On the law issued in France to increase the population
Montesquieu on Louis XIV's pensions for large families and on how a depopulated state can be revived, from "The Spirit of the Laws".
philosophy
In private life a person needs the support of others, and the rules of support are governed by attachment, friendship and love
Jalal al-Din Davani on friendship as the path to perfection, on the danger of scattering oneself across different crafts, and on the discipline of silence, with an account of the Persian philosopher who served three dynasties.
World population growth to 2100
For a long time the world's population grew very slowly, passing 1 billion only in 1804; two centuries later it reached 8 billion. UN forecasts now expect growth to level off after the 2050s.
Only a handful of thinkers need the truth; the crowd must simply believe
Pope Paul IV on why truth is dangerous and the crowd wants only something to believe in, with an account of the inquisitor Gian Pietro Carafa, who became pope in 1555.
What we stubbornly pursue slips away, while what comes more easily is usually not so important
A selection of sayings from Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy", on the elusiveness of what we most desire, the discipline of following one's own road, and the love that moves the sun and the other stars.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you. And then you win…
Gandhi on how movements are met, on finding yourself and on the inner voice, with a short note on his role in India's independence movement and his philosophy of non-violence.
Look at the world with the eye of reason; the world is a sea — if you wish to sail, build a ship from good deeds…
Rudaki on reason, knowledge and good deeds, with a short account of the poet born in Panjrud who led the circle of poets at the Samanid court in Bukhara.
Only those worse than us think ill of us; those better than us are simply too busy…
Omar Khayyam on envy, friendship, silence and the true price of kindness, with a short account of his life as a Persian philosopher, mathematician and astronomer.
Reclaim yourself for yourself and guard your time…
Seneca on claiming time for oneself, the many ways it is lost, and keeping the body in service of the soul — with an account of his life and death under Nero.
What a person needs first is not education but upbringing
Al-Farabi on upbringing before instruction, the ruler's pursuit of true happiness, and moderation as the root of virtue.
All warfare is based on deception
Sun Tzu on deception in war, the summit of military skill, and what an enemy's peace overtures really mean.
Be content with whatever life God grants you, and give thanks
Ahmad Donish on contentment, the regimen of eating and drinking, and the price of freedom from earthly burdens.
When you go among the ignorant full of pride, play the model ass
Ibn Sina, known in the West as Avicenna, on dealing with the ignorant, the gifts a physician must have, and justice as the finest ornament of human deeds.
People never lie so much as during a war, after a hunt, or before an election
Otto von Bismarck on lying in wartime and elections, finding a case for war, and what a state's attitude to its teachers reveals.
Whoever lies in the language of words gives himself away in the language of gestures, which he does not notice…
Oswald Spengler on the language of lies, the press and war, and culture turning into civilisation.
Grief can become a garden of compassion. If you keep your heart open to everything, your pain…
Rumi on grief as a garden of compassion, on finding God in one's own heart, and on the calling placed in every heart.
There is a pattern: civilisations rise when they are able to respond creatively to the challenges around them…
Arnold J. Toynbee on the pattern behind the rise and fall of civilisations, the components of culture and the surest way to reach a goal.
When you are inspired by a great purpose or an extraordinary project, your thoughts break their bonds…
Patanjali, the ancient Indian philosopher and founder of yoga, on inspiration, the power of the mind, and how love and hatred alike return to their source.
The lifespan of a dynasty rarely exceeds three generations…
Ibn Khaldun on the three-generation life of a dynasty, asabiyyah, the paradox of taxation, and how prejudice blinds the soul to the truth.
The better you are yourself, the more kindly disposed you are to everything around you and to people
Plotinus on inner beauty — how self-knowledge and the cultivation of virtue make a person beautiful, and why happiness lies in the fullest life of the Spirit.
While you live, keep learning; do not wait for old age to bring wisdom
The Athenian lawgiver Solon on lifelong learning, the wise use of power, and laws that hold the weak but let the strong break through.
The attempt to create paradise on earth inevitably leads to the creation of hell
Karl Popper on the danger of utopian designs, the fashion that rules philosophy, and the lessons Plato still offers sociology.
If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need
Cicero on the good life — a garden, a library, true friendship — and on the republic he defended to the end.
Know that a limit is set to the time of your life, and if you do not use it…
Marcus Aurelius on the limits of a human life, on living according to nature, and on the Stoic path to peace of mind.
Almost all people are defenders of their own mistakes, and accusers of others'
Apollonius of Tyana on self-serving judgement, the nature of divinity, and why medicine must care for both soul and body.
The lifespan of a dynasty rarely exceeds three generations…
Ibn Khaldun on why dynasties seldom outlast three generations, and on asabiyyah as the force behind the rise and fall of civilisations.
To become just, one need only want it
Plutarch on justice and greatness of soul, from his Parallel Lives — Diogenes before Alexander, the peace offer of Darius III and the king who would not drink alone.
Never humble yourself before another person
Abdullah ibn al-Muqaffa on self-respect, generosity and the discipline of silence, with an account of the Persian writer who gave Arabic its Kalila and Dimna.
When I had money I bought books
Erasmus of Rotterdam on books, friendship and self-love, with an account of the humanist scholar the Northern Renaissance called its prince.
Mind precedes all phenomena
Mind precedes all phenomena. When the mind is known, all phenomena are known.
Say to your trouble: "I have the Great Almighty"
Rumi's counsel for hard times is not to tell the Almighty how great your trouble is, but to tell your trouble how great the Almighty is.
Success bestows much, but never friends
Four maxims from Vauvenargues on success, servitude, habit, and the gulf between small minds and great souls.
A good blacksmith piles up mountains of unworked iron
A Chinese proverb on how true skill shows itself in abundance, and on why kindness and mistakes alike call for careful thought.
Ibn Miskawayh, the Third Teacher
The author closes his account of Ibn Miskawayh, the remarkable and profound thinker of the East whom the Muslim world counts as the "Third Teacher" after Aristotle and Al-Farabi.
Our path is known: life is but a dream
A passage from Kutadgu Bilig by the 11th-century Turkic poet Yusuf Khass Hajib Balasaguni on the brevity of life and the duty to do good.
Constant association with the wicked fosters bad habits
Sayings of Democritus on bad company, education, friendship and the care of the soul.
A good merchant hides his wealth and appears poor
A Chinese proverb on why a skilled trader conceals his riches and makes no show of them.
He who commands others is strong, but he who commands himself is stronger still
Laozi on self-mastery as a greater strength than power over other people.
Whoever does not answer anger with anger saves both: himself and the other
A Buddhist saying on the saving power of refusing to meet anger with anger.
Do not make success your goal
Viktor Frankl on why success cannot be chased and must come as the by-product of devotion to a cause.
The key to all mysteries lies in man himself
A passage from Helena Roerich on the key to every mystery, which lies within each person.