Vincent Ryan RuggieroThere was a time when history was a centerpiece of liberal education. But for the last few generations, it has been remanded to the dusty corners of the library. The main reason is the entrenched notion that everyone creates his or her own reality and truth and therefore people’s parents and grandparents have few if any insights to offer them, and those who lived in previous times have none at all.
This entrenched notion is one of the most foolish and thus dangerous ones that ever gripped a country. It has produced ignorance and arrogance and prevented generations from gaining wisdom. The best way to overcome disdain for past thinkers and their thoughts is look back at their contributions with open minds and learn from their thinking. Following is a modest sampling of that such thinking, with commentary.
Confucius (6th century BC) “It is not failure of others to appreciate your abilities that should trouble you, but rather your failure to appreciate theirs.” Here is an insight, formed centuries ago that, centuries later, many of us have not yet realized. We have been taught to be focused on ourselves rather than others. Confucius saw that focusing on others keeps us humble, broadens our understanding, and encourages our self-improvement.
LaoTzu (6th century BC) “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” An excellent reminder not to fear difficult challenges, but to take one step at a time.
Heraclitus (6th Century BC) “You could not step twice into the same river.” A vivid reminder that time changes everything, so we should not assume that today’s problems cannot necessarily be solved as yesterday’s were.
Thales (6th Century BC) “The most difficult thing in life is to know yourself.” Why is this so difficult? Because we tend to think of ourselves in flattering ways which blinds us to characteristics that need improving. Unless we recognize this tendency, others will know things about us we are ignorant of.
Aristotle (4th century BC) “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” Also: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Aristotle agreed with Thales on the importance of knowing ourselves. He also recognized its role in gaining wisdom and he identified the role habit plays in achievement.
Plato (4th Century BC) “The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.” Also, “Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.” The first quote is a warning against leave important tasks to others. The second explains why it is not enough to enact laws: they must also be enforced, a lesson that many public officials still, many centuries later, fail to understand!
Socrates (4th Century BC) “Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.” Even now many parents and more educators do little to stimulate wonder (curiosity) and often stifle it.
Chrysippus (2nd Century BC) “There could be no justice, unless there were also injustice; no courage, unless there were cowardice; no truth, unless there were falsehood.” This insight may take a moment’s reflection before it is grasped. We may object and ask “why can’t one of each pair stand without the other?” But when we try to imagine such separation and are unable to do so, our objection will disappear.
Cicero (1st Century BC) “Let your desires be ruled by reason.” Cicero was warning about trusting feelings and emotions to guide our behavior. In our own century this warning had been foolishly ignored by many leading influencers, which has resulted in much unfortunate behavior and misery.
Cato the Younger (1st Century BC) “I begin to speak only when I’m certain what I’ll say isn’t better left unsaid.” Many centuries later, Mark Twain echoed this wisdom when he said, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.” Yet relatively few people have listened to either man.
Epictetus (First century AD) “If you want to be good, begin by assuming that you are bad.” Many people today continue to believe that negative assessments of ourselves stifle our development and prevent achievement. They fail to understand what Epictetus and many other ancients knew–that thinking we already possess a quality lessens our interest in pursuing it.
Plutarch (First Century AD) “He who does not in the beginning nurse his wrath and does not puff himself up with anger takes precautions against it and destroys it.” Yet late into the twentieth century, modern psychology was foolishly teaching that expressing anger reduces it. (Eventually, Carol Tavris exposed the error with her book, Anger the Misunderstood Emotion.)
Musonius Rufus (1st Century AD) “If you accomplish something good with hard work, the labor passes quickly, but the good endures; if you do something shameful in pursuit of pleasure, the pleasure passes quickly, but the shame endures.” Understanding this ancient insight can help us have happier lives, but only if we are guided by it.
Samuel Johnson (18th Century) “He that overvalues himself will undervalue others, and he that undervalues others will oppress them.” The accuracy of this observation lies in the fact that undervaluing is related to disrespect and even to contempt, both of which invite mistreatment.
Bishop Berkeley (18th Century) “He who says there is no such thing as an honest man, you may be sure is himself a knave.” Very clever of him to realize that good and bad attitudes shape our behavior, a truth so subtle it is easily missed.
Johnathan Swift (18th Century) “Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.” Swift’s writings could be humorous, so it is possible to read this remark as tongue in cheek. Even so, it is profound, a fact we can see by considering how disappointing expecting too much can be.
Alexis de Tocqueville (19th Century) “When a community attempts to render its members equal and alike, the personal pride of individuals will always seek to rise above the line, and to form somewhere an inequality to their own advantage.” Grasping this insight into human behavior could have prevented untold numbers of people from supporting political programs that spawned terror and caused disaster.
Leo Tolstoy (19th Century) “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but nobody thinks of changing himself.” Someone once put it a bit more harshly: “To understand what’s wrong with the world, look in the mirror.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (19th Century) “Every man I meet is in some way my superior, and in that, I can learn from him.” This attitude, if more common, would have greatly increased people listening to others and achieving harmony rather than discord.
Bruce Lee (1940) “A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.” The explanation is, of course, that the wise man seeks understanding whereas the fool seeks nothing,
The moral to this brief recitation of insights through the ages is that insights can be found anywhere in the long history of humankind. And even the most ancient of them can be relevant to the present moment. Realizing this and seeking them will be rewarded by expanding our understanding and wisdom. On the other hand, believing that we already know more than our elders, both ancient and modern, will punish us with perpetual ignorance. The choice is ours.
Copyright © 2025 by Vincent Ryan Ruggiero. All rights reserved.
Michael Baglino
William Borst
