Close Enough

“WHY DO HUMAN BEINGS have cravings over and above their physical needs? It must be that God implanted these unnecessary cravings in us as a challenge. They give us an opportunity to exercise self-control, which is what enables us to rise to the highest spiritual levels. —RABBI ELIYAHU DESSLER (1892–1953)”
― Alan Morinis, Every Day, Holy Day: 365 Days of Teachings and Practices from the Jewish Tradition of Mussar

“كم من ليلة أحييتَها بتكرار العلم ومطالعة الكتب، وحرَّمت على نفسك النوم؛ لا أعلم ما كان الباعث فيه؟ إن كانت نِيتكَ نيل عرَض الدنيا، وجذب حطامها، وتحصيل مناصبها، والمباهاة على الأقران والأمثال، فويلٌ لك ثم ويلٌ لك! وإن كان قصدك فيه إحياء شريعة النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، وتهذيب أخلاقك، وكسر النَّفس الأمَّارة بالسوء، فطوبى لك ثم طوبى لك.”
― أبو حامد الغزالي, ‫رسائل في الحكمة ‬

“You must have lost your senses!” cried the mother. “What has become of the goat?” “Oh — oh — oh! I was so unlucky. I sold it for a twisted bun!” The moment he uttered the words he realized what it was to sell the goat for a bun; he had not thought about it before. The mother said, — “What do you imagine the little goat thinks of you now, since you were willing to sell it for a twisted bun?” The boy reflected upon this himself, and felt perfectly sure that he never could know happiness more in this world — nor in heaven either, he thought, afterwards. He was so overwhelmed with sorrow that he promised himself that he would never do anything wrong again”
― Charles W. Eliot, Delphi Complete Harvard Classics and Shelf of Fiction

“Do they sit altogether mostly all the morning?” “I fancy they do.” “I suppose there’s some way of dividing them. They tell me you know all about women. If you want to get one to yourself, how do you manage it?”
― Anthony Trollope, Complete Works of Anthony Trollope