Are these maxims for the feeble-minded or a sage?
- Useful links to living are found in Cicero, Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius.
- He hung himself with his tongue and bit it hard when the day came.
- Three-fourths of the Earth was his home, but now he lives in a pond in Tibet.
- He’s a pleasant person when he’s pleased, but he’s seldom pleased.
- An ugly man who creates beautiful things is thought beautiful.
- He has an enthusiastic conversation ready for anyone who smiles at him.
- A man is never lonely when he’s striving toward a worthwhile goal.
- Begin with a pleasant smile, then a laugh about one’s self, and listen carefully.
- Everyone’s a fool at a riot, but the ones with cool heads don’t risk their bodies.
- A poor man is satisfied with his lot, but billionaires didn’t get rich being satisfied.
- Yes, they do look impressive together; it’s a huge belly to match his fat head.
- Bake good bread, and butter will soon find its proper place.
- It took many candles to write Moby Dick. [Candles were made of whales’ blubber.]
- He lives the longest who creates the most surviving things.
- A meaningless life drags the hours, but a meaningful life packs the years.
- He’s earned so many feathers of admiration his head looks like a peacock.
- He set my house afire to roast his eggs of revenge for his long-dead father.
- Pee with your back to the sunshine if you’re afraid of a wee-wee sunburn.
- He who greases his car’s axles saves many times the price in fuel and parts.
- Born a fool, raised by fools, marry a fool, generate fools, and die a proud fool.
- He who offers his honey pot to a bear won’t have any honey left for himself.
- Carry my heavy loads and me, and you will understand why I sweat the little stuff.
- He who is a friend to everyone must be prepared for many painful events.
- With every visit, take a gift, and from every guest expect one.
- When you have an excellent book to read, you are in good company.
- If someone betrays you, examine previous events and investigate every precursor.
- Someone who cheats at little things will cheat at big ones too and create calamities.
- Decide business dilemmas when at work, join in family events, and sleep soundly.
- Surviving today’s failures gives you tonight to recover and tomorrow to succeed.
- If you hate crowds of people, you should avoid becoming a football fan.
- He who has given his heart will soon give his mind and then his money.
- Religion and church bind strangers together into a community but repel close kin.
- A kid who grasps for ground sugar candy drops most of it onto the ground.
- One who has covered the basics of life has free time to hunt for rare opportunities.
- People who have big noses have trouble seeing past them, as does everyone else.
The goal of these maxims is to stimulate new ideas by clashing some of those seemingly opposite ideas into a synthesis idea. The experiment will begin with about thirty sets of these modernized old ideas, and then search for other lists of ideas to do this clashing process upon.