this post and the coming posts in this section, I want to pay tribute to those Historians who unselfishly contributed to the knowledge of History in all aspects in this Universe. The study of History needs a vast effort to dig deep into actual facts of events happened in the past.