Universal Wisdom in the Jewish Tradition
The Theosophist
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The following text was first published at “The
Theosophist”, Adyar, India, January, 1885, pp. 85-86.
Original title: “Aphorisms of the Sages”. It is here
reproduced from “The Aquarian Theosophist”, April 2012.
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Silence is the
first degree of wisdom,
listening the
second, understanding the
third, remembering
the fourth, acting the fifth.
The following aphorisms are selected from the book of
Maimonides (Hurumbam) and Tíbban, the ancient Rabbis. They are the choicest
amongst other beautiful and instructive passages contained in that book.
1. He never dies, whom
wisdom keeps alive.
2. He is great, whose
failings can be numbered.
3. What was the cause of his
death? His life.
4. Whoever has death present
to his mind, is sure to improve himself.
5. The heart is the hidden
treasure of man, the tongue is the gate to the treasure.
6. The rash one falls into a
snare, the deliberate one is delivered. He, that enquires, learns.
7. Chastisement is an
excellent corrector. Humility is the ladder to honour.
8. Truth is heavy: few,
therefore, can bear it.
9. Honour is much
dishonoured.
10. Death enters our
dwelling without permission.
11. Death is easier than
what succeeds it, and heavier than what preceded it.
12. The eye is the
interpreter of the heart.
13. Borrowing is the mother
of troubles.
14. Old age is one of the
deaths.
15. Language is one of the
destroyers.
16. Woman is the handsomest
being in animal creation.
17. Ugliness is the guardian
of woman.
18. Wisdom is a tree that
grows in the heart.
19. Correctness in speech is
like salt to food.
20. Writing is the language
of the hand.
21. To diminish injurious
food is better than multiplying the useful.
22. Water is least valued
among things existing and most valued among things wanted.
23. The road to Eden is
difficult, but the ways to Topeth (hell) are easy.
24. If thou canst not attain
what thou desirest, be satisfied with what thou need’st not desire.
25. Care wastes the heart
and consumes it.
26. Neither grieve over the
past nor fret over the future.
27. Whoever is desirous of
prolonging his days, should prepare himself with a strong heart to meet
causalities.
28. Whoever is not pleased
with his circumstances voluntarily, will be compelled to be pleased with them
against his will.
29. A hero is only known in
the time of misfortune.
30. Choose death, and life
will be continued to you.
31. Be silent and thou wilt
be saved, ask and thou shalt learn.
32. Have pity upon the
honourable gentleman that is despised, upon the rich that is impoverished, and upon the wise
man who hath fallen among fools.
33. Be with man deaf and
hearing, silent and speaking.
34. There are evils which,
if compared to others, are benefits.
35. Despair is free but hope
is a slave.
36. To implore created
beings is a want of faith.
37. Who is he that sells
perishable for lasting goods.
38. He, who demands more
than he wants, is a man who cares, and his grievance never ceases.
39. Rather the grave than
poverty (in wisdom).
40. Man is like the fruit of
a tree, no mishap injures him till he ripens and drops of himself.
41. Look upon this world as
if thou shouldst live for ever; and on the future world as if thou shouldst die
to-morrow.
42. There are no riches like
those of contentment.
43. There is no wisdom like
good conduct, and no piety like reverence.
44. No reproof will have
effect on him who doth not reprove himself.
45. The best of beasts
requireth a whip and the best of women a husband.
46. The most intelligent
among men requires advice.
47. Exchange not an old
friend for a new one.
48. Let not even one enemy
be little in thine eyes, and let not a thousand friends be many in thy sight.
49. Thou art despised in the
eyes of him whom thou needest.
50. Good society is a
safeguard against many evils.
51. Love him who tells thee
thy faults in private.
52. Whose heart is narrow,
his tongue is large.
53. If thou desirest to
associate thyself with any one, provoke him. If he acknowledges his error, join him, if not, leave him.
54. Receive truth from any
one that says it.
55. There is no rest in the
time of expectation.
56. He, who repenteth his
sin, is accounted as if he had not sinned. [1]
57. The news of the world
will show thee what never entered thy mind.
58. He, who is forgotten by
his relatives, the Lord will prepare strangers for him.
59. If thou desirest to know
a man’s character, inquire after his companions.
60. Beware of him whom your
heart hates, for hearts are like mirrors.
61. The sensible man will
guard himself against his enemy more than against his friend.
62. It is unfit for a
sensible man to fret at what is lost; he should rather take care of what
remaineth.
63. He, who knows the world,
will not rejoice excessively in joy, nor grieve excessively in mourning.
64. Possessions are the
source of cares.
65. If thou desirest from
this world that only which thou wantest, a little will suffice thee, but if
thou desirest more than thou wantest, all
will not be sufficient for thee.
66. The fruit of sufficiency
is rest, and the fruit of gold and silver is grief and weariness.
67. Morality serveth as high
birth to him who is not of high birth, for the excellency of the children of
man consists in wisdom, not in birth, and he, who lacketh morality, the noblest
birth will not profit him.
68. The wise man replied to
the fool who despised him on account of the lowness of his family: “Thou art
the blemish of thy family and my family is the blemish in me.”
69. The wise man said, “I
have no other merit than that of knowing that I do not know.”
70. The slave of passions is
lower than the slave of a master.
71. Silence is the first
degree of wisdom, listening the second, understanding the third, remembering
the fourth, acting the fifth.
72. If speech is silver,
silence is gold.
73. Rashness of answering is
sure to cause stumbling.
74. The proof of a man is
his works, as gold is tried in fire.
75. Whosoever accuseth a
fool is as one that findeth fault with a blind man.
76. If thou wilt be near men
in friendship, thou shalt be delivered from their evils.
77. The man of good parts is
near to the far.
78. He, to whom all men are
alike, will have no companions.
79. Thou shalt not seek
wisdom, but only to show what is to be avoided as folly.
80. When thy brother
speaketh unto thee, give him a hearing.
81. He, who forsaketh
inquiring into wisdom, will be drowned in the sea of folly.
82. Know that there has
nothing happened to thee that hath not already happened to others beside thee.
83. It is impossible for the
indefatigable traveller not to reach the haven of his desire.
84. There is often nothing
more advantageous after going than returning.
85. The little evil quickly
grows.
86. How awful is the
dwelling of the weak in the habitation of a hungry lion.
87. The last of tribulations
is the best of them.
88. Let the guest praise or
blame, in all cases take care of him.
89. When thou hast once cast
away the respect of thy countenance, thou wilt find none to restore it.
90. Whosoever thinketh much
will understand.
91. In time of need, a
friend is known.
92. The wise man will not
delay his object.
93. Whosoever entrusteth his
secret to a fool, is sure to lose it.
94. There is no remedy
against a fool except to keep away from him.
95. Consider thy property
nothing else than a trust in thy hand.
96. There is no fault to
find with the man who hath done his best.
97. The heart beholdeth what
the eye doth not see.
98. Riches hide every
blemish.
99. Either be silent or
speak sense.
100. Enter not in anything
which is above thy position.
101. The enmity of the wise
man is better than the friendship of the fool.
102. Whoever runneth toward
evil, it will not escape him.
103. He, who knoweth to
choose good rather than evil, is not so wise as he who knoweth which of two
evils to choose.
104. Beware of doing that
which thou mayest escape from.
105. Whosoever speaketh
against men will be spoken against by them.
106. Whosoever findeth fault
with people undeservedly will be
found fault with deservedly.
107. Be careful even with
the honourable and have no faith in an usurer.
108. Trust not him who
laugheth in thy face.
109. He, who bringeth thee
near the lion, doth not wish thee to live.
110. Forgiveness is only
valuable in him who can do harm.
111. Praise can be attained
sometimes without trouble.
112. The error of the
honourable riseth with the height of his position.
113. Whosoever hath improved
himself in his doings, need not fear reproach.
114. He is wise, who looketh
upon his neighbour as upon himself.
115. Thou hast nothing from
thy wealth except that which thou spendest.
116. The wolf cannot be
trusted.
117. He is esteemed in thy
sight, who doth not require thee.
118. Riches are high birth
to him who is not of high birth.
119. Thy faults are hidden
so long as thy luck helpeth thee.
120. Who hath no merits
himself, the merits of others are of no avail to him.
121. Do nothing in private
that thou wouldst be ashamed of in public.
122. Thou wilt not reach
that which thou wouldst love if thou canst not bear that which thou hatest.
123. Complain not of thy
fate when thou art the cause thereof.
124. Whosoever seeketh thy
society for a certain object, will abandon thee whenever that object leaveth
thee.
125. There is nothing so
mighty as love.
126. The sick, who hath
appetite, hath more hope than the healthy without appetite.
127. Whose malady is
concealed from him, its remedy is concealed from him also.
128. Understanding is the
friend of every man and folly is his enemy.
129. The man of morals is
honoured even if poor; and the man of no morals is despised, even if rich.
130. To remove stones from
the top of hills is easier than speaking to a man who hath no mind.
131. The friend of
knowledge, whose heart is in the cause, his heart must stimulate him for his
heart’s sake.
Make, therefore, the
physical substance subject to the spiritual one, I mean the body to the soul:
for this subjection is your Freedom in this and the future world. Therefore, “further not his (the body’s) wicked device,” for he, who ministers to his
cravings, will continue to seek and will never be satisfied, and he will pant
and languish for what he cannot reach; and ultimately his goodly portion within
him will vanish. But, if the spiritual part of the understanding rules
and subdues the physical desires, the latter will succumb and seek but that
which is necessary, will be satisfied with the little and disdain
superfluities, but that he may live and disdain all superfluities. Believe not
that the multitude of eating and drinking enlarges the body and increases the
understanding, as a sack which is filled by that which is put therein for it is
just the contrary. Hate injurious food as a man hateth the one who persecutes
him and seeketh his death. (P. T. O.)
NOTE:
[1] This means that he, who truly realises the fact that he
has committed an error, has grown up into a condition in which he would not
commit that error again. (Note from “The Theosophist”, 1885)
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On the role of the esoteric movement in
the ethical awakening of mankind during the 21st century, see the book “The Fire and Light of Theosophical
Literature”, by Carlos Cardoso Aveline.
Published in
2013 by The Aquarian Theosophist,
the volume has 255 pages and can be obtained through Amazon Books.
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