Farida El-gueretly

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“True influence isn't to be found in over strength or will. It comes from creating a world that feels so natural that no one questions it. This is how a Laozian safe wields enormous influence.”
― Michael Puett, The Path: What Chinese Philosophers Can Teach Us About the Good Life

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“With all this investment in our self-definition, we risk building our future on a very narrow sense of who we are - what we see as our strengths and weaknesses, our likes and dislikes. Many Chinese thinkers might say that in doing this, we are looking at such a small part of who we are potentially. We're taking a limited number of our emotional dispositions during a certain time and place and allowing those to define us forever. By thinking of human nature as monolithic, we instantly limit our potential.”
― Michael Puett, The Path: What Chinese Philosophers Can Teach Us About the Good Life

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“We tend to believe that to change the world, we have to think big. Confucius wouldn't dispute this, but he would likely also say. Don't ignore the small. Don't forget the "pleases" and "thank yous." Change doesn't happen until people alter their behavior, and they don't alter their behavior unless they start with the small.”
― Michael Puett, The Path: What Chinese Philosophers Can Teach Us About the Good Life

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“Confucius's disciples frequently asked him to define goodness. He would give each of them a different answer each time, depending on the situation. That's because Confucian goodness is not something you can define in the abstract. It's the ability to respond well to others; the development of a sensibility that enables you to behave in ways that are good for those around you and to draw out their own better sides.”
― Michael Puett, The Path: What Chinese Philosophers Can Teach Us About the Good Life

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“In truth, France. Germany, Austria, Spain, Portugal and England had nothing to do with Athens and the history of Rome from its earliest days to its demise. This was glossed over as artists, writers and architects went to work, borrowing themes, ideas and texts from antiquity to provide a narrative that chose selectively from the past to create a story which over time became not only increasingly plausible but standard. So although scholars have long called this period the Renaissance, this was no rebirth. Rather, it was a Naissance - a birth. For the first time in history, Europe lay at the heart of the world.”
― Peter Frankopan, The Silk Roads: A New History of the World

tags: europe, history, renaissance

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