Heraclitus: A modern man who lived 7,500 years ago...

Heraclitus wrote one single book on a papyrus scroll. He gave up the throne of Ephesus, Greece to his younger brother. Not a single word of his survives and yet Heraclitus influenced Plato, Marcus Aurelius, Heidegger. How? Authors in all ages quoted him, and these quotes survive.

Heraclitus on the importance of conflict: "The poet was a fool who wanted no conflict among us, Gods or people. Harmony needs low and high, as progeny needs man and woman." Life is only possible in the tension between opposites. Our world's strife is what makes it fertile.

Heraclitus on why we need breaks from rules: "The rule that makes its subject weary is a sentence of hard labor. For this reason, change gives rest." When we get stuck in the same pattern, life feels like clockwork. We feel like automated bots. Then we seek a break in the pattern

On dreams, Heraclitus was twenty centuries ahead of everyone: "Even a soul submerged in sleep is hard at work, and helps make something of the world." We now understand that dreams help with coherence construction - Heraclitus knew they "help make something of the world."

The moderns are obsessed with how to live, the ancients were obsessed with how to die. Heraclitus: "The luckiest men die worthwhile deaths." What is a worthwhile death is every man's individual puzzle to solve. But perhaps honor, courage, and principles are part of the answer...

Heraclitus on why failing is good: "Always having what we want may not be the best good fortune. Health seems sweetest after sickness, food in hunger, goodness in the wake of evil, and at the end of daylong labor sleep." It's GOOD to lose, to suffer, if only to feel the contrast.

Heraclitus on manipulation in democracies: "What use are these people’s wits, who let themselves be led by speechmakers, in crowds, without considering how many fools and thieves they are among, and how few choose the good?" Even people with wits are misled by propaganda.

Heraclitus on how to live: "The best choose progress toward one thing, a name forever honored by the gods, while others eat their way toward sleep like nameless oxen." By a name forever honored by the gods, he means goals of enduring value: excellence, power, love, true loyalty..

Heraclitus a century before Socrates: "All people ought to know themselves." Heraclitus was onto meditation, journaling, and self-reflection in 5th century BC: "Applicants for wisdom do what I've done: inquire within." But also note he was known as the weeping philosopher...

Heraclitus is one of the founding fathers of "aphorisms" - small statements that contain big insights. For more insights from master aphorists, check out my collection: Aphorisms: Gallery of the Greats.