Every line the site carries.

The beloved, and what wanting does to a person.

• sher · urduدلِ ناداں تجھے ہوا کیا ہے آخر اس درد کی دوا کیا ہےFoolish heart, what has come over you? What, in the end, could cure this ache?love · sorrow & pain— Mirza Ghalib
• verse · sanskritवसुधैव कुटुम्बकम्The whole earth is one family.love— Maha Upanishad
• verse · sanskritअहिंसा परमो धर्मःNon-violence is the highest duty.love · courage & purpose— Mahabharata
• verse · persianبنی‌آدم اعضای یک پیکرند که در آفرینش ز یک گوهرندHuman beings are limbs of one body, made, in creation, of a single essence.love · sorrow & pain— Saadi
• verse · persianدر ازل پرتو حسنت ز تجلی دم زد عشق پیدا شد و آتش به همه عالم زدAt the beginning, the light of your beauty spoke; love appeared, and set the whole world on fire.love · wonder— Hafez
• verse · russianЯ помню чудное мгновенье: Передо мной явилась тыI remember a wonderful moment: before me, you appeared.love · wonder— Alexander Pushkin
• pensée · frenchLe cœur a ses raisons que la raison ne connaît point.The heart has its reasons, which reason does not know.love · knowing— Blaise Pascal
• verse · paliSabbe sattā bhavantu sukhitattā.May every living being be happy.love— the mettā prayer
• verse · englishIf I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain.love · courage & purpose— Emily Dickinson
• verse · hindiमेरे तो गिरधर गोपाल, दूसरो न कोई। जाके सिर मोर मुकुट, मेरो पति सोई॥Mine is Giridhar Gopal; there is no other. The one who wears the peacock crown — he is my husband.love · longing— Mirabai
• sher · urduعشق پر زور نہیں ہے یہ وہ آتش غالبؔ کہ لگائے نہ لگے اور بجھائے نہ بنےLove takes no orders, Ghalib. It is the kind of fire that will not catch when you light it, and will not go out when you try.love— Mirza Ghalib
• sher · urduمحبت میں نہیں ہے فرق جینے اور مرنے کا اسی کو دیکھ کر جیتے ہیں جس کافر پہ دم نکلےIn love there is no difference between living and dying: we live by looking at the very one we are dying for.love · heartbreak— Mirza Ghalib
• sher · urduنازکی اس کے لب کی کیا کہیے پنکھڑی اک گلاب کی سی ہےHow can I describe how soft those lips are? Like a single petal of a rose.love · wonder— Mir Taqi Mir
• sher · urduتم مرے پاس ہوتے ہو گویا جب کوئی دوسرا نہیں ہوتاYou are with me, in a way, whenever no one else is.love · longing— Momin Khan Momin
• sher · urduسب لوگ جدھر وہ ہیں ادھر دیکھ رہے ہیں ہم دیکھنے والوں کی نظر دیکھ رہے ہیںEveryone is looking where the beloved is; I am watching the eyes of the ones who look.love · wit— Dagh Dehlvi
• sher · urduترے عشق کی انتہا چاہتا ہوں مری سادگی دیکھ کیا چاہتا ہوںI want the very limit of your love. See how naive I am, what I am asking for.love · longing— Allama Iqbal
• sher · urduجگ میں آ کر ادھر ادھر دیکھا تو ہی آیا نظر جدھر دیکھاI came into the world and looked this way and that; wherever I looked, I saw only you.love · wonder— Khwaja Mir Dard
• bayt · persianالا یا ایها الساقی ادر کأسا و ناولها که عشق آسان نمود اول ولی افتاد مشکل‌هاCome, cupbearer: pass the cup around, and hand it here. Love looked easy at first; then came the difficulties.love · heartbreak— Hafez
• bayt · persianدل می‌رود ز دستم صاحب‌دلان خدا را دردا که راز پنهان خواهد شد آشکاراMy heart is slipping from my hands. You who have hearts, for God's sake! Alas, the hidden secret is about to come out.love · longing— Hafez
• doha · hindiरहिमन धागा प्रेम का, मत तोड़ो चटकाय। टूटे से फिर ना जुड़े, जुड़े गाँठ परि जाय॥Rahim says: do not snap the thread of love with a jerk. Once broken it will not join; if it joins, there is a knot.love · heartbreak— Rahim
• doha · hindiजब मैं था तब हरि नहीं, अब हरि हैं मैं नाहिं। प्रेम गली अति साँकरी, तामें दो न समाहिं॥When I was there, God was not; now God is, and I am not. The lane of love is very narrow: two cannot fit in it.love · the self— Kabir
• verse · hindiहे री मैं तो प्रेम-दिवानी मेरो दरद न जाणै कोय। घायल की गति घायल जाणै, जो कोई घायल होय॥Oh friend, I am mad with love, and no one knows my pain. Only the wounded know how it is with the wounded.love · sorrow & pain— Mirabai
• verse · nepaliक्षेत्रीको छोरो यो पाउ छुन्छ, घिनले छुँदैन; मानिस ठूलो दिलले हुन्छ जातले हुँदैन।This Chhetri's son touches your feet, and not with disgust; a person is made great by the heart, not by caste.love · the self · courage & purpose— Laxmi Prasad Devkota
• play · englishWhat's in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.love · knowing · wit— William Shakespeare
• verse · englishLove is not love Which alters when it alteration finds.love · time— William Shakespeare
• play · englishThe course of true love never did run smooth.love · wit— William Shakespeare
• book · englishWhatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.love · the self— Emily Brontë
• verse · englishWild nights – Wild nights! Were I with thee Wild nights should be Our luxury!love · longing— Emily Dickinson
• verse · englishTread softly because you tread on my dreams.love · the self— W. B. Yeats
• verse · italianAmor, ch'a nullo amato amar perdonaLove, which lets no one who is loved off from loving backlove · heartbreak— Dante
• verse · englishGood night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow.love · longing— William Shakespeare
• book · englishFor small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love.love · wonder— Carl Sagan
• verse · englishHe who binds to himself a joy Does the winged life destroy.love · time— William Blake

Distance, waiting, home, and the ache of the gap.

• sher · urduہزاروں خواہشیں ایسی کہ ہر خواہش پہ دم نکلے بہت نکلے مرے ارمان لیکن پھر بھی کم نکلےA thousand longings, each one worth a life; so many came true, and still, too few.longing · the self— Mirza Ghalib
• haiku · japanese秋深き 隣は何を する人ぞAutumn deepens; what does the man next door do for a living?longing · wonder— Matsuo Bashō
• haiku · japanese旅に病んで 夢は枯野を かけ廻るIll on a journey: my dreams go wandering over withered fields.longing · time— Matsuo Bashō
• verse · persianبشنو این نی چون شکایت می‌کند از جدایی‌ها حکایت می‌کندListen to the reed, how it complains, how it tells the story of separations.longing · sorrow & pain— Rumi
• verse · persianباز آ باز آ هر آنچه هستی باز آ گر کافر و گبر و بت‌پرستی باز آCome back, come back, whoever you are, come back; unbeliever, fire-worshipper, idolater — still, come back.longing · love— attributed to Rumi
• verse · chinese牀前明月光，疑是地上霜。Moonlight before my bed — I took it for frost on the ground.longing · wonder— Li Bai
• fragment · greekδέδυκε μὲν ἀ σελάννα καὶ Πληΐαδες, μέσαι δὲ νύκτες, παρὰ δ᾽ ἔρχετ᾽ ὤρα, ἔγω δὲ μόνα κατεύδωThe moon has set, and the Pleiades. It is the middle of the night; time passes, and I lie down alone.longing · time— Sappho
• verse · englishNot knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door.longing · wonder— Emily Dickinson
• sher · urduہم نے مانا کہ تغافل نہ کرو گے لیکن خاک ہو جائیں گے ہم تم کو خبر ہوتے تکGranted, you will not ignore me. But I will be dust by the time the news reaches you.longing · heartbreak · time— Mirza Ghalib
• sher · urduکوئی ویرانی سی ویرانی ہے دشت کو دیکھ کے گھر یاد آیاWhat a desolation this is. I looked at the desert and was reminded of home.longing · wit— Mirza Ghalib
• sher · urduیہ ہم جو ہجر میں دیوار و در کو دیکھتے ہیں کبھی صبا کو کبھی نامہ بر کو دیکھتے ہیںApart from you, I stare at the walls and the door, now at the morning breeze, now at the messenger.longing— Mirza Ghalib
• sher · urduچپکے چپکے رات دن آنسو بہانا یاد ہے ہم کو اب تک عاشقی کا وہ زمانا یاد ہےI remember the tears, shed quietly, night and day; I still remember that time of being in love.longing · love · time— Hasrat Mohani
• verse · persianسینه خواهم شرحه شرحه از فراق تا بگویم شرح درد اشتیاقI want a chest torn strip by strip by separation, so that I can tell the pain of longing properly.longing · sorrow & pain— Rumi
• verse · persianهر کسی کو دور ماند از اصل خویش باز جوید روزگار وصل خویشWhoever is kept far from where they began will go looking, again, for the days of being joined.longing— Rumi
• verse · persianدی شیخ با چراغ همی‌گشت گرد شهر کز دیو و دد ملولم و انسانم آرزوستYesterday the old man went round the town with a lamp, saying: I am tired of demons and beasts; I long for a human being.longing · the self— Rumi
• verse · nepaliखानापिना दुर भयो मनमा छ ताना गाना लहड्हरू पनि ती भया बिरानाFood and drink have gone far off; the mind is pulled taut. Even the songs and their old delight have become strangers.longing · sorrow & pain— Lekhnath Paudyal
• folk song · nepaliरेशम फिरिरी, रेशम फिरिरी उडेर जाउँ कि डाँडामा भन्ज्याङ रेशम फिरिरीSilk fluttering, silk fluttering; shall I fly off to the pass on the ridge? Silk fluttering.longing · wonder— Nepali folk song
• verse · sanskritरम्याणि वीक्ष्य मधुरांश्च निशम्य शब्दान् पर्युत्सुको भवति यत्सुखितोऽपि जन्तुः। तच्चेतसा स्मरति नूनमबोधपूर्वं भावस्थिराणि जननान्तरसौहृदानि॥When even a happy creature sees lovely things, hears sweet sounds, and turns restless with longing, surely the mind is remembering, without knowing it, loves from another life, still set in the heart.longing · love— Kalidasa
• verse · sanskritमेघालोके भवति सुखिनोऽप्यन्यथावृत्ति चेतः कण्ठाश्लेषप्रणयिनि जने किं पुनर्दूरसंस्थेAt the sight of a rain cloud even a contented heart turns strange; how much more, when the one it longs to hold is far away?longing · love— Kalidasa
• waka · japanese思ひつつ 寝ればや人の 見えつらむ 夢と知りせば 覚めざらましをWas it because I fell asleep thinking of him that he appeared? Had I known it was a dream, I would never have woken.longing · love— Ono no Komachi
• waka · japaneseうたた寝に 恋しき人を 見てしより 夢てふものは たのみそめてきEver since, dozing, I saw the one I love, I have begun to put my trust in these things called dreams.longing · love— Ono no Komachi
• waka · japaneseあらざらむ この世のほかの 思ひ出に 今ひとたびの 逢ふこともがなSoon I will not be here. For a memory to take beyond this world, if only I could meet you one more time.longing · love · sorrow & pain— Izumi Shikibu
• verse · chinese花間一壺酒，獨酌無相親。 舉杯邀明月，對影成三人。A jug of wine among the flowers; I drink alone, no friend nearby. I raise my cup to invite the moon: with my shadow, that makes three.longing · wit— Li Bai
• verse · chinese烽火連三月，家書抵萬金。The beacon fires have burned for three months; a letter from home is worth ten thousand in gold.longing · sorrow & pain— Du Fu
• verse · chinese露從今夜白，月是故鄉明。From tonight the dew turns white; the moon is brighter over home.longing— Du Fu
• ci · chinese此情無計可消除，才下眉頭，卻上心頭。There is no way to be rid of this feeling: just as it leaves the brow, it climbs into the heart.longing · love— Li Qingzhao
• verse · chinese此情可待成追憶，只是當時已惘然。This feeling could have waited to become a memory; only, even then, I was already lost.longing · time · heartbreak— Li Shangyin
• verse · chinese紅豆生南國，春來發幾枝。 願君多采擷，此物最相思。Red beans grow in the southern country; how many sprigs has spring brought out? Gather plenty of them for me; nothing holds longing better.longing · love— Wang Wei
• verse · englishWhen to the sessions of sweet silent thought I summon up remembrance of things pastlonging · time— William Shakespeare
• verse · germanWer jetzt kein Haus hat, baut sich keines mehr. Wer jetzt allein ist, wird es lange bleibenWhoever has no house now will not build one. Whoever is alone now will stay alone a long timelonging · time · sorrow & pain— Rainer Maria Rilke
• verse · germanNur wer die Sehnsucht kennt, weiß, was ich leide!Only someone who knows longing knows what I suffer.longing · sorrow & pain— Goethe
• sher · urduیہ نہ تھی ہماری قسمت کہ وصالِ یار ہوتا اگر اور جیتے رہتے یہی انتظار ہوتاIt was not in my fate to meet the beloved; had I lived longer, it would have been this same waiting.longing · heartbreak— Mirza Ghalib
• verse · englishBright star, would I were stedfast as thou art.longing · love— John Keats
• line · englishThe bird wishes it were a cloud. The cloud wishes it were a bird.longing · the self— Rabindranath Tagore
• verse · englishNot all those who wander are lost.longing · the self— J. R. R. Tolkien

When it ends, or never began.

• sher · urduپتّا پتّا بوٹا بوٹا حال ہمارا جانے ہے جانے نہ جانے گل ہی نہ جانے باغ تو سارا جانے ہےEvery leaf and every bush knows the state I am in; only the rose does not know. The whole garden does.heartbreak · love— Mir Taqi Mir
• sher · urduنکلنا خلد سے آدم کا سنتے آئے ہیں لیکن بہت بے آبرو ہو کر ترے کوچے سے ہم نکلےWe have all heard how Adam was turned out of paradise; I left your street in far greater disgrace.heartbreak · wit— Mirza Ghalib
• sher · urduہم کو ان سے وفا کی ہے امید جو نہیں جانتے وفا کیا ہےI am hoping for faithfulness from someone who does not know what faithfulness is.heartbreak · wit— Mirza Ghalib
• sher · urduوہ جو ہم میں تم میں قرار تھا تمہیں یاد ہو کہ نہ یاد ہو وہی یعنی وعدہ نباہ کا تمہیں یاد ہو کہ نہ یاد ہوThat understanding between us: perhaps you remember, perhaps not. The promise, I mean, to see it through: perhaps you remember, perhaps not.heartbreak · longing— Momin Khan Momin
• sher · urduتمہارے خط میں نیا اک سلام کس کا تھا نہ تھا رقیب تو آخر وہ نام کس کا تھاIn your letter there was a new greeting. From whom? If it was not a rival, then whose name was that?heartbreak · wit— Dagh Dehlvi
• verse · persianای ساربان آهسته رو کآرام جانم می‌رود وان دل که با خود داشتم با دلستانم می‌رودCamel driver, go slowly: the peace of my soul is leaving, and the heart I had is going with the one who took it.heartbreak · longing— Saadi
• verse · nepaliईश्वर तैँले रचेर फेरि कसरी बिगारिस्? सृष्टिको फूल रचेर त्यस्तो कसरी लतारिस्?God, you made her; how could you then unmake her? You made the flower of creation; how could you trample it like that?heartbreak · sorrow & pain— Laxmi Prasad Devkota
• verse · chinese天長地久有時盡，此恨綿綿無絕期。Heaven lasts and earth endures, and even they will end; this sorrow goes on and on, and has no end.heartbreak · sorrow & pain— Bai Juyi
• book · englishYour hand is cold, mine burns like fire.heartbreak · love · longing— Fyodor Dostoevsky
• book · englishI am too young and I've loved you too much.heartbreak · love— Fyodor Dostoevsky
• book · englishI cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!heartbreak · sorrow & pain— Emily Brontë
• verse · latinOdi et amo. Quare id faciam, fortasse requiris. Nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior.I hate and I love. Why, you may ask. I don't know. I only feel it happening, and it is torture.heartbreak · love— Catullus
• verse · russianЯ вас любил: любовь ещё, быть может, В душе моей угасла не совсемI loved you; and that love, perhaps, has not quite gone out in my soul.heartbreak · love— Alexander Pushkin
• verse · spanishEs tan corto el amor, y es tan largo el olvido.Love is so short, and forgetting is so long.heartbreak · time— Pablo Neruda
• sher · urduالٹی ہو گئیں سب تدبیریں کچھ نہ دوا نے کام کیا دیکھا اس بیماریِ دل نے آخر کام تمام کیاEvery remedy turned against me; no medicine did any good. You see — in the end this sickness of the heart finished the job.heartbreak · sorrow & pain— Mir Taqi Mir
• verse · english'Tis better to have loved and lost Than never to have loved at all.heartbreak · love— Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Grief, loss, and what is carried anyway.

• haiku · japanese露の世は 露の世ながら さりながらThis world of dew is a world of dew, and yet, and yet.sorrow & pain · time— Kobayashi Issa
• verse · chinese國破山河在，城春草木深。The state is broken; the mountains and rivers remain. Spring comes to the city; the weeds grow deep.sorrow & pain · time— Du Fu
• sher · urduدل ہی تو ہے نہ سنگ و خشت درد سے بھر نہ آئے کیوں روئیں گے ہم ہزار بار کوئی ہمیں ستائے کیوںIt is a heart, not brick or stone; why should it not fill with pain? I will weep a thousand times. Why should anyone torment me?sorrow & pain · heartbreak— Mirza Ghalib
• sher · urduآگے آتی تھی حال دل پہ ہنسی اب کسی بات پر نہیں آتیOnce I could laugh at the state of my heart; now nothing makes me laugh at all.sorrow & pain · time— Mirza Ghalib
• sher · urduرگوں میں دوڑتے پھرنے کے ہم نہیں قائل جب آنکھ ہی سے نہ ٹپکا تو پھر لہو کیا ہےI am not impressed by blood that only runs about the veins; if it never fell from the eye, what kind of blood is that?sorrow & pain · courage & purpose— Mirza Ghalib
• sher · urduدرد منت کش دوا نہ ہوا میں نہ اچھا ہوا برا نہ ہواMy pain never had to beg the medicine for anything; I did not get better, and that was not so bad.sorrow & pain · wit— Mirza Ghalib
• sher · urduابن مریم ہوا کرے کوئی میرے دکھ کی دوا کرے کوئیLet whoever likes be the son of Mary; I only want someone to cure my grief.sorrow & pain · longing— Mirza Ghalib
• sher · urduغم ہستی کا اسدؔ کس سے ہو جز مرگ علاج شمع ہر رنگ میں جلتی ہے سحر ہوتے تکAsad, what cures the grief of being alive, except death? The candle burns, whatever happens, until dawn.sorrow & pain · time— Mirza Ghalib
• sher · urduرہیے اب ایسی جگہ چل کر جہاں کوئی نہ ہو ہم سخن کوئی نہ ہو اور ہم زباں کوئی نہ ہوLet me go and live somewhere there is no one: no one to talk to, no one who speaks my language.sorrow & pain · the self— Mirza Ghalib
• sher · urduعہد جوانی رو رو کاٹا پیری میں لیں آنکھیں موند یعنی رات بہت تھے جاگے صبح ہوئی آرام کیاI wept my way through youth, and closed my eyes in age: that is, I was up all night, and at dawn I rested.sorrow & pain · time— Mir Taqi Mir
• sher · urduاشک آنکھوں میں کب نہیں آتا لوہو آتا ہے جب نہیں آتاWhen do tears not come to my eyes? When they don't, blood comes instead.sorrow & pain · heartbreak— Mir Taqi Mir
• sher · urduاب تو گھبرا کے یہ کہتے ہیں کہ مر جائیں گے مر کے بھی چین نہ پایا تو کدھر جائیں گےWorn out, I tell myself I will simply die. But if there is no peace in death either, where will I go?sorrow & pain · wit— Sheikh Ibrahim Zauq
• sher · urduزندگی ہے یا کوئی طوفان ہے ہم تو اس جینے کے ہاتھوں مر چلےIs this a life, or a storm? It is the living that is killing me.sorrow & pain— Khwaja Mir Dard
• bayt · persianشب تاریک و بیم موج و گردابی چنین هایل کجا دانند حال ما سبکباران ساحل‌هاA dark night, the fear of waves, a whirlpool this terrible: what do they know of us, the ones on the shore, travelling light?sorrow & pain · longing— Hafez
• bayt · persianیوسف گم‌گشته بازآید به کنعان غم مخور کلبهٔ احزان شود روزی گلستان غم مخورLost Joseph will come back to Canaan: do not grieve. The house of sorrows will one day be a rose garden: do not grieve.sorrow & pain · courage & purpose— Hafez
• doha · hindiरहिमन निज मन की व्यथा, मन में राखो गोय। सुनि इठलैहैं लोग सब, बाटि न लैहै कोय॥Rahim says: keep the ache of your heart inside your heart. People will hear it and smirk; no one will take a share.sorrow & pain · the self— Rahim
• verse · chinese抽刀斷水水更流，舉杯銷愁愁更愁。Draw a sword to cut the water, and the water flows on; raise a cup to drown the sorrow, and the sorrow deepens.sorrow & pain— Li Bai
• ci · chinese尋尋覓覓，冷冷清清，淒淒慘慘戚戚。Searching, seeking; cold and still; bleak, wretched, grieving.sorrow & pain · longing— Li Qingzhao
• ci · chinese十年生死兩茫茫，不思量，自難忘。Ten years, the living and the dead, lost to each other. I do not try to think of you. I cannot forget.sorrow & pain · love · time— Su Shi
• verse · englishRemember me when I am gone away, Gone far away into the silent landsorrow & pain · love— Christina Rossetti
• sher · urduموت کا ایک دن معین ہے نیند کیوں رات بھر نہیں آتیDeath has its appointed day; why, then, does sleep not come all night?sorrow & pain · time— Mirza Ghalib
• book · englishWe shall find peace. We shall hear the angels, we shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds.sorrow & pain · longing— Anton Chekhov
• verse · englishAfter great pain, a formal feeling comes.sorrow & pain— Emily Dickinson
• sher · urduدل ناامید تو نہیں ناکام ہی تو ہے لمبی ہے غم کی شام مگر شام ہی تو ہےThe heart is not hopeless, only defeated; long is this evening of grief, but it is only an evening.sorrow & pain · courage & purpose— Faiz Ahmed Faiz
• verse · englishWeeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.sorrow & pain · time— Psalm 30:5
• verse · englishNo worst, there is none.sorrow & pain— Gerard Manley Hopkins
• book · englishPain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart.sorrow & pain · the self— Fyodor Dostoevsky
• book · englishThe world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places.sorrow & pain · courage & purpose— Ernest Hemingway
• book · englishYour pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.sorrow & pain · knowing— Kahlil Gibran
• essay · englishAlthough the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.sorrow & pain · courage & purpose— Helen Keller
• film · englishOh yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it.sorrow & pain · courage & purpose— Rafiki

Getting up, keeping on, and why.

• verse · sanskritकर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचनYour claim is to the work alone, never to its fruits.courage & purpose · the self— Bhagavad Gita
• verse · sanskritउद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत्Lift yourself by yourself; do not let yourself sink.courage & purpose · the self— Bhagavad Gita
• verse · sanskritसत्यमेव जयतेTruth alone wins.courage & purpose · knowing— Mundaka Upanishad
• saying · chinese千里之行，始於足下A journey of a thousand miles begins beneath your feet.courage & purpose · time— Laozi
• proverb · nepaliथोपा थोपा मिली घैँटो भरिन्छ।Drop by drop, the pot fills.courage & purpose · time— Nepali proverb
• verse · italianE quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle.And so we came out, and saw the stars again.courage & purpose · wonder— Dante
• verse · spanishCaminante, no hay camino: se hace camino al andar.Traveller, there is no road: the road is made by walking.courage & purpose · the self— Antonio Machado
• verse · germanWer immer strebend sich bemüht, den können wir erlösen.Whoever strives, and keeps striving, him we can redeem.courage & purpose— Goethe
• book · englishWhere the mind is without fear and the head is held high; Where knowledge is free.courage & purpose · knowing— Rabindranath Tagore
• verse · englishHope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.courage & purpose · wonder— Emily Dickinson
• verse · englishThe powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.courage & purpose · the self— Walt Whitman
• saying · englishNothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.courage & purpose— Ralph Waldo Emerson
• line · englishSometimes the best way to solve your own problems is to help someone else.courage & purpose · love— Iroh
• book · englishThe mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for.courage & purpose · the self— Fyodor Dostoevsky
• saying · englishWaste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.courage & purpose · the self— after Marcus Aurelius
• sher · urduاگر کھو گیا اک نشیمن تو کیا غم مقامات آہ و فغاں اور بھی ہیںIf one nest is lost, why grieve? There are other places left to cry out in.courage & purpose · heartbreak— Allama Iqbal
• verse · sanskritतमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमयLead me from darkness to light.courage & purpose · knowing— Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad
• line · englishIn the darkest times, hope is something you give yourself. That is the meaning of inner strength.courage & purpose · sorrow & pain— Iroh
• line · englishSometimes life is like this dark tunnel. You can't always see the light, but if you keep moving, you will come to a better place.courage & purpose · sorrow & pain— Iroh
• sher · urduستاروں سے آگے جہاں اور بھی ہیں ابھی عشق کے امتحاں اور بھی ہیںBeyond the stars there are other worlds still; love has more trials yet to come.courage & purpose · wonder— Muhammad Iqbal
• letter · latinAliquando enim et vivere fortiter facere est.For sometimes it is an act of bravery even to live.courage & purpose · sorrow & pain— Seneca
• verse · englishThe night is long that never finds the day.courage & purpose · sorrow & pain— William Shakespeare
• verse · englishThe woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep.courage & purpose · time— Robert Frost
• verse · englishDo not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.courage & purpose · sorrow & pain— Dylan Thomas
• verse · germanWo aber Gefahr ist, wächst Das Rettende auch.But where the danger is, the saving power grows too.courage & purpose · sorrow & pain— Friedrich Hölderlin
• verse · germanLaß dir Alles geschehn: Schönheit und Schrecken. Man muß nur gehn: Kein Gefühl ist das fernste.Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final.courage & purpose · sorrow & pain— Rainer Maria Rilke
• essay · frenchAu milieu de l'hiver, j'apprenais enfin qu'il y avait en moi un été invincible.In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.courage & purpose · the self— Albert Camus
• essay · frenchIl faut imaginer Sisyphe heureux.One must imagine Sisyphus happy.courage & purpose · the self— Albert Camus
• book · germanHat man sein warum? des Lebens, so verträgt man sich fast mit jedem wie?If you have your why for life, you can bear almost any how.courage & purpose · the self— Friedrich Nietzsche
• book · englishEverything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.courage & purpose · the self— Viktor Frankl
• book · englishDarkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.courage & purpose · love— Martin Luther King Jr.
• book · englishI learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.courage & purpose— Nelson Mandela
• book · englishAfter climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.courage & purpose · time— Nelson Mandela
• line · englishYou must never give in to despair. Allow yourself to slip down that road, and you surrender to your lowest instincts.courage & purpose · sorrow & pain— Iroh
• film · englishHope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.courage & purpose · longing— Andy Dufresne
• film · englishThe night is darkest just before the dawn.courage & purpose · time— Harvey Dent
• film · englishDeath smiles at us all. All that man can do is smile back.courage & purpose · time— Maximus
• film · englishBut in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass.courage & purpose · sorrow & pain— Samwise Gamgee
• line · englishSwallows come back. That is the entire argument for hope.courage & purpose · time— the site
• line · englishThe wind is not an obstacle. It is the road.courage & purpose— the site
• film · englishDo or do not. There is no try.courage & purpose— Yoda
• film · englishSize matters not.courage & purpose · wit— Yoda
• film · englishThe greatest teacher, failure is.courage & purpose · knowing— Yoda
• film · englishRebellions are built on hope.courage & purpose— Jyn Erso
• film · englishGet busy livin' or get busy dyin'.courage & purpose · time— Andy Dufresne
• film · englishWhy do we fall, sir? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up.courage & purpose— Alfred Pennyworth
• film · englishWhat we do in life echoes in eternity.courage & purpose · time— Maximus
• film · englishMankind was born on Earth. It was never meant to die here.courage & purpose · wonder— Cooper
• film · englishNo matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.courage & purpose · knowing— John Keating
• film · englishIt ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.courage & purpose— Rocky Balboa
• verse · englishTo strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.courage & purpose— Alfred, Lord Tennyson
• verse · englishBut still, like air, I'll rise.courage & purpose · the self— Maya Angelou
• book · englishI'm not afraid of storms, for I'm learning how to sail my ship.courage & purpose— Amy March
• essay · englishLife is either a daring adventure, or nothing.courage & purpose— Helen Keller
• speech · englishIf there is no struggle, there is no progress.courage & purpose— Frederick Douglass
• speech · englishNever give in, never give in, never, never, never, never.courage & purpose— Winston Churchill
• saying · englishThe impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.courage & purpose · knowing— after Marcus Aurelius
• verse · englishThere is no easy way from the earth to the stars.courage & purpose · wonder— after Seneca

Doubt, dignity, and who is looking back.

• doha · hindiबुरा जो देखन मैं चला, बुरा न मिलिया कोय। जो दिल खोजा आपना, मुझसे बुरा न कोय॥I went out looking for a bad man; I found none. Then I looked into my own heart: no one was worse than me.the self— Kabir
• fragment · greekἦθος ἀνθρώπῳ δαίμωνCharacter is destiny.the self— Heraclitus
• saying · englishThe soul takes on the colour of its thoughts.the self— after Marcus Aurelius
• book · englishI went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach.the self · time— Henry David Thoreau
• saying · englishWe suffer more often in imagination than in reality.the self · sorrow & pain— after Seneca
• fragment · englishThere is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.the self · knowing— William Shakespeare
• verse · paliManopubbaṅgamā dhammā, manoseṭṭhā manomayā.Mind comes before all things; mind is their chief; they are made of mind.the self · knowing— Dhammapada
• saying · englishSome things are within our power, and some are not.the self · courage & purpose— after Epictetus
• line · englishPride is not the opposite of shame, but its source.the self— Iroh
• verse · englishI'm Nobody! Who are you? Are you — Nobody — too?the self · wit— Emily Dickinson
• saying · englishFirst say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.the self · courage & purpose— after Epictetus
• letter · englishA book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us.the self · sorrow & pain— Franz Kafka
• sher · urduنہ تھا کچھ تو خدا تھا کچھ نہ ہوتا تو خدا ہوتا ڈبویا مجھ کو ہونے نے نہ ہوتا میں تو کیا ہوتاWhen there was nothing, there was God; had there been nothing, God would be. Being is what drowned me. Had I not been, what would I have been?the self · knowing— Mirza Ghalib
• sher · urduبسکہ دشوار ہے ہر کام کا آساں ہونا آدمی کو بھی میسر نہیں انساں ہوناIt is so hard for anything to be simple: even a man is not granted being human.the self · courage & purpose— Mirza Ghalib
• sher · urduکہیں کیا جو پوچھے کوئی ہم سے میرؔ جہاں میں تم آئے تھے کیا کر چلےWhat will you say, Mir, if someone asks: you came into the world; what did you do before you left?the self · time— Mir Taqi Mir
• doha · hindiआवत ही हरषै नहीं, नैनन नहीं सनेह। तुलसी तहाँ न जाइए, कंचन बरसे मेह॥Where no one is glad when you arrive, and there is no warmth in their eyes, Tulsi says, do not go, even if it is raining gold.the self · love— Tulsidas
• verse · nepaliजरूर साथी म पागल! यस्तै छ मेरो हाल। म शब्दलाई देख्दछु! दृश्यलाई सुन्दछु!Of course, friend, I am mad! That is how it is with me. I see words! I hear sights!the self · wonder— Laxmi Prasad Devkota
• verse · nepaliभर् जन्म घाँस तिर मन् दिई धन कमायो नाम क्यै रहोस् पछि भनेर कुवा खनायोHe gave his whole life to cutting grass, and earned a little; so that something of his name would stay, he dug a well.the self · courage & purpose— Bhanubhakta Acharya
• book · englishI am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will.the self · courage & purpose— Charlotte Brontë
• verse · chinese不知周之夢為蝴蝶與？蝴蝶之夢為周與？Am I a man who dreamt of being a butterfly, or a butterfly now dreaming of being a man?the self · knowing— Zhuangzi
• verse · paliAppamādo amatapadaṃ.Heedfulness is the path to the deathless.the self · courage & purpose— Dhammapada
• inscription · greekγνῶθι σεαυτόνKnow yourself.the self · knowing— the Temple of Apollo at Delphi
• verse · sanskritतत् त्वम् असिThat is what you are.the self · wonder— Chāndogya Upaniṣad
• doha · hindiमोको कहाँ ढूँढे रे बन्दे, मैं तो तेरे पास मेंWhere are you searching for me, friend? I am right beside you.the self · longing— Kabir
• fragment · greekἐδιζησάμην ἐμεωυτόνI searched for myself.the self · knowing— Heraclitus
• saying · chinese知人者智，自知者明Knowing others is cleverness; knowing yourself is clarity.the self · knowing— Laozi
• saying · chinese君子求諸己，小人求諸人The noble person looks for the cause in themselves; the small person looks for it in others.the self— Confucius
• verse · englishDo I contradict myself? Very well then, I contradict myself. I am large, I contain multitudes.the self · wit— Walt Whitman
• essay · englishTrust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.the self · courage & purpose— Ralph Waldo Emerson
• saying · englishThe unexamined life is not worth living.the self · knowing— after Socrates
• saying · latinCogito, ergo sum.I think, therefore I am.the self · knowing— René Descartes
• essay · frenchJe suis moi-même la matière de mon livre.I am myself the subject of my book.the self · wit— Michel de Montaigne
• note · englishEvery photograph is a world model with one frame of context.the self · knowing— the site
• note · englishA portrait is a claim about a person, made in a single forward pass.the self · knowing— the site
• note · englishIdentity is the only embedding nobody has managed to freeze.the self · time— the site
• letter · englishHave patience with everything unresolved in your heart, and try to love the questions themselves.the self · courage & purpose— after Rainer Maria Rilke
• sher · urduخودی کو کر بلند اتنا کہ ہر تقدیر سے پہلے خدا بندے سے خود پوچھے بتا تیری رضا کیا ہےRaise your self so high that before each decree of fate God himself asks you: tell me, what is it you want?the self · courage & purpose— Muhammad Iqbal
• verse · greekγένοι᾽ οἷος ἐσσὶ μαθώνBecome who you are, having learned what that is.the self · courage & purpose— Pindar
• letter · frenchJe est un autre.I is someone else.the self · wonder— Arthur Rimbaud
• verse · portugueseNão sou nada. Nunca serei nada. Não posso querer ser nada. À parte isso, tenho em mim todos os sonhos do mundo.I am nothing. I will never be anything. I cannot even want to be anything. Apart from that, I have in me all the dreams of the world.the self · sorrow & pain · wit— Fernando Pessoa, as Álvaro de Campos
• verse · englishOur doubts are traitors, And make us lose the good we oft might win By fearing to attempt.the self · courage & purpose— William Shakespeare
• verse · englishThis above all: to thine own self be true.the self— William Shakespeare
• verse · englishI am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.the self · courage & purpose— William Ernest Henley
• book · englishAbove all, do not lie to yourself.the self · knowing— Fyodor Dostoevsky
• essay · englishThe fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.the self · knowing · wit— Bertrand Russell
• book · englishI took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart. I am, I am, I am.the self · courage & purpose— Sylvia Plath
• book · englishI am an invisible man.the self · sorrow & pain— Ralph Ellison
• play · englishTo love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.the self · wit— Oscar Wilde
• letter · latinNusquam est qui ubique est.Whoever is everywhere is nowhere.the self · time— Seneca
• book · englishIt is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.the self · courage & purpose— Albus Dumbledore
• film · englishIt's not who you are underneath. It's what you do that defines you.the self · courage & purpose— Rachel Dawes
• film · englishLuminous beings are we, not this crude matter.the self · wonder— Yoda
• film · englishThere is no secret ingredient.the self · wit— Po
• film · englishNot everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.the self · courage & purpose— Anton Ego
• film · englishRemember who you are.the self · courage & purpose— Mufasa
• line · englishWho are you, and what do you want?the self— Iroh

Impermanence, seasons, the only now there is.

• haiku · japanese夏草や 兵どもが 夢の跡Summer grasses: all that is left of warriors' dreams.time · sorrow & pain— Matsuo Bashō
• doha · hindiधीरे धीरे रे मना, धीरे सब कुछ होय। माली सींचे सौ घड़ा, ऋतु आए फल होय॥Slowly, mind, slowly: all things come in time. The gardener pours a hundred pots; fruit waits for its season.time · courage & purpose— Kabir
• doha · hindiकाल करे सो आज कर, आज करे सो अब। पल में परलै होइगी, बहुरि करेगा कब॥Tomorrow's work, do today; today's, do now. The world can end in a moment — when will you do it then?time · courage & purpose— Kabir
• verse · chinese人生如逆旅，我亦是行人。Life is an inn on the road; I too am only passing through.time · the self— Su Shi
• saying · latinFestina lente.Make haste slowly.time · wit— Augustus
• verse · latinCarpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.Seize the day, trusting as little as possible to tomorrow.time— Horace
• verse · englishForever is composed of nows.time— Emily Dickinson
• saying · englishIt is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste much of it.time— after Seneca
• fragment · englishYou cannot step into the same river twice.time · knowing— after Heraclitus
• verse · englishThat it will never come again is what makes life so sweet.time · wonder— Emily Dickinson
• saying · englishBegin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.time · courage & purpose— after Seneca
• sher · urduہستی اپنی حباب کی سی ہے یہ نمائش سراب کی سی ہےOur existence is like a bubble; this whole display, like a mirage.time · the self— Mir Taqi Mir
• sher · urduلائی حیات آئے قضا لے چلی چلے اپنی خوشی نہ آئے نہ اپنی خوشی چلےLife brought us, so we came; death takes us, so we go. We did not come by choice, and we do not leave by choice.time · the self— Sheikh Ibrahim Zauq
• rubai · persianاین قافلهٔ عمر عجب می‌گذرد دریاب دمی که با طرب می‌گذردHow strangely this caravan of life goes by; catch the one breath that passes in joy.time— Omar Khayyam
• waka · japanese花の色は うつりにけりな いたづらに わが身世にふる ながめせしまにThe colour of the flowers has faded, all for nothing, while I gazed out at the long rain and my life went by in the world.time · sorrow & pain · the self— Ono no Komachi
• waka · japaneseひさかたの 光のどけき 春の日に しづ心なく 花の散るらむOn a spring day of such calm, unhurried light, why do the blossoms scatter with such restless hearts?time · wonder— Ki no Tomonori
• verse · englishBecause I could not stop for Death – He kindly stopped for me –time · sorrow & pain— Emily Dickinson
• line · englishBetween one wingbeat and the next: the whole summer.time · wonder— the site, after Bashō
• verse · englishSummer grasses: all that is left of warriors' dreams.time · sorrow & pain— Matsuo Bashō
• book · englishAll we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.time · courage & purpose— Gandalf
• film · englishYesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That's why it is called the present.time · wit— Master Oogway
• line · englishLife happens wherever you are, whether you make it or not.time · wonder— Iroh
• verse · englishTell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?time · courage & purpose— Mary Oliver

Small things noticed properly.

• haiku · japanese古池や 蛙飛び込む 水の音An old pond: a frog leaps in, the sound of water.wonder— Matsuo Bashō
• haiku · japaneseやれ打つな 蠅が手をすり 足をするDon't swat it — the fly is rubbing its hands, rubbing its feet.wonder · wit— Kobayashi Issa
• haiku · japanese名月を とってくれろと 泣く子かなThe harvest moon — and a child crying for someone to bring it down.wonder · longing— Kobayashi Issa
• haiku · japanese菜の花や 月は東に 日は西にFields of rapeseed: the moon in the east, the sun in the west.wonder · time— Yosa Buson
• verse · chinese行到水窮處，坐看雲起時。Walk to where the water ends; sit down and watch the clouds rise.wonder · time— Wang Wei
• verse · englishTo see a World in a Grain of Sand And a Heaven in a Wild Flower.wonder— William Blake
• verse · englishThe world is charged with the grandeur of God.wonder— Gerard Manley Hopkins
• book · englishBeauty will save the world.wonder · love— Fyodor Dostoevsky
• waka · japanese世の中に たえて桜の なかりせば 春の心は のどけからましIf there were no cherry blossoms in this world at all, how calm the heart would be in spring.wonder · time— Ariwara no Narihira
• haiku · japanese荒海や 佐渡によこたふ 天河Rough sea: stretched across to Sado Isle, the River of Heaven.wonder · longing— Matsuo Bashō
• verse · englishThe Brain — is wider than the Sky —wonder · knowing— Emily Dickinson
• letter · englishThe night is more alive and more richly coloured than the day.wonder— after Vincent van Gogh
• line · englishNot the destination. The lift.wonder · courage & purpose— the site
• verse · englishThe achieve of, the mastery of the thing!wonder— Gerard Manley Hopkins
• verse · englishHail to thee, blithe Spirit! Bird thou never wert.wonder— Percy Bysshe Shelley
• verse · englishThou wast not born for death, immortal Bird!wonder · time— John Keats
• verse · englishAll the birds have flown up and gone; a single cloud drifts along, at ease.wonder · time— Li Bai
• line · englishFly low enough and the ground becomes a friend.wonder · wit— the site
• line · englishEverything that flies is briefly certain.wonder · courage & purpose— the site
• line · englishSharing tea with a fascinating stranger is one of life's true delights.wonder · wit— Iroh
• pensée · frenchLe silence éternel de ces espaces infinis m'effraie.The eternal silence of these infinite spaces terrifies me.wonder · sorrow & pain— Blaise Pascal

Maps, models, and the limits of what can be known.

• saying · chinese上善若水The highest good is like water.knowing— Laozi
• saying · chinese知之為知之，不知為不知，是知也。To know what you know, and to know what you do not know: that is knowing.knowing— Confucius
• saying · chinese學而不思則罔，思而不學則殆。To read without thinking is blind; to think without reading is dangerous.knowing— Confucius
• saying · latinSapere aude.Dare to know.knowing · courage & purpose— Horace
• saying · englishWhat I cannot create, I do not understand.knowing— Richard Feynman
• verse · englishBeauty is truth, truth beauty, — that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.knowing · wonder— John Keats
• letter · englishIf I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.knowing— Isaac Newton
• motto · frenchQue sais-je ?What do I know?knowing · the self— Michel de Montaigne
• note · englishEvery model is a promise about the future, made by someone who has only seen the past.knowing · time— the site
• line · englishIt is important to draw wisdom from many different places. If you take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale.knowing— Iroh
• letter · englishMan is a mystery. It needs to be unravelled, and if you spend your whole life unravelling it, do not say you have wasted your time.knowing · the self— Fyodor Dostoevsky
• saying · chinese筌者所以在魚，得魚而忘筌。The trap exists because of the fish: once you have the fish, you can forget the trap.knowing · wit— Zhuangzi
• saying · englishIt is not down on any map; true places never are.knowing · wonder— Herman Melville
• fragment · englishNature loves to hide.knowing · wonder— after Heraclitus
• saying · greekἓν οἶδα ὅτι οὐδὲν οἶδαOne thing I know: that I know nothing.knowing · the self— attributed to Socrates
• book · englishIgnorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge.knowing · the self— Charles Darwin
• verse · sanskritनेति नेतिNot this, not this.knowing— Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad
• saying · chinese井蛙不可以語於海者，拘於虛也。You cannot speak of the sea to a frog in a well; it is confined by its space.knowing · wit— Zhuangzi
• verse · latinNil posse creari de nihilo.Nothing can be created from nothing.knowing— Lucretius
• book · englishThe human understanding is of its own nature prone to suppose the existence of more order and regularity in the world than it finds.knowing · the self— after Francis Bacon
• saying · germanGedanken ohne Inhalt sind leer, Anschauungen ohne Begriffe sind blind.Thoughts without content are empty; intuitions without concepts are blind.knowing— after Immanuel Kant
• saying · englishAll models are wrong, but some are useful.knowing · wit— George E. P. Box
• saying · englishThe map is not the territory.knowing— Alfred Korzybski
• verse · spanishEn ese Imperio, el Arte de la Cartografía logró tal Perfección…In that Empire, the Art of Cartography attained such Perfection…knowing · wit— Jorge Luis Borges
• saying · englishWhen a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.knowing · wit— after Charles Goodhart
• saying · germanDie Grenzen meiner Sprache bedeuten die Grenzen meiner Welt.The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.knowing · the self— Ludwig Wittgenstein
• saying · englishSeek simplicity and distrust it.knowing · wit— after Alfred North Whitehead
• saying · englishNo amount of observed tomorrows guarantees the next one.knowing · time— after David Hume
• verse · sanskritयः प्रतीत्यसमुत्पादः शून्यतां तां प्रचक्ष्महे।Whatever arises dependently, we call emptiness.knowing · wonder— Nāgārjuna
• allegory · englishWe take the shadows on the wall for the things themselves.knowing— after Plato
• note · englishA world model is not a smaller world. It is a bet about which differences will matter.knowing— the site
• note · englishCompression is a kind of forgiveness: you decide in advance what you will not remember.knowing · time— the site
• note · englishAn observation is not data until you have decided what it is an observation of.knowing— the site
• note · englishThe reward function is the only part of the world the agent is ever allowed to want.knowing · wit— the site
• note · englishUncertainty is not ignorance with a number attached to it.knowing— the site
• note · englishA perfect simulation would be indistinguishable from the thing simulated, and therefore no help at all.knowing · wit— the site
• note · englishThe first thing any representation omits is the fact that it is a representation.knowing— the site
• note · englishThe character is not the glyph.knowing— the site
• note · englishAttention is not memory.knowing— the site
• note · englishThe score is the gradient of the log density.knowing · wonder— the site
• note · englishCompute is not capability.knowing— the site
• note · englishThe checkpoint is a contract.knowing · time— the site
• note · englishThe representation is a choice.knowing— the site
• note · englishThe vocabulary is a Stein, not a dictionary.knowing · wit— the site
• note · englishPredict the missing piece.knowing · wonder— the site
• note · englishFluency is not evidence.knowing— the site
• note · englishThe head is not the neuron.knowing— the site
• note · englishThe sentence is bilingual because the speaker is.knowing · the self— the site
• film · englishOnly a Sith deals in absolutes.knowing · wit— Obi-Wan Kenobi
• film · englishYou must unlearn what you have learned.knowing · the self— Yoda
• film · englishThere's a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.knowing · courage & purpose— Morpheus
• film · englishI stand upon my desk to remind myself that we must constantly look at things in a different way.knowing · wonder— John Keating
• speech · englishThe first principle is that you must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool.knowing · the self— Richard Feynman
• interview · englishI can live with doubt, and uncertainty, and not knowing. I think it's much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers which might be wrong.knowing · the self— Richard Feynman
• book · englishExtraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.knowing— Carl Sagan
• paper · englishWe can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done.knowing · courage & purpose— Alan Turing
• lecture · englishIf a machine is expected to be infallible, it cannot also be intelligent.knowing— Alan Turing
• paper · englishFar better an approximate answer to the right question, which is often vague, than an exact answer to the wrong question, which can always be made precise.knowing— John Tukey
• essay · englishProgram testing can be used to show the presence of bugs, but never to show their absence!knowing · wit— Edsger W. Dijkstra
• essay · englishThe question of whether Machines Can Think... is about as relevant as the question of whether Submarines Can Swim.knowing · wit— Edsger W. Dijkstra
• book · englishWe have to remember that what we observe is not nature herself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning.knowing— Werner Heisenberg
• lecture · englishI think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics.knowing · wit— Richard Feynman
• saying · germanWovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen.Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.knowing— Ludwig Wittgenstein
• letter · englishNegative Capability, that is when man is capable of being in uncertainties, Mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact & reason.knowing · the self— John Keats

Lines that smile first and think second.

• sher · urduہم کو معلوم ہے جنت کی حقیقت لیکن دل کے خوش رکھنے کو غالبؔ یہ خیال اچھا ہےI know the truth about paradise, Ghalib; still, to keep the heart happy, it is a fine idea.wit · knowing— Mirza Ghalib
• proverb · nepaliनाच्न नजान्ने आँगन टेढो।One who cannot dance says the floor is crooked.wit · the self— Nepali proverb
• proverb · hindiअंधों में काना राजा।Among the blind, the one-eyed man is king.wit— Hindi proverb
• book · englishAny idiot can face a crisis; it is this day-to-day living that wears you out.wit · courage & purpose— attributed to Anton Chekhov
• saying · englishDon't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.wit · wonder— attributed to Anton Chekhov
• letter · englishMedicine is my lawful wife, and literature is my mistress.wit · love— Anton Chekhov
• doha · hindiपावस देखि रहीम मन, कोइल साधे मौन। अब दादुर बक्ता भए, हमको पूछत कौन॥Seeing the rains, Rahim, the cuckoo keeps her silence: the frogs are the speakers now, so who would ask for us?wit · the self— Rahim
• proverb · nepaliहात्ती आयो, हात्ती आयो, फुस्सा!Here comes the elephant, here comes the elephant… pfft.wit— Nepali proverb
• note · englishSomewhere a training run is still going, and it is not being polite about it.wit · time— the site
• note · englishNothing is quite as honest as a loss curve at four in the morning.wit · knowing— the site
• book · englishI love mankind, but I find that the more I love mankind in general, the less I love people in particular.wit · the self— Fyodor Dostoevsky
• line · englishMigration is just gradient descent with better scenery.wit · knowing— the site
• book · englishFly, you fools!wit · courage & purpose— Gandalf
• joke · frenchCeci n'est pas un Saurav.This is not a Saurav. It is a few thousand pixels that resemble one.wit · the self— after René Magritte
• note · englishYou are looking at a compressed version. The original has more entropy.wit · the self— the site
• sher · urduمے خانے میں رونق اسی کی ہے مست تو خود بھی بنا لیتے ہیںThe tavern's splendour is his alone; the drunk can make himself drunk.wit · love— the site