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Enlightenment and the Greeks - Guidance from the Ancient WorldEnlightenment and the Greeks 1. Surely nature longs for the opposites and effects her harmony from them... That was also said by Heraclitus the Obscure: Combinations - wholes and not wholes, concurring differing, concordant discordant, from all things one and from one all things. In this way the structure of the universe - I mean, of the heavens and earth and the whole world - was arranged by harmony through the blending of the most opposite principles. Aristotle, On the World 396b7-8, 20-25
Honor the highest thing in the Universe; it is the power on which all things depend; it is the light by which all of life is guided. Honor the highest within yourself; for it, too, is the power on which all things depend, and the light by which all life is guided. Dig within. Within is the well-spring of Good; and it is always ready to bubble up, if you just dig. You have seen a hand, a foot, or perhaps a head severed from its body and lying some distance away. Such is the state a man brings himself to-as far as he is able-when he refuses to accept what befalls him, breaks away from helping others, or when he pursues self-seeking action. He becomes an outcast from the unity of Nature; though born of it, his own hand has cut him from it. Yet here is the beautiful proviso: it lies within everyone's power to join Nature once again. God has not granted such favor to any other part of creation: once you have been separated, once you have been cleft asunder, He will, at any moment, allow you to return. 0 Universe, all that is in tune with you is also in tune with me. Every note of your harmony resonates in my innermost being. For me, nothing is early and nothing is late if it is timely for you. 0 Nature, all that your seasons bring is fruit for me. From thee comes all things; in thee do all things live and grow; and to thee do all things return. "Dear City of God" is our cry, even though the poets say, "Dear City of the King." Waste no more time talking about great souls and how they should he. Be one yourself! Marcus Aurelius, From Meditations
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