- Nov 07, 2020
Oneself Quotes
On knowing, cultivating, and stepping back from oneself.
This page gathers reflections on the self, comparing cultural approaches to personal development and considering the value of stepping back from one's own perspective. For related identity themes, see the Being quotes page.
- Last Updated on Jul 30, 2026
- Handling
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- Nov 07, 2020
Chinese learning is an internal learning, but Western learning is an external one; Chinese learning is for the cultivation of oneself, just as Western learning is for the handling of worldly affairs.
- Insult
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- Nov 07, 2020
Envy is an insult to oneself.
- Deceptive
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- Nov 07, 2020
The attempt to devote oneself to literature alone is a most deceptive thing, and often, paradoxically, it is literature that suffers for it.
- Facile
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- Nov 07, 2020
If one wants to measure oneself by the facile accruement of awards, then I've done very well.
- Footing
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- Nov 07, 2020
To dare is to lose one's footing momentarily. Not to dare is to lose oneself.
- Different
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- Nov 07, 2020
To make oneself an object, to make oneself passive, is a very different thing from being a passive object.
- Exercise
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- Nov 07, 2020
Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise.
- Fountain
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- Nov 07, 2020
The instinct to improve oneself materially is necessary for growth. It is at the fountain of the enterprising spirit which drives private enterprise.
- Photograph
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- Nov 07, 2020