The Moral Sayings of Pubilius Syrus, a Roman Slave

Book: The Moral Sayings of Pubilius Syrus, a Roman Slave
Basic Information : Synopsis :  Expectations : Thoughts : Evaluation : Book Group : New Words  : Good Quotes :  References

Basic Information:

Author: Publius Syrus

Edition: Google Playbook translated from the Latin by D. Lyman

Publisher: LE Barnard&Company

ISBN: 1437166245 (ISBN13: 9781437166248)

Start Date: April 8, 2020

Read Date: April 17, 2020

82 pages

Genre: Essay, Personal Growth

Language Warning: None

Rated Overall: 3 out of 5

Synopsis:

A series of maxims or sayings on the conduct of a person. Born a Syrian, he became a Roman slave. But because of the wisdom shown, he was set free. He competed in oritory in front of the highest Romans, including Julius Caesar.

Expectations:

• Recommendation: Saw a reference in Caitin Doughty’s book, Smoke Gets IN Your Eyes
• When: April 8, 2020
• How come do I want to read this book: Seems like these are a things which are good to remember

Thoughts:

I will be copying about a tenth of the teaching. Some I will comment on.

• 1. As men, we are all equal in the presence of death.
• 2. The evil you do to others you may expect in return.
• 7. To do two things at once is to do neither.
  • Wonder what he would say in this era of multi-tasking.
• 10. To love one's wife with too much passion, is to be an adulterer.
  • I do not understand what he means.
• 11. Hard is it to correct the habit already formed.
• 15. Even when we get what we wish, it is not ours.
• 25. A god could hardly love and be wise.
  • Interesting. What a narrow god he had or imagined. But I suspect without revelation, this is how I would also feel. I should be thankful for this.
• 29. Be not blind to a friend's faults, nor hate him for them.
  • Hard to do. Also would be true of political candidates.
• 35. Adversity shows whether we have friends, or only the shadows of friends.
• 37. The loss of a friend is the greatest of losses.
• 46. We all seek to know whether we shall be rich; but no one asks whether he shall be good.
  • So true.
• 49. A wise man rules his passions, a fool obeys them.
• 52. A [haughty] spirit in disgrace is a show for the rabble.
• 68. What greater evil could you wish a miser, than long life.
• 71. No amount of gain satisfies Avarice.
• 73. Avarice is the source of its own sorrows.
• 83. No one but a knave or a fool thinks a good deed thrown away.
• 85. Never forget a favor received; be quick to forget a favor bestowed.
• 87. To receive a favor is to pawn your freedom.
  • And yet, he seems to want to give out favors. Does this mean he wants to have others beholden to him?
• 90. Agift in season is a double favor to the needy.
• 99. Conquest over one's self, in the hour of victory, is a double triumph.
• 104. A good reputation, even in darkness, keeps on shining.
• 109. We must master our good fortune, or it will master us.
• 120. Learn to see in another's calamity the ills which you should avoid.
• 134. The wounds of conscience always leave a scar.
• 138. There is but a step between a proud man's glory and his disgrace.
• 141. Make your beloved angry, if you wish him to love you.
  • I wonder what my wife would think of this?
• 146. Consult your conscience, rather than popular opinion.
• 148. You will gain your point better by moderation than anger.
• 169. Every man is a master in his own calling.
• 170. Patience is a remedy for every sorrow.
• 173. The greatest of comforts is to be free from blame.
• 174. There is no safety in regaining the favor of an enemy.
• 178. The gain acquired at the expense of reputation, should be counted a loss.
• 184. Wisdom is acquired by meditation.
• 185. While we stop to think, we often miss our opportunity.
• 204. He who has prospered in life, should stay at home.
• 215. A kindness should be received in the spirit that prompted it.
• 217. In place of giving an angry man arms, we should take them away.
• 220. It is a kingly spirit that can return good deeds for reproaches.
• 223. The party to which the rabble belong is ever the worst.
  • This applies to our political parties as well.
• 227. The good to which we have become accustomed, is often an evil
• 236. Even when the wound is healed, the scar remains.
• 237. Even when there is no law, there is conscience.
• 250. It is easier to add to a great reputation than to get it.
• 252. By concealing the deed, you render the accusation more serious.
  • Nixon should have learned this. I certainly did as a kid.
• 265. What is left when honor is lost?
• 310. Do not take part in the council, unless you are called.
• 316. Circumstances will oft force a good man to swerve from the right
• 318. By doing nothing, men learn to do ill.
• 335. The people are strongest, where the Laws have most power.
  • There is a fine distinction here between laws having power and the people who enforce laws having power.
• 336. Victory waits upon unity of action.
• 343. Pardon the offense of others, but never your own.
• 345. Would you have a great empire ? Rule over yourself.
• 356. Audacity is every thing, when the danger is critical.
• 383. To forget the wrongs you receive, is to remedy them.
• 389. To do good you should know what good is.
• 413. The error repeated is a fault.
• 416. When vice is approved, it will soon become intolerable.
• 429. When you assail truth, you may give loose reins to your tongue.
• 431. A slanderous tongue is the sign of a bad heart.
• 438. In the art of praying, necessity is the best of teachers.
• 457. They live ill who expect to live always.
• 464. Depravity pretends to goodness, that it may be worse than before
• 467. Never find your delight in another's misfortune.
• 507. An orator's life is more convincing than his eloquence
• 511. The fear of death is more to be dreaded than death itself.
• 519. He threatens many, who does injustice to one.
• 521. The death of a good man is a public calamity.
• 524. A rolling stone gathers no moss.
  • Interesting. I always thought it was Confusius who was credited with it. But Wikipedia says Syrus did, or at least is the most likely to be credited.
• 528. Never promise more than you can perform
  • I think this is good, but it seems like in some places you get more points for promising than performing. Also many politicians should keep this in mind.
• 568. The truth is lost when there is too much contention about it.
• 571. It is only the ignorant who despise education.
• 574. Not to punish offenses, is to encourage depravity.
  • Something to think about. Our sentences should fit the crime-neither too light or heavy.
• 581. It is not every question that deserves an answer
• 582. He is not likely to perish in the ruins who trembles at a crack in the wall.
• 585. It is not goodness to be barely better than the worst are.
• 599. Don't consider how many you can please, but whom.
• 617. / A guilty conscience never feels secure.
• 635. There should be no disagreement between our lives and our doctrines.
• 701. A good reputation is a good man's noblest inheritance.
• 718. He who violates another's honor loses his own.
• 720. What it is right to do, should be done at the right time.
• 735. It is a great grievance when the evil which is past returns again
• 747. If you delight in the society of the vicious, you are vicious yourself.
• 760. He who guards against calamities rarely meets them.
• 761. It is no vice to keep a vice out of sight.
• 766. It is the height of eloquence to speak in the defense of the innocent.
• 769. He who praises himself will speedily find a censor.
• 783. You should tell no one what you wish no one to know.
• 784. What is it to practice benevolence ? It is to imitate the Deity.
• 785. It matters not what you are thought to be, but what you are
• 800. It is the height of folly to blame without knowledge.
• 818. When you forgive an enemy you gain many friends.
• 825. He is truly wise who gains wisdom from another's mishap
• 829. It matters not how long you live but how well.
  • Well, maybe it would be nice to live beyond the present moment.
• 841. Anger stops at nothing.
• 845. The hour of triumph loves no co-partnership.
• 846. You can obey a request much better than a command
• 851. You would not sin so often if you knew some things of which you are ignorant.
• 852. The eyes and ears of the mob are often false witnesses.
• 855. There is no more sacred duty than to remember to whom you ' owe yourself.
• 861. You are eloquent enough if truth speaks through you.
• 866. Better use medicines at the outset, than at the last moment.
• 872. / Prosperity makes friends, adversity tries them.
• 881. Fear always comes back to curse its authors.
• 888. To overthrow law, is to destroy our greatest protection.
• 901. The sight of a thorn is pleasant when there is a rose by its side.
• 912. It is folly for him to rule over others who cannot govern himself.
• 913. He is a fool who envies the happiness of the proud.
• 922. An ultra right is generally an ultra wrong.
  • How so? I am speculating that what he means is that the more right you convince yourself to be, the less you see an error in your thinking, even if the error is small.
• 930. He knows not when to be silent, who knows not when to speak
• 940. The highest safety is to fear nought but the Almighty
• 963. • Why do we not hear the truth ? Because we don't speak it.
• 964. A lie is truth, when told for one's safety.
  • I wonder about this.
• 972. No one can honorably refuse to love virtue.
• 996. A good conscience never utters mere Up-prayers.
• 997. A man of courage never endures an insult; an honorable man never offers one.
• 1010. The happy man is not he who seems thus to others, but who seems thus to himself.
• 1012. Error and repentance are the attendants on hasty decisions.
• 1027. He who subdues his temper vanquishes his greatest enemy.
• 1046. You should not lead one life in private and another in public.
• 1058. When we speak evil of others, we generally condemn ourselves.
• 1060. Confession of our faults is the next thing to innocence.
• 1069. It is often better to overlook an injury, than avenge it.
• 1070.I have often regretted my speech, never my silence.
• 1073. Speech is a mirror of the soul; as a man speaks, so is he.
• 1082. It is a less evil to be unable to live than not to know how to live.

Evaluation:

This is akin to Twitter of morality in the pre-Christian era. These sayings are the common snippets of how to live a life by an eloquent former slave of the Roman era. It is a nice read, a bit archaic for our times, but still meaningful. Of course, if you listen to just about any religious teachings today on a consistent basis, you will recognize much of the teachings.

But then again, as I am going through some of the highlights of his maxims, I am thinking we as a nation with our political situations, we could learn from him

Never heard of his maxims? How about: A rolling stone gathers no moss?

 
Notes from my book group:

Many of these questions are either from or adapted from LitLovers.

• Why the title of The Moral Sayings of Pubilius Syrus, a Roman Slave?
• Do these maxims work better than something like Proverbs in the Bible?
• Did the ending seem fitting? Satisfying? Predictable?
• Every writing has a world view. Were you able to identify Pubilius Syrus’ world view? What was it? How did it affect his teachings?
• In what context was religion talked about in this book?
• Why do you think the author wrote this book?
• What would you ask the author if you had a chance?
• What “takeaways” did you have from this book?
• What central ideas does the author present?
  • Are they personal, sociological, global, political, economic, spiritual, medical, or scientific
  • What evidence does the author use to support the book's ideas?
    • Is the evidence convincing...definitive or...speculative?
    • Does the author depend on personal opinion, observation, and assessment?
  • What implications for you, our nation or the world do these ideas have?
  • Are these idea’s controversial?
    • To whom and why?
• How did this book affect your view of the world?
  • Of how God is viewed?
  • What questions did you ask yourself after reading this book?
• Talk about specific passages that struck you as significant—or interesting, profound, amusing, illuminating, disturbing, sad...?
  • What was memorable?

New Words:

• Taciturnity: A taciturn person might be snobby, naturally quiet, or just shy. Having its origin in the Latin tacitus, "silent," taciturn came to be used in mid-18th-century English in the sense "habitually silent." Taciturnity is often considered a negative trait, as it suggests someone uncommunicative and too quiet.

Good Quotes:

• First Line: As men, we are all equal in the presence of death.
• Last Line: Man’s life is short; and therefore an honorable death is his immortality.
• 1. As men, we are all equal in the presence of death.
• 2. The evil you do to others you may expect in return.
• 37. The loss of a friend is the greatest of losses.
• 46. We all seek to know whether we shall be rich ; but no one asks whether he shall be good.
• 104. A good reputation, even in darkness, keeps on shining.
• 146. Consult your conscience, rather than popular opinion.
• 173. The greatest of comforts is to be free from blame.
• 178. The gain acquired at the expense of reputation, should be counted a loss.
• 217. In place of giving an angry man arms, we should take them away.
• 237. Even when there is no law, there is conscience.
• 250. It is easier to add to a great reputation than to get it.
• 265. What is left when honor is lost?
• 335. The people are strongest, where the Laws have most power.
• 336. Victory waits upon unity of action.
• 389. To do good you should know what good is.
• 416. When vice is approved, it will soon become intolerable.
• 429. When you assail truth, you may give loose reins to your tongue.
• 507. An orator's life is more convincing than his eloquence
• 528. Never promise more than you can perform
• 585. It is not goodness to be barely better than the worst are.
• 635. There should be no disagreement between our lives and our doctrines
• 689. A merciful man in power is a public blessing.
• 691. Freedom alone is the source of noble action.
• 699. When you have good materials, employ good workmen.
• 769. He who praises himself will speedily find a censor.
• 784. What is it to practice benevolence ? It is to imitate the Deity.
• 785. It matters not what you are thought to be, but what you are
• 855. There is no more sacred duty than to remember to whom you ' owe yourself.
• 861. You are eloquent enough if truth speaks through you.
• 963. • Why do we not hear the truth ? Because we don't speak it.
• 1058. When we speak evil of others, we generally condemn ourselves

References:

• Google Books-The Moral Sayings of Publius Syrus, a Roman Slave: From the Latin
  • Also Archieve.org
• Wikipedia-Author
• Amazon-Book
• Amazon-Author
• Barnes and Noble
• GoodReads-Book
• GoodReads-Author
• Wikiquote
• Nate Liason’s review
• Practilaized review