SOME QUOTES ON MAN

 

                SOME QUOTES ON MAN

            Man is a mysterious being. His qualities,  both positive and negative,  are innumerable. He is the best ,  but also the worst, among living beings.  f he is an angel, he is also a devil. He creates as well as dissolves. His virtues and vices are almost equal in number. If he is calm, he is angry, too. If he is a builder, he is also demolisher. If he loves peace, he also likes war. He is a combination of godliness and devilishness. In short, as a poet has said:

            Wonders are many, but none, none is more wondrous than man. Man moves over the grey sea, using the wind and the storm, during the depths and surges. Even the eldest of all the gods ---Earth, inexhaustible Earth---man masters her with yearly ploughs that turn and return and the steady step of the horse. Language and thought, light and rapid as wind, man has taught himself these, and has learnt the ways of living in town and city, shelter from inhospitable frost, escape from the arrows of rain.  

            Cunning, cunning is man. Wise though his plans are, artful beyond all dreaming, they carry him both to evil and to good. (Quoted by Gilbert Highet in Man’s Unconquerable mind.)

            The Indo-Pak poet- philosopher Dr. Muhammad  Iqbal (1877-1938) said : Man is the deputy (vicegerent) of God on earth.

            In his play Hamlet, Act 2, Sc.2, the English poet-dramatist William Shakespeare (1564-1616) says: What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an angel! In apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! The paragon of animals!

            Finally, the following lines from “Essay on Man : Epistle II”  by the English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744):

 Know then thyself, presume not God to scan;

The proper study of mankind is man.

Plac'd on this isthmus of a middle state,

A being darkly wise, and rudely great:

With too much knowledge for the sceptic side,

With too much weakness for the stoic's pride,

He hangs between; in doubt to act, or rest;

In doubt to deem himself a god, or beast;

In doubt his mind or body to prefer;

Born but to die, and reas'ning but to err;

Alike in ignorance, his reason such,

Whether he thinks too little, or too much:

Chaos of thought and passion, all confus'd;

Still by himself abus'd, or disabus'd;

Created half to rise, and half to fall;

Great lord of all things, yet a prey to all;

Sole judge of truth, in endless error hurl'd:

The glory, jest, and riddle of the world!

                                                            *******

G. R. Kanwal

31 March 2026

 

RETURN GOOD FOR EVIL

 

                        RETURN GOOD FOR EVIL

            Goodness is a generous quality of the heart. The antonym of goodness is evil, badness, wickedness, and cruelty. Goodness is kindness. It belongs to the category of love, affection, compassion, kindness, forgiveness, and mercy. Whereas evil is repulsive, goodness is attractive. It is magnetic.

            If you return evil for evil, you add fuel to the fire. But if you return good for evil, you generate peace,  love, affection, friendliness, and cordiality in  relationship.

            Evil is a negative force. It is immoral. It is brutal. Goodness is a positive attitude.  It has an element of spirituality. It is angelic. It is a non-violent response to a provocative situation. It has the fragrance of forgiveness, not the foul smell of revenge.

            Evil is darkness of the mind; goodness is its brightness that abolishes  gloom and obscurity.

            As war can be stopped by embracing  peace, so can evil  be transformed by goodness, love, affection, forgiveness and benevolence.

            Mercy is an attribute of God. Blessed are they who adopt it as one of the qualities of their life-long character.

            Finally, read and remember the following sonnet written by the English poet-dramatist William Shakespeare (1564-1616) . It is included in the play The Merchant of Venice.  

            The quality of mercy is not strain’d,

            It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven,

            Upon the place beneath : it is twice blesse’d;

            It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:

            ‘T is mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes

            The throned monarch better than his crown;

            His sceptre shows the force of temporal power.

            The attribute to awe and majesty,

            Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;

            But mercy is above this sceptred sway,

            It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,

            It is an attribute to God himself.

            An earthly power doth then show likest God’s

            When mercy seasons justice.

                                                                        ******

G. R. Kanwal

30 March 2026       ``        

 

 

 

MY THOUGHTS TODAY

 

                MY THOUGHTS TODAY             

1.     War is a crime against humanity. Its results are death and destruction. It does not solve problems, rather multiplies them.

2.     Modern wars are more lethal because of more deadly weapons. Those who win may not be  deserving ones because the principle of might is right is always in vogue.

3.     Man-making education is vanishing. Money-making is taking its place.  

4.     Greed rather than contentment is the rule today. In an old story a farmer was allowed to occupy as much land as he could cover by walking. His greed did not allow him to stop walking at the safest time. Consequently, over-walking exhausted him so much that he died.  

5.     Greed is the mother of many evils. It creates immoral rivalry and undesirable disputes. It presents virtues as vices and vices as virtues. In many cases it stands for  fair is foul, and foul is fair.

6.     It is undesirable to spoil one’s health for the sake of wealth.

7.     Communalism is poisonous. All faiths and religions have their own beauty. They lead to the supreme God who is only one. The earth, the sky, the sun and the moon and billions of world’s contents are His creation.

8.     It has been rightly said by James Kirkup, a modern English poet (born 1923) that no men are strange, no countries foreign, beneath all uniforms, a single body breathes like ours; the land our brothers walk upon is earth like this, in which we all shall lie. They, too, aware of sun and air and water, are fed by peaceful harvests, by war’s long winter starv’d. Their hands are ours, and in their lines we read a labour not different from our own.  

9.     Prayers cover the whole of man’s life. There is no thought, feeling, yearning, or desire, however low, trifling, or vulgar we may deem it, which, if it affects our real interest or happiness, we may not lay before God and be sure of His sympathy.

10.                           Pride, the most dangerous of all faults, proceeds from want of sense, or want of thought.

                                                ******

G. R. Kanwal

29 March 2026      

 

SELFISH PERSONS

 

SELFISH PERSONS

            Selfish persons forget the proverb that man is a social animal. They also forget  the maxim : One for all and all for one. They are mean, ungenerous, illiberal, greedy, egotistical and narrow-minded.           

            They mind their own business.  They are known for ---  self-love, self-protection, self-care , self-esteem, self-interest,  etc.

            The term self-aggrandizement means: the act of increasing one’s own power, status, wealth, or reputation, often in an aggressive, boastful or ruthless manner.  

              Some synonyms of self-aggrandizement are: egotism, narcissism, conceit, vain-glory, self-elevation, arrogance, and boastfulness.                    

            Selfish persons ignore the social proverb : Love thy neighbour as thyself.

            If there is any adversity world-wide,  selfish persons will think of relief only for themselves, their family, their village, their town , their city, and on a larger level their country.

            If there is a universal period of any natural calamity, he will pray for God’s mercy only for his family, his kith and kin and at the most his country.

            Look at these famous quotes about selfish persons (1). Self-centered people have only one topic to talk about --- themselves. (2) Self-absorbed people only think about what makes them feel good at the moment. They don’t have any respect or regard for anyone else. Then they wonder why their relationships fail. (3). Selfish people think of themselves. They don’t care about the pain they cause others and they certainly don’t care about the damage they do.

            The American clergy Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) said: Our gifts and attainments are not only to be light and warmth in our own dwellings, but are to shine through the window, into the dark night, to guide and cheer bewildered travellers on the road.

            To conclude, here are two suggestions: (i) Behave like a world citizen. (ii).  Make caring and sharing  your foremost  principle of your life.

                                                *******

G.R.Kanwal

28 March 2026

           

 

 

SOME THOUGHTS THAT MATTER

 

SOME THOUGHTS THAT MATTER

             Thoughts are  said to be the foundation of our existence, directly shaping our emotions, actions, reality, and destiny. They act as the propeller of our lives, influencing our physical health, belief systems, and daily decisions.

            Read, remember, and make the following thoughts an important part of your knowledge.

1. Conquer yourself. Till you have done this, you are just a slave. Self-conquest makes you a king.

2. He is most powerful who has himself in his own control.

3. True dignity is never gained by great place or high position.

4. The praises of others may be of use in teaching us, not what we are, but what we ought to be.

5, He is great who can do what he wishes; and he is wise who wishes to do what he can.

6. Know yourself  and do your own work.

7. Education does not mean teaching people to know what they do not know; it means teaching them to behave as they do not behave.

8.  Simple diet is best; for many dishes bring many diseases.

9.  Enjoy the blessings of the day if God sends them.

10. It is not money, nor is mere intellect, that governs the world; it is moral character, and intellect associated with moral excellence.

11. Character is higher than excellence.

12. Benevolent feeling ennobles the most trifling actions.

13. Our actions are the best interpreters of our thoughts.

14. Winds and waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators.

15. Ill deeds are doubled with an evil word.

16. We can do more good by being good, than in any other way,

17. Long sentences in a short  composition are  like large rooms in a little house.

18.  Ignorance is the mother of suspicion.

19. To choose time is to save time.

20. It is only when the rich are sick that they fully feel the importance of wealth.

21. The first thing education teaches somebody is to walk alone.

22.  The worst use you can put a man to do is to kill him.

23. Among  mortals  second thoughts are wisest.

24.  No man can be wise on an empty stomach.

25. Offended vanity is the great separator in social life.

                                                            *****

G.R.Kanwal

27 March 2026       

 

A POEM FOR HARSH PARENTS

 

                A POEM FOR HARSH PARENTS

                Harsh parents impose unnecessary restrictions on their children and punish them if they do not abide by them. This kills their joy day in and  day out.

            The activities which invite the parents’ wrath are not vicious or sinful, They are natural and should be encouraged rather than mitigated. In fact, they spoil the affectionate relationship which is essential for the appreciable growth of the child till adulthood.

            Children should not be expected to become whole-time bookworms. They also need recreation through activities of their choice.

            According to UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) strict parenting, characterized by high control, rigid rules, and low-warmth, often leads to negative outcomes including anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and aggressive behaviour. It is also possible that children may become skilled at lying to avoid punishment, struggle with decision-making, and exhibit rebellion, while potentially facing long-term issues like strained relationships and poor mental health.           

                        Given below is a poem titled “The Toys”. It is written by the English poet and literary critic Coventry Patmore (1823-1896). He is best known for his book of poetry The Angel in the House, a narrative poem about the Victorian ideal of a happy marriage.

                            Here is full text of the poem.

                                                The Toys                  

My little Son, who look'd from thoughtful eyes

And moved and spoke in quiet grown-up wise,

Having my law the seventh time disobey'd,

I struck him, and dismiss'd

With hard words and unkiss'd,

----His Mother, who was patient, being dead.

Then, fearing lest his grief should hinder sleep,

I visited his bed,

But found him slumbering deep,

With darken'd eyelids, and their lashes yet

From his late sobbing wet.

And I, with moan,

Kissing away his tears, left others of my own;

For, on a table drawn beside his head,

He had put, within his reach,

A box of counters and a red-vein'd stone,

A piece of glass abraded by the beach

And six or seven shells,

A bottle with bluebells

And two French copper coins, ranged there with careful art,

To comfort his sad heart.

So when that night I pray'd

To God, I wept, and said:

Ah, when at last we lie with tranced breath,

Not vexing Thee in death,

And Thou rememberest of what toys

We made our joys,

How weakly understood

Thy great commanded good,

Then, fatherly not less

Than I whom Thou hast moulded from the clay,

Thou'lt leave Thy wrath, and say,

"I will be sorry for their childishness."

                                                                        *****

G.R.Kanwal

26 March 2026

 

 

SOME USEFUL THOUGHTS

 

                   SOME USEFUL THOUGHTS

1.                 To kill is to murder. You cannot escape God’s punishment even if you kill a person in a war. War itself is unjustified. It takes the place of discussion and diplomacy.

2.                 When a big country attacks a small country, It commits a sin because it promotes the belief that might is right. Think for a moment the issue of strength of two persons when they are equally unarmed.

3.     What is the definition of a big country today? The one which  has more  deadly weapons. Such a country is also known as a country having nuclear weapons.   

4.                 The world today has become a commercial market. Whereas a particular  country manufactures and sells weapons, it has also competitors in this field.

5.                 Power today depends upon weapons not on ideas and arguments.   

6.                 It is unfortunate that a  just war has become a rare thing.

7.                 Anger is one of the motivators of many conflicts. In the list of seven deadly sins given in the Bible anger occupies a high place. Other six sins in that list are: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, and indolence.

8.                 We should  dislike all those persons who commit any one or more of the sins mentioned in above-mentioned list.

9.                 Pride is considered the most serious sin because it acts as the root of other sins like envy, anger  greed and gluttony.  According to the Bible pride is the mother of all sins. It is believed to be the sin which  turned Lucifer (representative of divine beauty) to Satan (Devil, one who entices humans into sin and oppose God.)

10.                                    Anger is also a destructive sin. In Hinduism, it leads to sinful actions. It is “slayer of people” and a cause of destruction. In Islam It is “ a state that often leads to negative consequences.” According to Judaism anger requires “strict management to avoid sinful actions.”

                        To conclude, here is a famous quote: “It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.”

                                                            *******

G.R.Kanwal

25 March 2026

 

 

 

FROM SHAKESPEARE’S WRITINGS

 

FROM SHAKESPEARE’S WRITINGS

1.     Unquiet meals make ill digestion,---Comedy of Errors, Act 5.

2.     And as imagination bodies forth/The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen/Turns them to shapes, and gives to airy nothing/A local habitation and a name,---Midsummer Night’s Dream. Act 5.  

3.     Blow, blow, thou winter wind,/Thou are not so unkind/As man’s ingratitude. Thy tooth is not so keen,/Because thou art not seen,/Although thy breath be rude.---As You Like It, Act 2.

4.     How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is/To have a thankless child!----King Lear, Act .

5.     The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together: Our virtues would be proud if our faults whipped them not; and our crimes would despair if they were not cherished by our virtues.---All’s Welll That Ends Well, Act 4.

6.     Out, out, brief candle!/Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player/that struts and frets his hour upon the stage,/And then is heard no more; it is a tale/Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,/Signifying nothing.---Macbeth, Act 5.

7.     We are such stuff/As dreams are made on, and our little life/Is rounded with sleep.----Tempest, Act 4.

8.     Love is merely a madness, and I tell you, deserves as well a dark house and a whip as madmen do; and the reason why they are not so punished and cured is, that the lunacy is so ordinary that the whippers are in love too.---As You Like It, Act 3.   

9.     Love is not love/Which alters when it alteration finds,/Or bends with the remover to remove:/O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark,/That looks on tempests and is never shaken. It is the star to every wandering bark,/Whose worth’s unknown. Although his height be taken. Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks/Within his bending sickle’s compass come;/Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,/But bears it out even to the edge of doom./---Sonnet CXV1.

10.             Love sought is good, but given unsought is better.---Twelfth Night, Act 2.

11.             Love is blind.---Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act 2.

12.             Lovers and madmen have such seething brains,/Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend/More than cool reason ever comprehends.---Midsummer Night’s Dream. Act 5.

13.            The lunatic, the lover, and the poet,/Are of imagination compact;/One sees more devils than vast hell can hold,/That is the madman; the lover, all as frantic,’Sees Helen’s beauty in a brow of Egypt.----Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 5.

14.             Horses are tied by the head, dogs and bears by the neck, monkeys by the loins, and men by the legs: when a man is over-lusty at legs, then he wears wooden nether-stocks.---King Lear, Act 2.

15.             What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty! In form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an angel! In apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! The paragon of animals! ----Hamlet, Act 2.

16.             The quality of mercy is not strain’d,/It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven,/Upon the place beneath. It is twice bless’d;/It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:/’T is mightiest in the mightiest ; it becomes/The throned monarch better than his crown;/His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,/The attribute to awe and majesty,/Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;/But mercy is above the sceptred sway,/It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,/It is an attribute to God himself,/An earthly power doth then show likest God’s/When mercy seasons justice.---Merchant of Venice, Act 4.  

                                          ******

G.R.Kanwal

24 March 2026

 

 

QUOTES BY SHAKESPEARE

 

                QUOTES BY SHAKESPEARE   

            Some quotes have already been posted on 20^th and 22^nd March. The one on 20^th March 2026 carried also a brief biography of the poet-dramatist . The following quotes are an addition. More may be posted for some days to come  with today’s heading.  

1.     The empty vessel makes the greatest sound.-- Henry V, Act 4.

2.     Corruption wins not more than honesty. ---Henry VIII, Act 3.

3.     In delay there is no plenty.---Twelfth Night, Act 2.

4.     Let your own discretion be your tutor. ----Hamlet, Act 3.

5.     Dreamers often lie.---Romeo and Juliet, Act 1.

6.     Good wine needs no bush. ---As You Like It, Epilogue Line 4.

7.     Golden lads and girls all must,/As chimney sweepers , come to dust.---Cymbeline, Act 4.

8.     Allow not nature more than nature needs,---King Lear, Act 2.

9.     Be guided by others; experiences.---Cymbeline, Act 1.

10.                        The purest spring is not so free from mud.—Henry VIII, Part 2, Act 3.

11.                         Be just and fear not. ----Henry VIII, Act 1.

12.                         Flowers are like the pleasures of the world.—Cymbeline, Act 4.

13.                         A fool’s bolt is soon shot.---Henry V, Act 3.

14.                         What can be avoided/Whose end is purpose’d by the mighty god? ---Julius Caesar, Act 2.

15.                         Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly.---As You Like It, Act 2.

16.                         A friend should bear his friend’s infirmities.---Julius Caesar, Act 4.

17.                         Friendship is constant in all other things/Save in the office and affairs of Love----Much Ado About Nothing, Act 2.

18.                        Lord! we know what we are, but know not what we may be.---Hamlet, Act 4.

19.                         We cannot but obey the powers above us.---Pericles, Act 3.

20.                         O Lord! That lends me life. / Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness.-- ---Henry V1, 2^nd Part,  Act 1.

21.                        Great men should drink with harness on their throats.---Timon of Athens, Act 1.

22.                         I have neither the scholar’s melancholy, which is emulation, nor the musician’s, which is fantastical; nor the courtier’s, which is proud, not the soldier’s , which is ambitious; nor the lawyer’s, which is politic; nor the lady’s, which is nice; nor the lover’s, which is all these: but it is a melancholy of mine own, compounded of many simples, extracted from many objects, and indeed the sundry contemplation of my travels, in which my often rumination wraps me in a most humorous sadness.----AS You Like It, Act 4.

23.                          Sorrow and grief have vanquish’d all my powers.---Henry Vi, Part 2, Act 4.

24.                          A woeful hostess brooks not merry guests. ----From the poem Rape of Lucrece, Line 1125.            

25.                        Grief makes one hour ten.----Richard II, Act 1.

                                                ******

G.R.Kanwal

23 March 2026

 

 

 

 

 

SOME SHAKESPEARE’S THOUGHTS (PART TWO}

 

                SOME SHAKESPEARE’S THOUGHTS

                                                (PART TWO}           

            Part one of this series was posted on March 21. It also carried a brief introduction. More parts will follow from tomorrow onward.

 

1.     My books and instruments shall be my company.---Taming of the Shrew, Act 1.

 

2.     Me, poor man, my library/ Was dukedom large enough.---Tempest, Act 1.

 

3.     Brevity is the soul of wit,/And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,/I will be brief. ----Hamlet, Act 2.

 

4.      I am sure care is an enemy to life.----Twelfth Night, Act 1.

 

5.     Pitchers have ears.---Richard 111, Act 2.

 

6.     Abstinence engenders maladies.---Love’s Labour Lost, Act 4.

 

7.     A giving hand, though foul, shall have fair praise. ---Love’s Labour Lost, Act 4.

 

8.     A dying coal revives with wind.---From poem Venus and Adonis, Line 338

 

9.     It is a wise father that knows his own child.---Merchant of Venice, Act 2.

 

10.                        Comfort is in heaven; and we are on the earth,/Where nothing lives but crosses, cares and grief. ---Richard II, Act 2.

 

11.                         The empty vessel makes the greatest sound.---Henry V, Act 4.

 

12.                        Our strong arms be our conscience, swords our law1.----Richard III.

 

13.                         It is virtuous to be constant in any undertaking. ----Measure for Measure, Act 3.

 

14.                         Men are April when they woo, December when they wed: maids are May when they are maids, but the sky changes when they are wives.---As You Like It, Act 4.

 

15.                         Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.----Henry IV, 2^nd Part, Act 3.

 

16.                         I must be cruel only to be kind.---Hamlet, Act 3.

 

17.                         He thinks too much, such men are dangerous.---Julius Caesar, Act 1.

 

18.                         Cowards die many times before their deaths;/ The valiant never taste of death but once.-----Julius Caesar, Act 2.

 

19.                         As flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods;/They kill us for their sports. ---King Lear, Act 4.

 

20.                        Holy men at their death have good inspirations.----Merchant of Venice, Act 1.

 

21.                         He that dies pays all debts.---Tempest, Act 3.

 

                        ********* (To be continued).

G.R.Kanwal

22 March 2026