SOME EPIGRAMS

 

                SOME EPIGRAMS

            An epigram is defined as a short poem or phrase that express an idea in a clever or amusing way.

            It is a literary device.

            According to another definition: An epigram is “ a brief, clever, and witty statement that expresses a single idea in a surprising or satirical way. Often featuring irony or paradox, these memorable quotes are designed to make the reader stop and think.”

            Look at the following epigrammatic statements.

1.     To err is human, to forgive, divine.----Alexander Pope

2.     Brevity is the soul of wit. ---William Shakespeare

3.     It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness.---Eleanor Roosevelt

4.     A church membership does not make a Christian any more than owning a piano makes a musician.----Douglas Meador

5.     A short poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge as an example of epigram:  

Sir, I admit your general rule,

That every poet is a fool,

But you yourself may serve to show it,

That every fool is not a poet.

 

Among epigram writers in English literature, the name of Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)  is at the top. He has to his credit a whole book of epigrams comprising about 250 pages. What follows is a short collection of his epigrams on various subjects.

 

(i)                   I can resist everything but temptation.

(ii)                  Men become old, but they never become good.

(iii)            When a man acts he is a puppet. When he describes he is a poet.

(iv)            The only way to behave to a woman is to make love to her, if she is pretty, and to some one else, if she is plain.

(v)                    Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

(vi)            The true artist is a man who believes absolutely in himself because he is absolutely himself.

(vii)          To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.

(viii)        Misfortunes one can endure ---they come from outside, they are accidents, but to suffer for one’s own faults ----ah! ---there is the sting of life.

(ix)                  Ambition is the last refuge of the failure.

(x)                    The world is a stage, but the play is badly cast.

(xi)                  A mother’s love is very touching, of course, but is often curiously selfish.

(xii)          No man should have a secret from his wife ---she invariably finds it out.

(xiii)        There is so much else to do in the world but love.

(xiv)        I don’t like principles….I prefer prejudices.

(xv)          A mask tells us more than a face.

                                          ------------

PUNCHLINE: Zeal is fit only for wise men but is found mostly in fools.----Ancient Proverb

 

                                  *******

G. R. Kanwal

1^st July 2026  

 

SOME VALUABLE QUOTES

 

           

                                    SOME VALUABLE QUOTES

            Under this heading there are given below a number of short sentences with a good deal of wisdom. You need them for leading a joyous, peaceful, and faultless life. They are the essence of great men’s practical lives.  A single sentence may be the gist of many valuable books.

            Here is a very modest selection.

1.     A new broom sweeps well, but an old one is best for the corners.---An old saying.

2.     Everybody wants to live longer but nobody wants to grow old. JULES ROSTAND

3.     A danger foreseen is half avoided.---Ancient Proverb.

4.     Men who are smart enough to destroy the world shouldn’t be dumb enough to do it.---DAN KIDNEY

5.     An excess of courtesy is discourtesy.---Japanese Proverb

6.     I would be true, for there are those who trust me;

I would be pure, for there are those who care;

I would be strong, for there is much to suffer;

I would be brave, for there is much to dare.

I would be friend of all ---the poor, the friendless;

I would be giving and forget the gift;

I would be humble, for I know my weakness;

I would look up  ---and laugh ---and love ---and lift.----HOWARD ARNOLD WALTER (1883-1918). American author and hymn writer.

 

7.     It is common for the younger sort to lack discretion. ----William Shakespeare, English poet and dramatist (1564-1616).

 

NOTE: All the remaining quotes in this list are by William Shakespeare.

 

8.     Things may serve long, but not serve ever.

9.     O! how bitter a thing it is to look into happiness through another man’s eyes!

10.                          Be guided by others’ experience.

11.                        The purest spring is not so free from mud.

12.                        True nobility is exempt from fear.

13.                         Be not afraid of shadows.

14.                        It is sin to flatter.

15.                         Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.(A wit is mentally sharp , full of humour,  clever, and intelligent.)

16.                        Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly.

17.                        A friend should bear his friend’s infirmities.

18.                        Lord! We know what we are but know not what we may be.

19.                         We cannot but obey the powers above us.

20.                        Great men should drink with harness on their throats.

                                                ******

G.R.Kanwal

30 June 2026

           

 

 

 

THE SEVEN AGES OF MAN

 

                THE SEVEN AGES OF MAN

          “The Seven Ages of Man” is a monologue included by the English poet-playwright William Shakespeare (1564-1616) in his play As You Like It.

          The speaker of the monologue is a cynical lord called Jaques.

          Man in this monologue is an actor. The world is a stage where man plays seven roles of life from entrance (birth) to final exit (old age) preceding death).  

          The seven stages are : (i). Infancy as a helpless baby crying in the nurse’s arms. (ii). Schoolboy, having a shining face, but dragging himself to school reluctantly. (iii). The lover sighing like a furnace with a woeful ballad addressed to his ladylove. (iv).The soldier representing boldness, quick temper, and the desire to seek reputation of bravery even at the risk of his life. (v). This is the stage of  justice, displaying maturity equipped with a formal beard and wise maxims . (vi). The Pantaloon. This stage is also symbolic of old age depicting overall frailty.  Man has now become weak and his voice is unclear. (ii). The seventh stage depicts second childishness. This is the last stage. Shakespeare describes it as:

          “Last scene of all,

          That ends this strange eventful history,

          Is second childishness, and mere oblivion,

          Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans every thing.

         

          It is noteworthy that no stage of life in the whole monologue is justifiably void of a sneering comment.

          What follows is the full text of the poem:

         

                   All the world’s a stage,

And all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts,

His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,

Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms;

And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel

And shining morning face, creeping like snail

Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,

Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad

Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier,

Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,

Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,

Seeking the bubble reputation

Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice,

In fair round belly with good capon lin’d,

With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,

Full of wise saws and modern instances;

And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts

Into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon,

With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;

His youthful hose, well sav’d, a world too wide

For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,

Turning again toward childish treble, pipes

And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,

That ends this strange eventful history,

Is second childishness and mere oblivion;

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

         

G.R.Kanwal

29 June 2026                                   *****

SOME VIEWS ABOUT LAW

 

          SOME VIEWS ABOUT LAW

            “Law’’ is defined as a system of rules created and enforced by government or social institutions to regulate behaviour.  Its purpose is  “ to maintain order, protect individual rights, resolve disputes, and ensure justice.”

            “Unlike moral codes, laws are backed by the coercive power of the state.” As such, “violations carry enforceable penalties like  fines or imprisonment or both.

            It is strange that whereas humanity is one, governed by one universal god, the laws framed by the states are not the same or similar. An offence in a particular state is no offence in many other states. Even in the same country, there are different laws in different states. There may be prohibition (ban on the manufacturing and sale of alcoholic beverages) in one state but not so in many other states.

            Main sources of law are customs, traditions, cardinal virtues, deadly sins, religious tenets, rights and duties fixed by the state constitution, the rules made by the political party in power, and also some past judicial decisions.

            Some synonyms of law are: code, rule, principle, precept, criterion, doctrine, canon, and statute.

            Here are some famous quotes:

·        “Law is blind.” It means that the legal system is impartial, treating everyone equally regardless of wealth, power, or status. The underlying suggestion is that law should not ignore socio-economic realities.

·        A countryman between two lawyers is like a fish between two cats.

·        Law is a bottomless pit.

·        In law nothing is certain but the expense.

·        Law is a mouse-trap: easy to enter but not easy to get out.

·        Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through.

·        Good laws make it easier to do right and harder to do wrong.

·        Society cannot exist without law and order, and cannot advance except through vigorous innovations.

·        Laws are always unstable unless they are founded in the manners of a nation; and manners are the only durable  and resisting power in a people.

·        Laws are silent in the midst of arms.

·        The people’s safety is the law of God.

                                    _______

PUNCHLINE: Love has its own laws. It means that love depends upon mutual respect, balance, and patience to survive.  It cannot be forced.  

                                                ******

 

G,R.Kanwal

28 June 2026

 

WHAT IS SIN?

 

                WHAT IS SIN?

          “Sin” is a religious term. Smoking may be sin in religion, but it is not so in civil or criminal law.

            Seven deadly vices are also called seven deadly sins. They are: Pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth.

            Some synonyms of sin are: transgression, wrongdoing, misdeed, offence, evil, guilt, iniquity, and scandal.

            Any act that violates religious morality is a sinful act.

            The German religious reformer Martin Luther (1483-1516) said:

           

            “Sin is, essentially, a departure from God.”

           

            Here are a few relevant quotes:

 

*The recognition of sin is the beginning of salvation.

 

*He who sins against man may fear discovery, but he who sins against God, is sure of it.

 

*Few love to hear the sins they love to act. ----The English poet-playwright William Shakespeare (1564-1616).

 

* The worst effect of sin is within, and is manifest not in poverty, and pain, and bodily defacement, but in the discrowned faculties, the unworthy love, the low ideal, the brutalized and enslaved spirit.----The American clergy Edwin Hubbel (1814-1880).

 

*The English divine Richard Baxter (1615-91) had this to say:

 

            Use sin as it will use you; spare it not, for it will not spare you; it is your murderer, and the murderer of the world: use it, therefore, as a murderer should be used. Kill it before it kills you. You love not death; love not the cause of death.

 

*Some antonyms of sin are : virtue, goodness, innocence, holiness, morality, and righteousness.           

 

An important proverb says:

“ The wages of sin is death.”

 

            To conclude, here is a famous and widely recognized quote about sin:

           

            “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to cast a stone.”--       Jesus Christ

                                                            ******

G.R.Kanwal

27 June 2026

 

TWO IMPORTANT QUOTES

 

 TWO IMPORTANT QUOTES

            What is said in the following two quotes is not transient. It is perpetual. To read them is to become not only knowledgeable but also better human beings.

1.     From the Gita, the sacred Hindu scripture, known as the divine song of Lord Krishna.

“He who is free from malice towards all beings, who is friendly as well as compassionate, who has no feeling of meum (mine) and is free from egoism, to whom pleasure and pain are alike and who is forgiving by nature, who is ever content and mentally united to Me (Lord Krishna), who has subdued his body, mind and senses and has a firm resolve, who has surrendered his mind and intellect to Me (Lord Krishna), ---that devotee of mine is dear to me.”

Note: According to an authentic source: Lord Krishna is the eighth and most revered avatar of Lord Vishnu in Hinduism. He is the supreme god of compassion, tenderness, love, and protection. Millions revere him as a divine lover and a profound philosopher.

            Also note that an avatar is a manifestation of a deity in bodily form on earth, such as a divine nature.  

            Another notable point is about Hindu Trinity comprising –Brahman, the creator, Vishnu, the preserver, and Shiva, the destroyer.

                                                -----

2.     John Milton’s sonnet “ON HIS BLINDNESS”.

            John Milton (1608-74 ) was a great Puritan poet of England. He died blind.  Blindness  came to him slowly for ten years  but he became totally blind in 1653.

            As a literary critic says the sonnet “On His Blindness” is the spiritual struggle to accept personal limitations and the realization that faithful submission to God’s will is the highest form of service.

            Look at the following most relevant lines:

            ‘Doth God exact day labour, light denied’?

            I fondly ask ; but Patience, to prevent

            That murmur, soon replies : ‘God doth not need

            Either man’s work or His own gifts : who best

            Bear His mild yoke, they serve him best: His state

            Is kingly; thousands at His bidding speed

            And post o’er land and ocean without rest:

 

The last line of the sonnet : ‘

 

 

They also serve who only stand and wait.’ has become proverbial.

                                               

The full text of the Sonnet follows:

 

When I consider how my light is spent,

 

   Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,

 

   And that one Talent which is death to hide

 

   Lodged with me useless, though my Soul more bent

 

To serve therewith my Maker, and present

 

   My true account, lest he returning chide;

 

   “Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?”

 

   I fondly ask. But patience, to prevent

 

That murmur, soon replies, “God doth not need

 

   Either man’s work or his own gifts; who best

 

   Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state

 

Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed

 

   And post o’er Land and Ocean without rest:

 

   They also serve who only stand and wait.”

 

 

*******

G.R.Kanwal

26^th June2026        

 

 

https://grkanwal.blogspot.com/

https://www.facebook.com/gulsan.kanwal 

 

DON’T LIVE IN THE PAST

 

                DON’T LIVE IN THE PAST

            Don’t live in the past. Move forward. Look at the present. Use every new moment creatively. Time is like a river. It flows forward; does not stop anywhere aimlessly, takes new jumps and crosses new places.

            What is the charm in repeating the past?  Whereas it can be a little delightful, it can also be massively grave.

            In the past, wars were crude; life styles were stagnant; people had both harmony and disharmony among them. Most of the rulers were auto-crats.; only some of them were benevolent.

            It is true that history repeats itself both positively and negatively. But why should we ignore the present and remain attached to it.

            Human mind is a room of memories. Some of them are new, some are old. Why to keep the mind retain old rubbish? People like dusting, and cleaning, and even washing every corner of the house almost daily. They get rid of old, stale, old-fashioned things in whatever way they can.

            They do not go on collecting the junk into piles.

            As you clean your dwelling area every day and get rid of old, useless goods and chattels, so should you clean the areas of your mind every day. 

            Get up every morning with a clean mind to receive new knowledge, new ideas, and new plans.

              Note: the past is dead, It is not going to revive itself.

                 The future is uncertain.

                  The present is in your hands to do new things.

                   The English poet John Keats (1795-1821) said: Heard melodies are sweet but those unheard are sweeter.

                    And another English Ralph Hodgson (1871-1962) said:

                    Time, you old gipsy man

                     Will you not stay,

                      Put up your caravan

                     Just for one day.                                                       

                       

            Yet another English poetess A. A. Procter (1825-1864) said:

                       

                         A place in the ranks awaits you,

                        Each man has some part to play ;

                        The Past and the Future are nothing,

                        In the face of the stern To-day.

 

Finally: This old saying: Don’t dig the old graves.

 

                                                *****

G.R.Kanwal

25 June 2026