“Almost Every Wise Saying Has An Opposite One...."
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
16 December
2023
“Almost
every wise saying has an opposite one, no less wise, to balance it.”
― George
Santayana
Fate
favours those who work hard.........An old English proverb/ Fate provides preys
to a python despite being sluggish........
A
Burmese Proverb
Beauty is
its own enemy..............French saying/ Beauty is a blessing.........
William
Wordsworth
Arguments hone
the minds........Plato/ Arguments blunt human intelligence.......
Bertrand
Russell
Art is an
illusion.........Raphael/ Art is a reality.......
Michelangelo
December
16 is the 160th Birth anniversary of Spanish-American philosopher, poet and
humanist George Santayana
------
'There's no
such thing as a free lunch' but it is also true that ' The best things in life
are free.'
'One's
never too old to learn' is a famous proverb which is almost an axiom but 'You
can't teach an old dog new tricks' is also a time-honoured aphorism!
'Birds of a
feather flock together' gets its nemesis in 'Opposites attract!'
'Fortune
favours the bold' but ' Discretion is the better part of valour' also has
profound wisdom.
'Love
happens at first blush' (Christopher Marlowe)/ 'Love grows slow and steadily'
(Thomas Moore).
"
Scriptures are dogmas" (Spinoza)/ 'Scriptures are the finest literature'
(St. Augustine)
As George
Santyana rightly observed, all the abovementioned famous quotes, sayings,
adages and aphorisms have counter quotes and maxims which are also equally
right. Even Truth is never permanent. It's contextual as well as situational.
In other words, it's relative.
We,
therefore, must avoid absolutism. Life is enriched by contradictions and
paradoxes because contradictions enable us to look at things comprehensively.
They strike a balance in life and also mellow us down.
When you
realize that every 'truth' has a counter 'truth', you stop insisting on the
'truth' you're aware of. Remember, your 'truth' is a private 'truth.' Pit it
against the public 'truth' and finally against the universal 'truth'. This
helps widen our horizons.
Every idea
has a semblance of Truth and an element of Validity. An interesting anecdote
will drive home the point. Two philosophers were enjoying their drinks. One of
them said, "My wife is my life." Other one said, "Life with my
wife is a perpetual strife."
Both being
erudite, understood the individual perspective of each other and didn't argue.
They laughed, clinked glasses and had one more drink. Learn to respect
contradictory viewpoints and drink life to the lees.
-----
A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul
is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He
has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several
languages including Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/wise-saying-opposite/d/131320
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