When we suffer anguish we return to early childhood because that is the period in which we first learnt to read more

When we suffer anguish we return to early childhood because that is the period in which we first learnt to suffer the experience of total loss. It was more than that. It was the period in which we suffered more total losses than in all the rest of our life put together.

There is no such thing as happiness, only lesser shades of melancholy.

There is no such thing as happiness, only lesser shades of melancholy.

I lean to you, numb as a fossil. Tell me I'm here.

I lean to you, numb as a fossil. Tell me I'm here.

That is the bitterest of all,--to wear the yoke of our own
wrong-doing.

That is the bitterest of all,--to wear the yoke of our own
wrong-doing.

To banish cares, scare away sorrow and soothe pain is the business of the poet and singer.

To banish cares, scare away sorrow and soothe pain is the business of the poet and singer.

He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him
chasteneth him betimes.

He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him
chasteneth him betimes.

When one is rising, standing, walking, doing something, stopping, one should constantly concentrate one's mind on the act and the read more

When one is rising, standing, walking, doing something, stopping, one should constantly concentrate one's mind on the act and the doing of it, not one ones' relation to the act or its character or value... One should simply practice concentration of the mind on the act itself, understanding it to be an expedient means for attaining tranquility of mind, realization, insight, and wisdom.

In truth, to attain to interior peace, one must be willing to pass through the contrary to peace. Such is read more

In truth, to attain to interior peace, one must be willing to pass through the contrary to peace. Such is the teaching of the Sages.

One man meets an infamous punishment for that crime which confers a diadem on others.

One man meets an infamous punishment for that crime which confers a diadem on others.