The Art of Tetman Callis

“The wise say that for men there are seven gates through which admission may be gained into Heaven. There are asceticism, benevolence, tranquillity of mind, self-command, modesty, simplicity, and kindness to all creatures. The wise also say that a person loseth all these in consequence of vanity. That man who having acquired knowledge regardeth himself […]

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“Thou shouldst ever keep the virtuous before thee as thy models; thou shouldst ever with retrospective eye compare thy acts with those of the virtuous; thou shouldst ever disregard the hard words of the wicked. Thou shouldst ever make the conduct of the wise the model upon which thou art to act thyself. The man […]

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“By him is everything conquered, who calmly subdueth his rising anger. He is regarded as a man who by having recourse to forgiveness, shaketh off his rising anger like a snake casting off its slough. He that suppressed his anger, he that regardeth not the evil speeches of others, he that becometh not angry, though […]

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“Truly, one’s appetites are never satiated by enjoyment. On the other hand, like sacrificial butter poured into the fire, they flame up with indulgence. Even if one enjoyed the whole Earth with its wealth, diamonds and gold, animals and women, one may not yet be satiated.” – The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Vol. I, Sambhava […]

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“An ugly person considereth himself handsomer than others until he sees his own face in the mirror. But when he sees his own ugly face in the mirror, it is then that he perceiveth the difference between himself and others. He that is really handsome never taunts anybody. And he that always talketh evil becometh […]

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“Men scorched by mental grief, or suffering under bodily pain, feel as much refreshed in the companionship of their wives as a perspiring person in a cool bath. No man, even in anger, should ever do anything that is disagreeable to his wife, seeing that happiness, joy, and virtue, everything dependeth on the wife. A […]

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“The wife is a man’s half. The wife is the first of friends. The wife is the root of religion, profit, and desire. The wife is the root of salvation. They that have wives can perform religious acts. They that have wives can lead domestic lives. They that have wives have the means to be […]

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“By a son one conquereth the three worlds. By a son’s son, one enjoyeth eternity. And by a grandson’s son great-grand-fathers enjoy everlasting happiness.” – The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Vol. I, Sambhava Parva of the Adi Parva, trans. Pratap Chandra Roy

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“Sakuntala having worshipped the king according to proper form, told him, ‘This is thy son, O king ! Let him be installed as thy heir-apparent ! O king, this child, like unto a celestial, hath been begotten by thee upon me! Therefore, O best of men, fulfill now the promise thou gavest me! Call to […]

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“Women should not live long in the houses of their paternal or maternal relations. Such residence is destructive of their reputation, their good conduct, their virtue.” – The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Vol. I, Sambhava Parva of the Adi Parva, trans. Pratap Chandra Roy

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“Remedies certainly exist for all curses, but no remedy can avail those cursed by their mother!” – The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Vol. I, Astika Parva of the Adi Parva, trans. Pratap Chandra Roy

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“It is from great foolishness that persons blinded by love of wealth always desire to make a partition of their patrimony. After effecting a partition they fight with each other, deluded by wealth. Then again, enemies in the guise of friends cause estrangements between ignorant and selfish men after they become separated in wealth, and […]

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“He, who hearkens with the inner ear, is a man of quick hearing, he who turns his eyes inwards, is a man of clear vision, and he who conquers himself is said to be strong.” – J. J.-L. Duyvendak, The Book of Lord Shang

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On the mountains are the thorny elms,In the low, wet grounds are the white elms.You have suits of robes,But you will not wear them;You have carriages and horses,But you will not drive them.You will drop off in death,And another person will enjoy them.On the mountains is the k’aou,In the low wet grounds is the nëw.You […]

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The sun is in the east,And that lovely girlIs in my chamber.She is in my chamber;She treads in my footsteps, and comes to me.The moon is in the east,And that lovely girlIs inside my door.She is inside my door;She treads in my footsteps, and hastens away.– “Tung fang che jih,” The She King, or, The […]

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The tribulus grows on the wall,And cannot be brushed away.The story of the inner chamberCannot be told.What would have to be toldWould be the vilest of recitals.The tribulus grows on the wall,And cannot be removed.The story of the inner chamberCannot be particularly related.What might be particularly relatedWould be a long story.The tribulus grows on the […]

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In the wild there is a dead antelope,And it is wrapped up with the white grass.There is a young lady with thoughts natural to the spring,And a fine gentleman would lead her astray.In the forest there are the scrubby oaks;In the wild there is a dead deer,And it is bound round with the white grass.There […]

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Dropping are the fruits from the plum-tree;There are seven of them left!For the gentlemen who seek me,This is the fortunate time!Dropping are the fruits from the plum-tree;There are three of them left!For the gentlemen who seek me,Now is the time.Dropt are the fruits from the plum-tree;In my shallow basket I have collected them.Would the gentlemen […]

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“The rain is what comes down from above; but when ordinances are numerous as the drops of rain, this is not the way to administer government.” – The She King, or, The Book of Poetry (trans. James Legge)

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“A man who sees inaction in action and action in inaction has understanding among men, disciplined in all actions he performs. The wise say a man is learned when his plans lack constructs of desire, when his actions are burned by the fire of knowledge. Abandoning attachment to fruits of action, always content, independent, he […]

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“Alcibiades. He was the Golden Boy of 4th century Athenian culture. Pericles was his guardian, Plato his teacher. A fine athlete, a brilliant general, handsome, marvelously intelligent, popular, everything. A summation of the Golden Age. And what happened? He went bad. He was vain, treacherous, selfish, sacrilegious, debauched, dishonest, and a traitor twice over. His […]

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“Sophrosyne, which to the Greeks was an ideal second to none in importance, is not among our ideals. We have lost the conception of it. Enough is said about it in Greek literature for us to be able to describe it in some fashion, but we cannot give it a name. It was the spirit […]

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“Judgment is to be made of actions according to the times in which they were performed. The conduct of a wise politician is ever suited to the present posture of affairs; often by foregoing a part he saves the whole, and by yielding in a small matter secures a greater.” – “Comparison of Poplicola with […]

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“The remission of debts was peculiar to Solon; it was his great means for confirming the citizens’ liberty; for a mere law to give all men equal rights is but useless, if the poor must sacrifice those rights to their debts, and, in the very seats and sanctuaries of equality, the courts of justice, the […]

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“A people always minds its rulers bestWhen it is neither humored nor oppressed.”– “Comparison of Poplicola with Solon,” Plutarch’s Lives (trans. A. H. Clough)

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“Most of the authors of the New Testament did not write particularly well, even by the forgiving standards of the koiné—that is, ‘common’—Greek in which they worked. The unknown author of the Letter to the Hebrews commanded a fairly distinguished and erudite style, and was obviously an accomplished native speaker of the tongue; and Luke, […]

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“If there is no consciousness but only a dreamless sleep, death must be a marvelous gain. I suppose that if anyone were told to pick out the night on which he slept so soundly as not even to dream, and then to compare it with all the other nights and days of his life, and […]

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“The difficulty is not so much to escape death; the real difficulty is to escape from doing wrong, which is far more fleet of foot.” – Plato, Socrates’ Defense (Apology) (trans. Hugh Tredennick)

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“I do not think that it is right for a man to appeal to the jury or to get himself acquitted by doing so; he ought to inform them of the facts and convince them by argument. The jury does not sit to dispense justice as a favor, but to decide where justice lies, and […]

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“The true champion of justice, if he intends to survive even for a short time, must necessarily confine himself to private life and leave politics alone.” – Plato, Socrates’ Defense (Apology) (trans. Hugh Tredennick)

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