Aphorisms and quotes by John Locke. The great homeless philosopher. John Locke and his thoughts through the ages J Locke quotes

John Locke, English philosopher, educator and statesman, is one of the founders of the empirical-sensationalist theory of knowledge. Born into the family of a provincial lawyer. He graduated from Westminster School, Oxford University, where then for more than 30 years in different years he taught Greek, rhetoric, ethics. J. Locke's pedagogical views reflected his socio-political and philosophical views, as well as considerable pedagogical experience accumulated by him as a teacher and home tutor in the family of the leader of the Whig party, Earl Shaftesbury.

The theoretical substantiation of the emergence of knowledge, ideas from the world of feelings was presented by him in the fundamental work "Experience of Human Understanding" (1690).

J. Locke's criticism of the doctrine of innate ideas and the concept of the experimental origin of human knowledge developed in connection with this became the cornerstone of both his theory of knowledge and the system of pedagogical ideas.

A categorical rejection of the traditional point of view on the innateness of human ideas and representations, the defense of the sensationalist theory of knowledge, and a great deal of attention to empirical psychology allowed Locke to develop an interesting pedagogical concept, which he outlined in his work "Thoughts on Education" (1693). Its essence is the upbringing of a new man-gentleman. A characteristic feature of Locke's pedagogical theory is utilitarianism; he considered the principle of utility to be the guiding principle of education.

He died in 1704. The tombstone bears a Latin inscription composed by himself: “Stop the traveler: here lies John Locke. If you ask what kind of person he was, then I will answer you that he lived content with his mediocrity. Enlightened by science, he served only the truth itself. Learn this from his writings, which will more accurately show you what is left of him than the dubious praises of the epitaph. "

Excerpts from the work "Thoughts on Education"

“A healthy mind in a healthy body is a short but complete description of a happy state in this world. Whoever possesses both, he has little to desire; and whoever is deprived of at least one can only compensate little for anything else. A person's happiness or unhappiness is, for the most part, the work of his own hands. One whose spirit is an unreasonable guide will never find the right path; and one who has an unhealthy and weak body will never be able to move forward along this path. "<…>

Physical health. “A child's soul is as easy to direct one way or another, as is river water; but although this is the main task of education, and our concern should be given mainly to the inner side of a person. However, one should not ignore the perishable shell. "<…>

"... gentlemen should temper their children in the same way as honest farmers and wealthy yomen do."<…>

Heat. “The first thing to take care of is that children, neither in winter nor in summer, do not dress and cover themselves too warmly ... Our body will tolerate everything that it is accustomed to from the very beginning ...<…> I would also advise you to wash your boy's feet with cold water every day, and make his shoes so thin that they get wet and let the water pass when he happens to step into them.<…> The most important goal is the hardening of these parts of the body by frequent and habitual washing with cold water and the prevention in this way of such harm, which is caused by accidental wetting of the feet of people who were otherwise raised.<…> Just start doing it in the spring, with lukewarm water, and gradually moving to colder and colder. "<…>

Food. “As far as food is concerned, it must be completely ordinary and simple; and I would advise, while the child walks in a children's dress, or at least until the age of two or three, not to give him meat at all.<…> But if my young gentleman must already receive meat, then let him receive it only once a day and, moreover, once and only of one kind. Plain beef, lamb and veal, etc. without any other seasoning other than hunger is best; and great care must be taken to ensure that he eats a lot of bread, one bread or something else, and that he chews well any solid food.<…> For breakfast and dinner, it is very useful to give children milk, milk soup, porridge in water, oatmeal and a whole range of dishes that ... are very little seasoned with sugar, and even better without it.<…> They should also moderately salt their food and not accustom them to heavily seasoned dishes. "<…>

Bed. “A child's bed should be firm and a quilt is better than a feather bed; a hard bed strengthens the limbs, while burying every night in featherbeds pamper and relaxes the body and is often the cause of weakness and a precursor to an early grave. "<…>

"Sleep is a great tonic given by nature."<…>

Early age. “The big mistake ... is that parents rarely pay enough attention to making the child's soul obedient to discipline and reason, and at the most appropriate time for this, when the young soul is most tender and most easily affected. The vice is not in having desires corresponding to these different ages, but in the inability to submit them to the rules and limitations of the mind ... Anyone who is not used to subordinating his desires to the mind of others when he is young is unlikely to listen and obey the voice of his own mind who has reached the age when he is able to use it.<…> So parents, encouraging the whims of children and pampering them when they are small, spoil their natural inclinations, and then they are surprised that the water, the source of which they themselves poisoned, has a bitter taste.<…>

Whims. “So, whoever makes it his goal to always manage his children, he should begin this while they are still very small, and make sure that they completely obey the will of their parents.<…> When children grow up, we should look at them as equals to us, as people with the same passions, with the same desires as our passions and desires.<…> Fear and reverence should give you the first power over their souls, and love and friendship should consolidate it. "<…>

The beatings. “The usual method of using punishment and cane, which requires neither effort nor much time, this only method of maintaining discipline, which is widely accepted and understandable by educators, is the least suitable of all imaginable methods of education.<…> Therefore, I cannot recognize any punishment as useful for the child, in which the shame of suffering for the committed offense does not affect him more than the suffering itself. This method of correction naturally generates in the child an aversion to the fact that the teacher should make him love. "<…>

"... slave discipline creates a slave character."

Awards. “Beatings and all other forms of degrading corporal punishment are not appropriate measures of discipline in raising children ... These measures should be used very rarely and, moreover, only for serious reasons and only in extreme cases. On the other hand, one must carefully avoid rewarding children by rewarding them with things they like.<…> To make him a good, reasonable and virtuous person, you need to teach him to resist his inclinations and refuse to satisfy his taste for wealth, panache, delicacies and so on, when reason advises him, and duty demands the opposite of him. "<…>

Rules. “… The mistake of the usual method of upbringing: it consists in burdening the child's memory with all kinds of rules and regulations that are often beyond their understanding.<…> Make only a few laws, but make sure that once created, they are respected. ... children should not be taught with rules that will always slip away from their memory. Make them everything that you think they should be able to do, learn through the necessary practice, timing this practice to each appropriate case, and if possible, create these cases yourself. This will give them habits that, once established, will act by themselves, easily and naturally, without any help from memory. "

Practice. “This method of teaching children through repeated practice, by repeatedly performing, under the supervision and guidance of a teacher, the same action until the children get used to doing it well, no matter how we look at it, has so many advantages over the method designed for rules ”.<…>

Punishment. “… With a skillful upbringing, there will rarely be a reason to use beatings or violence. ... those who deal with children should thoroughly study their natures and abilities and, with the help of private tests, monitor which direction they easily deviate and what suits them, what are their natural inclinations, how they can be improved and what they are for might come in handy.<…> The correct method of teaching these things is to instill in children a love and inclination for what you invite them to study and that will require diligence and diligence from them.<…>

Mandatory tasks. “No subject they have to learn should be made a burden on them or forced upon them as something obligatory.<…> These mood swings need to be monitored carefully and rigorously used those favorable periods when they are ready and well-liked.<…> Make sure that it is not the teacher who has to call to study, but that they themselves ask him to teach them, as they ask their comrades to play with them. "<…>

Reasoning. “Children understand reasoning from an early age when they start talking.<…> You must teach them to understand that what you are doing comes from your mind and is useful and necessary for them by the gentleness of your treatment and restraint even in the measures of influence on them. "<…>

Examples. "However, the simplest and easiest and at the same time the most effective way of raising children and shaping their external behavior is to show them by illustrative examples what they should do and what they should avoid."<…>

“No words can make the virtues and vices so clear to their understanding as the actions of other people, if you direct their observation and fix their attention on one or another good or bad line in the behavior of these people. And the positive or negative sides of many things, whether with a good upbringing or bad, will be better learned and more deeply imprinted from the examples of other people than from those rules and ideas that can be given to them on this matter. "

"... nothing penetrates so imperceptibly and so deeply into the human soul as an example: no matter what bad trait people overlook in themselves and forgive themselves, it can only inspire them with disgust and shame when it appears before them in other people" ...

Educator. “If you can find a teacher who, considering himself the father's deputy, who has taken over his concerns, and sharing the above ideas, will try to put them into practice from the very beginning, then in the future he will be convinced that the work is already quite easy and your son, me I think he will make such successes in learning and good manners as you may not imagine. "

<…> “As the example of the father should teach the child to respect his teacher, so the example of the teacher should encourage the child to take the actions that he requires from the latter. His own behavior must in no way be at variance with his prescriptions, unless he wishes to spoil the child. It is aimless on the part of the educator to talk about curbing passions if he gives vent to any of his own passions; and his efforts will be fruitless to eradicate in his pupil the vice or obscene trait that he allows in himself. "

Curiosity. “As they get older and more judicious, you can give them more freedom in cases where the mind speaks in them.<…> Curiosity in children should be encouraged as carefully as other desires to be suppressed.<…> Entertainment is as necessary as labor and food. "<…>

“Providing children with freedom in their entertainment is also useful in the sense that in conditions of such freedom the natural characters of children are revealed, their inclinations and abilities are revealed, and reasonable parents can draw from this guidance regarding the choice of a career and profession for them and at the same time regarding ways to correct any deficiency that, according to their observations, threatens to send the child on the wrong path.

A complaint. "Being tolerant of children's complaints means relaxing and pampering their souls."<…>

Generosity. "As for the possession and possession of things, teach children to easily and freely share with their friends what they have, and make them experience by experience that the most generous person always turns out to be the richest and, in addition, enjoys recognition and approval."<…>

Sense of justice. "If generosity should be encouraged in children, then, of course, you need to be very careful to ensure that they do not violate the rules of justice: every time children do this, correct them, and when there is a reason for this, and strictly exact" ...<…>

Compulsion. "Children love diversity and freedom and that this is what makes games attractive to them, and therefore they should not be imposed as a duty either a textbook or anything else that we think they should learn."<…>

Toys. "Children should have toys, and, moreover, toys of various kinds, but these toys should be kept by their caregivers or by someone else, while the child should receive only one toy at a time, and only when he returns it, receive another" ...<…>

Teaching... “I put doctrine in last place and give it the least importance.<…> I think that you will consider a complete fool to be someone who does not place a virtuous or wise person infinitely above a great scientist. ... teaching science greatly contributes to the development of both virtue and wisdom in people with good spiritual inclinations, but ... in other people who do not have such inclinations, it only leads to the fact that they become even more stupid and bad people.<…> It is necessary to teach the boy, but it should be in the background ”.<…>

Letter. “When the child already knows how to read English well, it's time to start teaching him to write. To do this, first of all, teach him how to hold the pen correctly. "<…>

French. “Once the boy has learned to speak English, it's time for him to start learning some other language.<…> But since French is a living language and is used more in conversation, he needs to learn earlier ... "<…>

Latin language. "When a boy already speaks and reads French well (usually achieved at one or two years of age), he can switch to Latin."<…>

Geography. “I think we need to start with geography: because the study of the shape of the globe, the position and boundaries of the four parts of the world and individual kingdoms and countries is only an exercise of eyes and memory, the child will learn this with pleasure and remember these things.”<…>

Arithmetic. “When the natural divisions of the globe are well imprinted in the boy's memory, it will be timely to move on to arithmetic.<…> Arithmetic is the lightest form of abstract thinking; and therefore it usually turns out to be accessible to the mind earlier than others, and it gets used to it first of all ”.<…>

Astronomy. "Having learned to handle it easily, he can move on to the celestial globe."<…>

Geometry. “After he has become familiar with the globe in the volume I indicated above, it is useful to try to teach him a little geometry. I think that it is enough for him to assimilate the first six books of Euclid. "<…>

Laws. "The correct method of studying law, in my opinion, is to familiarize yourself with the basics of our English constitution and government from old books on customary law and from the writings of some more modern writers."<…>

Craft. “The child must learn a craft, manual labor; and even more than that - not one, but two or three, and one more thoroughly. Since the activity propensity of children should always be directed towards something beneficial to them, there are two kinds of benefits that can be expected from their activities:

The art learned through exercise is in itself worthy to be learned. This is not only the knowledge of languages \u200b\u200band sciences, but also painting, turning, gardening, hardening and working of iron and all other useful arts that deserve to be mastered.

Exercise as such, regardless of any other considerations, is necessary or beneficial to health. "<…>

Of the handicrafts, which require physical labor to master, as well as to exercise them, much thanks to this exercise not only increases our dexterity and skill, but also strengthens our health, especially if they are practiced outdoors. "<…>

Gardening. “For a rural gentleman, I would suggest one of the following two occupations, or even better both: gardening, or agriculture in general, and woodworking, such as carpentry, carpentry, turning; for they are useful and healthy entertainment for an armchair or business person. "<…>

Entertainment. “Also don’t think that I am mistaken when I call such exercises and handicrafts entertainment or recreation; rest does not consist in idleness, but only in the relief of a tired organ by a change of occupation.<…>

To the above-mentioned handicrafts, one can also add perfume making, varnishing, engraving and some types of work on iron, copper and silver; ... can learn to cut, grind and adjust precious stones, grind and polish optical glasses. With a wide variety of intricate handicraft works, it is impossible that there is not one that would please him to his liking and taste, unless he is a lazy and spoiled person; and this cannot be assumed with proper education.<…>

... a young man on rare occasions wishes to remain in complete idleness and idleness; and if this is the case, then we have a vice that needs to be corrected. "

Accounting. <…> “Knowledge of accounting will not help a gentleman make a fortune; however, there is, perhaps, no more useful and effective way to preserve the state that he possesses than accounting. "<…>

"... everyone must admit that nothing can better keep a person within certain boundaries than constantly taking into account the state of his affairs by regularly keeping scores."

Once at a good friend's house John Locke, on that moment peer Anthony Ashley-Cooper, some aristocratic friends gathered. They were all far superior to Locke, and intended to spend the evening playing cards and chatting to their hearts' content. Locke was unpleasantly struck by the idleness of the conversations of such high-ranking persons, took out a notebook and began to write down what he heard. Ashley's guests became interested and asked the host's friend what he was recording. Locke noticed that this was the first time he was in the company of such noble men, and therefore did not want to miss a single word of them. After that, he read to them everything he had written down. The guests appreciated Locke's subtle hint, left the game and changed the topic of conversation to a more befitting of their status.

John Locke. Not later than 1704. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

This episode characterizes John Locke both as a man who kept himself on an equal footing and did not subservience to his superiors, and as a subtle thinker who knew how to observe better than most. The sprouts of these qualities were sown in him by his father, who very skillfully brought up the future philosopher. He gradually allowed the boy to come to him, did not pamper or overpraise him, but did not punish him beyond measure. After graduating from high school, Locke entered Oxford University, where he became first a bachelor and then a master of arts. At the same time, a university education burdened Locke. Oxford did not satisfy his curiosity at all, but only took away precious time that he could devote to self-education. Years later, the ideas about studying at the university would spill out on the pages of Thoughts on Education.

About education

"In a healthy body healthy mind". It is with these words Juvenal Locke began his work, where he outlined his vision of a gentleman's upbringing system. In it, Locke opposed the "convict labor" of the school education that existed at that time, when children were forced to cram Latin and Greek for hours, the need for mastery of which the philosopher questioned. In his opinion, moral education was paramount, and education was in the background. First, it was necessary to raise a noble and physically developed person, and then fill him with knowledge, the philosopher was sure.

In addition, Locke considered the approach of teachers to students very important. The teacher must first of all grab the child's attention, interest him in the topic being communicated. “We,” Locke wrote, “love freedom from the cradle. We know many things that disgust us just because they were imposed on us in childhood. I always thought that any serious occupation can turn into pleasure. " These words seem to be relevant today, and not at all because they have become a common truth for every teacher.

Tramp aristocrat

Locke met Anthony Ashley in 1666, shortly before he became Lord Chancellor. The future Earl of Shaftesbury was pleasantly surprised when he found a wonderful and worthy companion in Locke. They became very attached to each other, and soon Ashley invited Locke to settle in his house, becoming the family doctor - a thinker well versed in medicine - and at the same time the teacher of the sons of the Lord Chancellor. In such wanderings to other people's homes, the philosopher spent his entire life - in fact, he never had his own home.

Locke can be considered a unique person not only because of his work, but also because of his lifestyle. By the age of 34, when he met Ashley, Locke did not make a solid career - he simply did not strive for this, did not earn the fame of a prominent scientist, did not increase his fortune. The thinker was alien to ambition and careerism, did not try to "sell" his ideas at a higher price, did not shout about them. All he cared about was the search for truth. And therefore, for a long time, Locke was simply not noticed against the background of much more noisy "wise men", whose ideas subsequently sunk into oblivion. It is unlikely that he would have been noticed in our almost even louder time. Locke was modest, did not strive for titles and positions, he helped his friends when and where he was asked to. At various times, for a short time, he was a doctor, a statesman, and a teacher.

About the board

John Locke. Engraving. Not later than 1704. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

The senior Ashley, who spent a lot of time talking to his family doctor, soon introduced him to politics, in which Locke was never particularly interested, and to theology. As a result, Locke comprehended them to such an extent that he went beyond the count in his knowledge. One of Locke's major works eventually became the Two Treatises on Government, where he set out his theory of constitutional monarchy. The philosopher says that the king should be the head of the state, but his power is limited by the government and the constitution. Locke's liberal ideas, outlined there, do not lose their relevance to this day. He was an ardent opponent of any form of tyranny, where the government neglects the rights of its citizens and issues laws according to their own needs, and not the interests of the people. The most important thing Locke believed was that the state should have come from a social contract and only with the voluntary consent of the people. In addition, concern for the common good became the goal of any state. And the laws were recognized by them as just only when they were aimed at the same common good. Locke's wildest thought for our contemporaries is about the sovereignty of the people, which he placed above the sovereignty of the state. The protection of the latter can lead to the usurpation and destruction of the population, without which there will be no state, the British said. Locke saw the way to fight against the "presumptuous" government in revolution.

About religious tolerance

After meeting Ashley Locke, he lived and traveled for a long time with the earl and his family - either at court or out of favor, Shaftesbury often rushed between Britain and Holland. Locke followed the same path.

Having settled in Amsterdam after the death of his faithful friend - Ashley-Cooper died in 1683 - the philosopher turns to the topic of religion. In Two Treatises on Government, Locke argues with sir Robert Filmer, who in his work "Patriarchy" asserted that all power is an absolute monarchy, the roots of which lead to Adam, and thus any person is not free from birth. “God commanded that Adam's sovereignty was unlimited,” Filmer was convinced. Combining these theses, he said that any person, in fact, was doomed from birth to be the slave of the monarch-father. And the rulers, thus, stood above any laws. Locke brilliantly managed to refute Filmer's thoughts.

Not long before the "Two Treatises" the philosopher published several pamphlets "on religious tolerance", which would certainly have unpleasantly struck the current "Orthodox activists". There he insisted that the church should be separated from the state, and everyone has the right to freedom of religion. The Church, according to Locke, was supposed to attract people to its side by piety, and not by violent methods.

Locke's ideas were appreciated at the end of his life. He was on very good terms with William of Orangewho ascended the British throne after the Glorious Revolution of 1688. In recent years, Locke published almost all of his works, which in one way or another subsequently influenced Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, David Hume and other smartest representatives of humanity.

John Locke, (1632-1704), philosopher and politician

It is pointless on the part of the educator to talk about curbing passions if he gives vent to any of his own passions; and his efforts will be fruitless to eradicate in his pupil the vice or obscene trait that he admits in himself.

Politeness is the first and most pleasant virtue.

The great art of learning a lot is tackling little at once.

Things are good and bad only in relation to pleasure and pain. We call good what is capable of arousing or increasing our pleasure. Evil. we name what is capable of causing us or increasing any suffering.

Gymnastics lengthens a person's youth.

Will and desire should not be confused. I want an action that pulls in one direction, while my desire pulls in the opposite direction.

Twenty misdemeanors are more likely than one violation of the truth.

Nine-tenths of the people we meet are who they are — good or evil, helpful or useless — through parenting.

The actions of people are the best translators of their thoughts.

Bad examples are certainly stronger than good rules.

There is hardly anything more necessary for knowledge, for a quiet life and for the success of any business, than the ability of a person to control his thoughts.

If severity leads to healing from a bad inclination, then this result is often achieved due to the planting of another, even worse and more dangerous ailment - mental depression.

There are two kinds of dishonesty: the first is timid shyness, the second is obscene negligence and irreverence in treatment. Both can be avoided by observing one rule: do not have a low opinion either about yourself or about others.

Envy is the anxiety of the soul, caused by the consciousness that the desired good has been taken over by another, who, in our opinion, should not have it before us.

True courage is expressed in calm composure and in the equanimity of fulfilling one's duty, regardless of any disaster or danger.

True courage stands ready to face any danger and remains unshakable no matter what calamity threatens.

Eloquence has, like the fair sex, such significant charms that it does not tolerate attacks on itself. And it would be useless to scold the art of deception when people enjoy this kind of deception.

Courage is the guardian and support of all other virtues, and one who is devoid of courage can hardly be firm in the performance of duty and show all the qualities of a truly worthy person.

Nothing penetrates so imperceptibly and deeply into the human soul as an example: no matter what bad trait people overlook in themselves and forgive themselves, it can only inspire them with disgust and shame when it appears before them in other people.

... They do not always blush when they experience shame, which is anxiety of the mind at the thought that something indecent has been done or that will diminish the respect for us from others.

Taunting is the most subtle way to expose the flaws of others.

There is no greater rudeness than interrupting another during his performance.

No one has ever managed to be so cunning as to hide this quality of theirs.

No one knows the strength of his abilities until he has tested them.

Nothing is as beautiful to the eye as truth to the mind; nothing is so ugly and irreconcilable with reason as a lie.

Moral rules need proof, therefore, they are not innate.

Science education promotes the development of virtue in people with good spiritual inclinations; in people who do not have such inclinations, it only leads to the fact that they become even more stupid and bad.

The basis of all virtue and all dignity lies in the ability of a person to refuse to satisfy his desires when the mind does not approve of them.

The well-being of the entire people depends on proper education.

The vice is not in having, but in the inability to subordinate them to the rules of reason; the point is not whether you are experiencing or not experiencing the drives themselves, but the ability to control them and abandon them.

Memory is a copper board covered with letters, which time imperceptibly smoothes out, if sometimes not renewed with a chisel.

Pretending tries to correct natural imperfections. Its goal is to please, but it never reaches it.

Tell a man who is passionately in love that his beloved is deceiving him, present him with twenty witnesses to his beloved's infidelity, and you can bet ten against one that a few kind words from her will refute all the testimonies of accusers.

Make only a few laws, but make sure they are respected.

Fear is the anxiety of the soul at the thought of future evil, which is likely to fall upon us.

Happiness in its entirety is the highest pleasure we are capable of, and unhappiness is the highest suffering.

Lies have a constant companion - cunning.

I cannot recognize as useful for the child any punishment, in which the shame of suffering for a committed offense does not affect him more than the suffering itself.

In a badly educated person, courage takes on the appearance of rudeness; learning becomes pedantry in him; wit - buffoonery, simplicity - uncouthness, good nature - flattering.

Cunning is only the absence of reason: not being able to achieve its goals by direct ways, it tries to achieve them by devious and roundabout ways; and her trouble is that the cunning helps only once, and then it always only gets in the way.

Logic is the anatomy of thinking.

The one whom the child does not love has no right to punish the child.

It is easier for a mentor to command than to teach.

John Locke (1632-1704) philosopher and politician

It is pointless on the part of the educator to talk about curbing passions if he gives vent to any of his own passions; and his efforts will be fruitless to eradicate in his pupil the vice or obscene trait that he admits in himself.

Politeness is the first and most pleasant virtue.

The great art of learning a lot is tackling little at once.

... Things are good and evil only in relation to pleasure and pain. Good we call that which can cause or increase our pleasure ... Evil ... we call that which can cause us or increase some kind of suffering ...

Gymnastics lengthens a person's youth.

Will and desire should not be confused ... I want an action that pulls in one direction, while my desire pulls in the other, just the opposite.

Twenty offenses can be forgiven more quickly than one violation of the truth.

Nine-tenths of the people we meet are who they are — good or evil, helpful or useless — through parenting.

The actions of people are the best translators of their thoughts.

Bad examples are certainly stronger than good rules.

There is hardly anything more necessary for knowledge, for a quiet life and for the success of any business, than the ability of a person to control his thoughts.

If severity leads to healing from a bad inclination, then this result is often achieved due to the planting of another, even worse and more dangerous ailment - mental depression.

There are two kinds of dishonesty: the first is timid shyness, the second is obscene negligence and irreverence in treatment. Both can be avoided by observing one rule: do not have a low opinion either about yourself or about others.

Envy is the anxiety of the soul, caused by the consciousness that the desired good has been taken over by another, who, in our opinion, should not have it before us.

True courage is expressed in calm composure and in the equanimity of fulfilling one's duty, regardless of any disaster or danger.

True courage stands ready to face any danger and remains unshakable no matter what calamity threatens.

Eloquence has, like the fair sex, such significant charms that it does not tolerate attacks on itself. And it would be useless to scold the art of deception when people enjoy this kind of deception.

Courage is the guardian and support of all other virtues, and one who is deprived of courage can hardly be firm in the performance of duty and display all the qualities of a truly worthy person.

Nothing penetrates so imperceptibly and deeply into the human soul as an example: no matter what bad trait people overlook in themselves and forgive themselves, it can only inspire them with disgust and shame when it appears before them in other people.

... They do not always blush when they experience shame, which is anxiety of the mind at the thought that something indecent has been done or that will diminish the respect for us from others.

Taunting is the most subtle way to expose the flaws of others.

There is no greater rudeness than interrupting another during his performance.

No one has ever managed to be so cunning as to hide this quality of theirs.

No one knows the strength of his abilities until he has tested them.

Nothing is as beautiful to the eye as truth to the mind; nothing is so ugly and irreconcilable with reason as a lie.

Moral rules need proof, therefore, they are not innate.

Science education promotes the development of virtue in people with good spiritual inclinations; in people who do not have such inclinations, it only leads to the fact that they become even more stupid and bad.

The basis of all virtue and all dignity lies in the ability of a person to refuse to satisfy his desires when the mind does not approve of them.

The well-being of the entire nation depends on the correct upbringing of children.

The vice is not in having desires, but in the inability to subordinate them to the rules of reason; the point is not whether you are experiencing or not experiencing the drives themselves, but the ability to control them and abandon them.

Memory is a copper board covered with letters, which time imperceptibly smoothes out, if sometimes not renewed with a chisel.

Pretending tries to correct natural imperfections. Its goal is to please, but it never reaches it.

Tell a man who is passionately in love that his beloved is deceiving him, present him with twenty witnesses to his beloved's infidelity, and you can bet ten against one that a few kind words from her will refute all the testimonies of accusers.

Make only a few laws, but make sure they are respected.

Fear is the anxiety of the soul at the thought of future evil, which is likely to fall upon us.

Happiness in its entirety is the highest pleasure we are capable of, and unhappiness is the highest suffering.

Lies have a constant companion - cunning.

I cannot recognize as useful for the child any punishment, in which the shame of suffering for a committed offense does not affect him more than the suffering itself.

In a badly educated person, courage takes on the appearance of rudeness; learning becomes pedantry in him; wit - buffoonery, simplicity - uncouthness, good nature - flattering.

Cunning is only the absence of reason: not being able to achieve its goals by direct ways, it tries to achieve them by devious and roundabout ways; and her trouble is that the cunning helps only once, and then it always only gets in the way.

Logic is the anatomy of thinking.

The one whom the child does not love has no right to punish the child.

It is easier for a mentor to command than to teach.