Great Throughts Treasury

"A wise man, to accomplish his end, may even carry his foe on his shoulder."

"Do not trust a malicious man because you have long been intimate with him. A serpent will still bite, though it may have been kept and tended a long time."

"A hundred sage counsels are lost upon one who cannot take advice; a hundred bits of wisdom are lost upon the unintelligent."

"For the sake of a family an individual may be sacrificed; for the sake of a village a family may be sacrificed; for the sake of a nation a village may be sacrificed; for the sake of one's self the world may be sacrificed."

"Virtues are virtues only to those who can appreciate them."

"When all is well who cannot be wise?"

"Get wealth when you have it not; guard what you have got; increase what you have guarded; and bestow on worthy persons what you have increased."

"All fortune belongs to him who has a contented mind. Is not the whole earth covered with leather for him whose feet are encased in shoes?"

"Whole surfaces are carried away even from a mountain when undermined by a gentle flow of water; how much more the soft hearts of men by clever persons who attack them with slander!"

"Knowledge is the true organ of sight, not the eyes."

"The worldly wise know that there are things that can be told to some people  but not to everyone. Then there are things that should be kept to oneself. Also there is a right or wrong time for  saying things. One should say things  only after giving careful consideration to all factors."

"Learning, the destroyer of arrogance, begets arrogance in fools; even as light, that illumines the eye, makes owls blind... Knowledge is the true organ of sight, not the eyes."

"A diligent and persistent man is always prosperous in this world. But a lazy  and coward believing only in destiny never goes anywhere. Therefore one should forget destiny and actively pursue his dream. If hedoes not succeed, then he should try to find  what went wrong and correct it"

"One who does not feel distressed in the face of a calamity and does not show exuberance in prosperity is indeed a jewel in humanity. Intelligence can accomplish things more easily than army and weapons (i.e. physical power)"

"Common folks are usually blind followers. They do not think for themselves."

"Friendship between most men is based on favor and obligation. Friendship between fools is based on fear and greed. But friendship between gentlemen occurs just by seeing each other"

"The association with great men always  leads to progress and prosperity. A  waterdrop on a lotus leaf shines like a pearl."

"Wealth can have only three states – given in  charity, spent in enjoyment, and loss. If it is  not given in charity or enjoyed, it is lost."

"Wealth can have only three states – given in  charity, spent in enjoyment, and loss. If it is  not given in charity or enjoyed, it is lost."

"Wealth makes one ever enthusiastic but  also arrogant and vain. It also gives strength and a false sense of knowledge but they all  vanish with the wealth."

"A person whose intellect does not get fogged even in the face of calamities can get past them unscathed using his intelligence."

"First dictate of wisdom is not to initiate an action without considerable thought;the second sign of wisdom is not to abandon an initiated action without taking itto a successful completion."

"An opportunity for one’s progress  should be availed of as soon as it  appears. If it is missed, it may not  come again."

"A wise man should not publicly say  disgraceful words to anyone or even  truth that may hurt."

"The wound inflicted by weapons will eventually heal, but that created by  words never heals. Therefore one  should never use abusive and hateful  words because they act like poison."

"A great man does not lose his self-possession when he is afflicted; the ocean is not made muddy by the falling in of its banks."

"Excellent, average, and low qualities appear in anyone or anything due to association with person or things of the corresponding type."

"One should seek for the salutary in the unpleasant: if it is there, it is after all nectar. One should seek for the deceitful in the pleasant: if it is there it is after all poison."

"Results are achieved only by action not by riding the chariot of the mind."

"Though it be disfigured by many defects, to whom is his own body not dear?"

"The true seems often false, the false seem true – appearances deceive, so think it through."

"Money is troublesome to earn, and more so to guard. Getting or spending it, brings unhappiness, Money is really a curse."

"The storm spares the low-bowing and weak grass but uproots the tall trees. The strong fight the strong But not the weak."

"A king is ruined through bad advisers, A Sanyasi through company, A son through over-indulgence, A Brahamin through lack of studies of shastras, A business or a firm through neglect, And a family and character through contact with bad people."

"By associating with good and evil persons a man acquires the virtues and vices which they possess, even as the wind blowing over different places takes along good and bad odors."

"A strong man who puts his faith in others, May play with life, But a weakling who is always wary, Escapes death, Even at the hands of the strongest men."

"His action no applause invites who simply good with good repays; he only justly merits praise who wrongful deeds with kind requites."

"The lustre of a virtuous character cannot be defaced, nor can the vices of a vicious man ever become lucid. A jewel preserves its lustre, though trodden in the mud, but a brass pot, though placed upon the head, is brass still."

"Intelligence can accomplish things more easily than army and weapons (that is - physical power)."

"The wife of bad conduct constantly pleased with quarrelling? She is known by wise men to be cruel. Old Age in the form of a wife."

"A man should not keep company with one whose character, family, and abode are unknown."

"Truly good men are like rubber balls; even if they fall they bounce back. A fool falls like mud and gets stuck to the ground."

"Intelligence can accomplish things more easily than army and weapons (that is - physical power)."