I was enlightened when I watched The Emperor’s Club tonight.
Memorable quotes:
“A man’s character is his fate.”
– Heraclitus
“The end depends upon the beginning.”
– Said to be the motto of the school in the movie. It’s actually the motto of the very real Phillips Andover Academy.
“If you didn’t like the beginning, then start over.”
– Joe Winett
“Great ambition and conquest without contribution is without significance.”
– Said by Mr. Hundert about Shutruk-Nakhunte, an ancient king unknown by most.
“It is not living that’s important, but living rightly.”
– Socrates
“The worth of a life is not determined by a single failure or a solitary success.”
– Said by Mr. Hundert as a compassionate thought toward himself regarding his failure to teach the importance of virtue to a particular student.
Since everything is about me, I have to add that sometimes I wonder how my life would have been different if I was afforded a more thorough, classical education. Answer: I would be different, so I wouldn’t go back and change a thing.
And, I’ll bury at the end of this post that I have never been happier, or healthier, or mentally sound as I am now. My incidents of depression are shorter lived and more infrequent than they have been since they started around age 12.
I owe so much of that to the skills being taught to me in my Wednesday class by Dr. Dan Marker. I owe the rest to myself for taking the time to listen carefully and put into practice what I’m learning.
Oh, and one more quote:
“Never let the sense of past failure defeat your next step.”
– Terry Decker, immediate former Manager of the Salvation Army Lodge, Shawnee, Oklahoma.
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