Theos-Talk Archives (July 2006 Message tt00322)

Dear Friends, 

According to an old Arab proverb, 
 
“A prudent man does not listen to a mockery  without seeing some useful lesson in it; whereas a fool, upon hearing  a  wise thought, turns it into a mockery.” (1) 
 
In ancient China,  Confucius  taught:  
 
“The man of noble mind holds three things in awe. He holds the Divine Will in awe; he holds the great in awe;  and he holds the precepts of the sages in awe.  The baser man,  not knowing the Divine Will, does not stand in awe of it; he takes liberties with the great; and makes a mock of  the precepts of the sages.” (2) 
 
 
 Best regards,  Carlos Cardoso Aveline  
 
 
 
NOTES: 
 
(1) Translated from the book “A Sabedoria dos Árabes” (“The Arab Wisdom”), Compilation by Ary de Mesquita, Ed. Ediouro/Tecnoprint, RJ, Brazil, 1986, 114 pp., see p. 82. 
 
(2) “The Analects”, Confucius,  Dover Publications, New York, copyright 1995, 128 pp., see p. 101 (book XVI, paragraph  VIII). 


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