Epigraphs for Complete Thyself

The following passages might prove useful as epigraphs or quotations in my book Complete Thyself: Aristotle on Human Fulfillment.

Aristotle

• "Nothing is complete unless it has a telos." (207a15)
• "Nothing incomplete is found among the elements of fulfillment." (1177b26)

W.H. Auden

• "The life of man is never quite completed." ~ W.H. Auden, "In Time of War"

Henry Beston

• "True humanity is no inherent right but an achievement." ~ Henry Beston, Herbs and the Earth

George Eliot

• "Character too is a process and an unfolding." ~ George Eliot, Middlemarch
• "Is there not a genius for feeling nobly which also reigns over human spirits?" ~ George Eliot, Middlemarch
• "Character is not cut in marble - it is not something solid and unalterable. It is something living and changing, and may become diseased as our bodies do." ~ George Eliot, Middlemarch
• "Every limit is a beginning as well as an ending." ~ George Eliot, Middlemarch

Margaret Fuller

• "What concerns me now is that my life be a beautiful, powerful, in a word, a complete life of its kind." ~ Margaret Fuller, Woman in the Nineteenth Century

Hesiod

• Works and Days, 249-250:
  ἐγγὺς γὰρ ἐν ἀνθρώποισιν ἐόντες ἀθάνατοι φράζονται
  "The immortals are close at hand and mingle with men."
  
• Works and Days 293-298 (quoted at EN I.4 1195b13):
  οὗτος μὲν πανάριστος, ὃς αὐτὸς πάντα νοήσῃ
  φρασσάμενος, τά κ᾽ ἔπειτα καὶ ἐς τέλος ᾖσιν ἀμείνω:
  295ἐσθλὸς δ᾽ αὖ κἀκεῖνος, ὃς εὖ εἰπόντι πίθηται:
  ὃς δέ κε μήτ᾽ αὐτὸς νοέῃ μήτ᾽ ἄλλου ἀκούων
  ἐν θυμῷ βάλληται, ὃ δ᾽ αὖτ᾽ ἀχρήιος ἀνήρ.
  
• Works and Days 308-309:
  ἐξ ἔργων δ᾽ ἄνδρες πολύμηλοί τ᾽ ἀφνειοί τε:
  καὶ ἐργαζόμενοι πολὺ φίλτεροι ἀθανάτοισιν.
  "It is through work that men grow rich in flocks and abundance;
  It is through work too that men become more dear to the immortals."
  
• Works and Days 694:
  μέτρα φυλάσσεσθαι: καιρὸς δ᾽ ἐπὶ πᾶσιν ἄριστος.
  "Cherish what's measured; for the opportune time is best in all things."
  
• Works and Days 715:
  μηδὲ πολύξεινον μηδ᾽ ἄξεινον καλέεσθαι,
  "Be neither friendless nor a friend to all."
  

Pindar

• Olympian I 33-34:
  ἁμέραι δ᾽ ἐπίλοιποι
  μάρτυρες σοφώτατοι.
  "Days to come are the wisest witnesses."
  
• Olympian I 113-114:
  ἐπ᾽ ἄλλοισι δ᾽ ἄλλοι μεγάλοι. τὸ δ᾽ ἔσχατον
  κορυφοῦται βασιλεῦσι.
  "One man is great in one way, one in another;
  But kings reach the highest pinnacle."
  
• Olympian II 30-34:
  ἤτοι βροτῶν γε κέκριται
  πεῖρας οὔ τι θανάτου,
  οὐδ᾽ ἡσύχιμον ἁμέραν ὁπότε, παῖδ᾽ ἁλίου,
  ἀτειρεῖ σὺν ἀγαθῷ τελευτάσομεν: ῥοαὶ δ᾽ ἄλλοτ᾽ ἄλλαι
  εὐθυμιᾶν τε μετὰ καὶ πόνων ἐς ἄνδρας ἔβαν.
  "Truly mortals cannot know the limits of death,
  Nor our day of peace, that child of the sun-god,
  When we shall bring unblemished goods to completion;
  For streams of both pain and pleasure rain down
  Forever upon men."
  
• Olympian II 51-52:
  τὸ δὲ τυχεῖν
  πειρώμενον ἀγωνίας παραλύει δυσφρονᾶν.
  The troubles of the contest evaporate at the moment of triumph.
  
• Olympian 2 86:
  σοφὸς ὁ πολλὰ εἰδὼς φυᾷ:
  The sage knows much by nature.
  
• Olympian 4 18:
  διάπειρά τοι βροτῶν ἔλεγχος:
  Experience proves the man.
  
• Olympian 5 17:
  ἠῢ δ᾽ ἔχοντες σοφοὶ καὶ πολίταις ἔδοξαν ἔμμεν.
  The citizens think those who have good fortune are wise.
  
• Olympian 5 22:
  φέρειν γῆρας εὔθυμον ἐς τελευτάν
  May you carry joy into the farthest reaches of old age.
  
• Olympian 7 10:
  ὁ δ᾽ ὄλβιος, ὃν φᾶμαι κατέχοντ᾽ ἀγαθαί.
  Blessed is he who receives great praise.
  
• Olympian 7 25-26:
  ἀμφὶ δ᾽ ἀνθρώπων φρασὶν ἀμπλακίαι
  ἀναρίθμητοι κρέμανται: τοῦτο δ᾽ ἀμάχανον εὑρεῖν,
  ὅ τι νῦν ἐν καὶ τελευτᾷ φέρτατον ἀνδρὶ τυχεῖν.
  "Men's minds are beclouded by countless errors;
  It's hard to see what would be best to happen
  For men, whether now or in the end."
  
• Olympian 7 43-47:
  ἐν δ᾽ ἀρετὰν
  ἔβαλεν καὶ χάρματ᾽ ἀνθρώποισι Προμαθέος Αἰδώς:
  ἐπὶ μὰν βαίνει τε καὶ λάθας ἀτέκμαρτα νέφος,
  καὶ παρέλκει πραγμάτων ὀρθὰν ὁδὸν
  ἔξω φρενῶν.
  "Forethought's care gives thriving and joy to men;
  Yet an inscrutable cloud of forgetting stalks us,
  Driving the right way of acting out of our thoughts."
  
• Olympian 8 13-14:
  πολλαὶ δ᾽ ὁδοὶ
  σὺν θεοῖς εὐπραγίας.
  "With the gods beside us,
  Many are the roads to success."
  
• Olympian 9 107-108:
  σοφίαι μὲν
  αἰπειναί:
  "The peaks of skill are lofty indeed."
  
• Olympian 11 10:
  ἐκ θεοῦ δ᾽ ἀνὴρ σοφαῖς ἀνθεῖ πραπίδεσσιν ὁμοίως.
  "Only through god does a man flourish as his mind's wisdom."
  
• Olympian 13 47-48:
  ἕπεται δ᾽ ἐν ἑκάστῳ
  μέτρον: νοῆσαι δὲ καιρὸς ἄριστος.
  "To each thing belongs its measure:
  Knowing the right moment is best."
  
• Pythian 1 41-42:
  ἐκ θεῶν γὰρ μαχαναὶ πᾶσαι βροτέαις ἀρεταῖς,
  καὶ σοφοὶ καὶ χερσὶ βιαταὶ περίγλωσσοί τ᾽ ἔφυν.
  "From the gods come all mortal excellences,
  Whether wisdom, eloquence, or strength of hand."
  
• Pythian 2 34:
  χρὴ δὲ κατ᾽ αὐτὸν αἰεὶ παντὸς ὁρᾶν μέτρον.
  "Always in all things, know your measure."
  
• Pythian 2 56:
  τὸ πλουτεῖν δὲ σὺν τύχᾳ πότμου σοφίας ἄριστον.
  "To prosper with the gifts of fortune is the highest wisdom."
  
• Pythian 2 72:
  γένοι᾽ οἷος ἐσσὶ μαθών:
  "Become what you are, having learned what that is."
  
• Pythian 3 34-35:
  δαίμων δ᾽ ἕτερος
  ἐς κακὸν τρέψαις ἐδαμάσσατό νιν:
  "Her spirit turned evil and laid her low."
  
• Pythian 3 54:
  ἀλλὰ κέρδει καὶ σοφία δέδεται.
  "But even wisdom is bound up with avarice."
  
• Pythian 3 59-62:
  χρὴ τὰ ἐοικότα πὰρ δαιμόνων μαστευέμεν θναταῖς φρασίν,
  γνόντα τὸ πὰρ ποδός, οἵας εἰμὲν αἴσας.
  μή, φίλα ψυχά, βίον ἀθάνατον
  σπεῦδε, τὰν δ᾽ ἔμπρακτον ἄντλει μαχανάν.
  "We must seek from the gods what is like us,
  Knowing where we stand and what is our destiny.
  Dear soul, don't strive for immortal life,
  But make the most of the skills you have.
  
• Pythian 3 103-104:
  εἰ δὲ νόῳ τις ἔχει θνατῶν ἀλαθείας ὁδόν, χρὴ πρὸς μακάρων
  τυγχάνοντ᾽ εὖ πασχέμεν.
  "If a mortal man keeps in mind the way of truth,
  Let him accept with grace what the immortals grant."
  
• Pythian 3 108-109:
  τὸν ἀμφέποντ᾽ αἰεὶ φρασὶν
  δαίμον᾽ ἀσκήσω κατ᾽ ἐμὰν θεραπεύων μαχανάν.
  "Ever will I honor the spirit within my mind,
  Practicing the skills I have been given."
  
• Pythian 4 139-140:
  ἐντὶ μὲν θνατῶν φρένες ὠκύτεραι
  κέρδος αἰνῆσαι πρὸ δίκας δόλιον,
  "The minds of men are all too quick
  To spurn justice for the sake of greed."
  
• Pythian 4 286:
  ὁ γὰρ καιρὸς πρὸς ἀνθρώπων βραχὺ μέτρον ἔχει.
  The right moment's measure is all too brief.
  
• Pythian 5 12-13:
  σοφοὶ δέ τοι κάλλιον
  φέροντι καὶ τὰν θεόσδοτον δύναμιν.
  "Even god-granted power is borne
  More beautifully with wisdom."
  
• Pythian 5 122-123:
  Διός τοι νόος μέγας κυβερνᾷ
  δαίμον᾽ ἀνδρῶν φίλων.
  "The great mind of Zeus guides
  The spirit of men he loves."
  
• Pythian 7 21-22:
  θάλλοισαν εὐδαιμονίαν
  τὰ καὶ τὰ φέρεσθαι.
  "Blooming joy brings
  both good and bad."
  
• Pythian 11 52-53:
  τῶν γὰρ ἂμ πόλιν εὑρίσκων τὰ μέσα μακροτέρῳ
  ὄλβῳ τεθαλότα, μέμφομ᾽ αἶσαν τυραννίδων:
  "Searching city life and finding those in middle
  Prosper longest, I shun the ways of tyrants."
  
• Pythian 12 28-29:
  εἰ δέ τις ὄλβος ἐν ἀνθρώποισιν, ἄνευ καμάτου
  οὐ φαίνεται:
  "If some bliss comes to men, it comes not
  Without trouble."
  
• Nemean 1 25-27:
  τέχναι δ᾽ ἑτέρων ἕτεραι: χρὴ δ᾽ ἐν εὐθείαις
  ὁδοῖς στείχοντα μάρνασθαι φυᾷ.
  πράσσει γὰρ ἔργῳ μὲν σθένος,
  βουλαῖσι δὲ φρήν
  Different men have different skills:
  We must strive on a straight path with what we're given.
  Strength takes action in deeds, mind in councils.
  
• Nemean 3 40-42:
  συγγενεῖ δέ τις εὐδοξίᾳ μέγα βρίθει:
  ὃς δὲ διδάκτ᾽ ἔχει, ψεφηνὸς ἀνὴρ ἄλλοτ᾽ ἄλλα πνέων οὔ ποτ᾽ ἀτρεκεῖ
  κατέβα ποδί, μυριᾶν δ᾽ ἀρετᾶν ἀτελεῖ νόῳ γεύεται.
  "Something innate carries great weight:
  A man may be taught but still be blown darkly this way and that,
  Struggling on uncertain feet, merely tasting of a thousand virtues
  With a mind that never comes to completion."
  
• Nemean 6 4-5:
  ἀλλά τι προσφέρομεν ἔμπαν ἢ μέγαν
  νόον ἤτοι φύσιν ἀθανάτοις,
  "We have some likeness to the immortals,
  Whether in greatness of mind or nature."
  
• Isthmian 1 40:
  ὁ πονήσαις δὲ νόῳ καὶ προμάθειαν φέρει:
  "The one who suffers gains foresight in his mind."
  
• Isthmian 1 63:
  ἦ μὰν πολλάκι καὶ τὸ σεσωπαμένον εὐθυμίαν μείζω φέρει.
  "Often what's kept silent brings greater joy."
  
• Isthmian 5 16:
  θνατὰ θνατοῖσι πρέπει.
  Mortality is fitting for mortals.
  

Friedrich Schiller

• "The beautiful must not only be life and form, but a living form, that is, beauty." Letters on the Aesthetic Education of Man
• "Pleasure may be stolen, but love must be a gift." Letters on the Aesthetic Education of Man

Hajime Tanabe

• "True freedom is not something one receives from another; one has to acquire it for oneself." ~ Hajime Tanabe, Philosophy as Metanoetics

Thomas Traherne

• "By thoughts alone the soul is made divine." Thoughts (III)

Peter Saint-Andre > Writings > Aristotle