 |
This collection of quotations is from a large number of personalities, most of whom are famous philosophers, writers, political leaders, and religious figures. A long series of categories listed in alphabetical order and ranging from Ability and Ambition to Vanity and Wisdom give it structure. Each chapter in turn is subdivided into Eastern or Western sections. Many of the quotations from the East may be unfamiliar to Western ears, though some might be surprisingly familiar.
"A bird in the hand is better than ten on a tree" sounds like our version (with said birds lodged in a bush), but here the source is identified as an Egyptian proverb. "Youth is wasted on the young" is familiar, but it might be a surprise to learn it is a South Asian proverb. The author's purview includes quotes from such disparate figures as Napoleon Bonaparte, Ronald Reagan, and Joseph Stalin. Many of the Eastern quotations are from Middle Eastern personalities like Ali, the Shi'ite leader, that not many Western readers have had exposure to.
The effect is cumulative, the impact of the short statements growing as one reads on. Lying somewhere between poetry and prose, the author's skill in selection and presentation of these quotations helps paint a rapidly drawn picture of human thought at its height. His stated purpose in in giving equal time to Eastern and Western wisdom is successful. Many quotes show completely different opinions under the same topic heading, thereby exhibiting a plurality of ideas that helps broaden and enrich approaches to the concepts rather than reducing them to a false conformity. The result is a rich collection of thought-provoking goads to meditation and reflection that can be fruitfully revisited for inspiration.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review