Delphic Maxim #112

Maxim #112 – Do Away with Enmities

Anger and resentment become chains around your psyche. They consume you from the inside out. Bitterness and enmity are among the most destructive emotions.

True freedom is found in letting go - no matter how right you are and how wrong the other is. The ball and chain do not need to follow you throughout your life.

Is there anything that you know you must release to recover peace of mind? Forgiveness is the gift you give to yourself. You deserve it.

Enmity is anger watching the opportunity for revenge.

~ Marcus Tullius Cicero

The 147 Delphic Maxims [as cited by Stobaeus] are ancient guidelines and advice for living a proper and happy life. They are enduring and eternal in many aspects, although one must consider the times in which they were written and adapt the language accordingly.  

They remain an important legacy of human history and continue to provide wisdom for the ages. The maxims live because they have been preserved, reiterated, and reinterpreted throughout the oral and written traditions of the Hellenic world – not as absolutes, but as living guidance.

Stobaeus was a Greek writer from about 500 A.D. Clearly a well-read scholar in his day, he managed to safeguard much of the prose and poetry of ancient Greece. To him we owe a great debt.

Download all the Delphic Maxims in a colorful PDF – click here.