This is the fullest collection of La Rochefoucauld's writings ever published in English, and includes the first complete translation of the Miscellaneous Reflections. A table of alternative maxim numbers and an index of topics help the reader to locate any maxim quickly.
'Our virtues are, most often, only vices in disguise.' Deceptively brief and insidiously easy to read, La Rochefoucauld's shrewd, unflattering analyses of human behaviour have influenced writers, thinkers, and public figures as various as Voltaire, Proust, de Gaulle, Nietzsche, and Conan Doyle. The author gave himself the following advice: 'The reader's best policy is to assume that none of these maxims is directed at him, and that he is the sole exception...After that, I guarantee that he will be the first to subscribe to them.' This is the fullest collection of La Rochefoucauld's writings ever published in English, and includes the first complete translation of the Réflexions diverses (Miscellaneous Reflections). A table of alternative maxim numbers and an index of topics help the reader to locate any maxim quickly and to appreciate the full range of La Rochefoucauld's thought on any of his favourite themes, such as self-love, vice and virtue, love and jealousy, friendship and self-interest, passion and pride. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
Throughout his long, hectic and astonishingly varied life, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) would jot down his passing thoughts on theatre programmes, visiting cards, draft manuscripts and even bills ... Goethe was probably the last true ‘Renaissance Man’. Although employed as a Privy Councillor at the Duke of Weimar’s court, where he helped oversee major mining, road-building and irrigation projects, he also painted, directed plays, carried out research in anatomy, botany and optics – and still found time to produce masterpieces in every literary genre. His fourteen hundred Maxims and Reflections reveal some of his deepest thought on art, ethics, literature and natural science, but also his immediate reactions to books, chance encounters or his administrative work. Although variable in quality, the vast majority have a freshness and immediacy which vividly conjure up Goethe the man. They make an ideal introduction to one of the greatest of European writers.
"Highly readable and thought-provoking ... A very pleasant and creative work." ―Dr. Larry Sanger, ex-founder of Wikipedia Economy of Truth is a collection of practical maxims and reflections either designed through clever artwork or in the form of writing only. In an enjoyable and impactful manner, Vizi Andrei aims to challenge our long-held beliefs about art, education, courage, progress, happiness, intelligence, and creativity. Readers who come to this book expecting practical guidance will not be disappointed, but they will be delighted to see that such guidance is being delivered rather artistically―via short stories that read like modern poetry, beautifully accompanied by vivid illustrations. The wisdom this book permeates with comes from figures such as Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, Confucius, Epicurus, Antisthenes, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Michel de Montaigne, Emil Cioran, Leo Tolstoy, Mircea Eliade, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Gilbert Keith Chesterton, Friedrich Nietzsche, Blaise Pascal, Arthur Schopenhauer, Luc de Clapiers but also Carlo M. Cipolla, Umberto Eco, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Alain de Botton, Rory Sutherland, or Naval Ravikant. "An urgent book ... Vizi's work is bursting with many irreverent lessons ready to help you remove the chains of modernity. This book will sharpen your thinking and help you gain clarity on a variety of crucial topics." ―Ruben Chavez, founder of ThinkGrowProsper "A well-reasoned collection of meditations ... They will contagiously make you think!" ―Luca Dellanna, author of Operational Excellence "Written in a quaint voice, this book charms the reader―mixing just the right amount of reflective self-awareness with cutting insight. For those who consider musings of great import, a pleasant stroll through Economy of Truth would be time well-spent." ―Jack Peach, teacher and traveler
German scientist and man of letters Georg Christoph Lichtenberg was an 18th-century polymath: an experimental physicist, an astronomer, a mathematician, a practicing critic both of art and literature. He is most celebrated, however, for the casual notes and aphorisms that he collected in what he called his Waste Books. With unflagging intelligence and encyclopedic curiosity, Lichtenberg wittily deflates the pretensions of learning and society, examines a range of philosophical questions, and tracks his own thoughts down hidden pathways to disconcerting and sometimes hilarious conclusions. Lichtenberg's Waste Books have been greatly admired by writers as very different as Tolstoy, Einstein, and Andre Breton, while Nietzsche and Wittgenstein acknowledged them as a significant inspiration for their own radical work in philosophy. The record of a brilliant and subtle mind in action, The Waste Books are above all a powerful testament to the necessity, and pleasure, of unfettered thought.
Review: "Unlike Machiavelli-inveterate dreamer and cynic-Guicciardini's mind is remarkable for the balance and masterly coolness of its judgment."-Federico Chabod "In the history of Renaissance thought, Guicciardini's Ricordi occupy a place of singular importance. Few works of the sixteenth century allow us so penetrating an insight into the views and sentiments of its author as these reflections of the great Italian historian. . . . Like Machiavelli's Prince, the Ricordi form one of the outstanding documents of a time of crisis and transition; but unlike the Prince, they range over a wide field of private as well as public life. In doing so, they revel the man as well as the political theorist."-Nicolai Rubenstein, from the Introduction.
Marine Maxims is a collection of fifty principle-based leadership lessons that Thomas J. Gordon acquired commanding Marines over a career spanning three decades of service. Dealing with the complexities and challenges of the contemporary operating environment requires an internal moral compass fixed true. These maxims focus on developing inner citadels of character, moral courage, and the resilience to persevere in a contested domain where information is key. Its purpose is to provide future leaders with a professional development plan that will steel their resolve and enable them to lead with honor. Thematically, these maxims build upon a foundation of character, courage, and will. To be effective, a leader must model and inspire the will to persevere in the face of danger or adversity. The essence of effective leadership is credibility. A leader’s credibility is derived from a congruence of competence and character. Exceptional leaders are not remembered for what they accomplished, but how they did it. Those that lead with integrity will be remembered as a leader worth following.