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The farther that one goes out (from himself), the less he knows.
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“The farther that one goes out (from himself), the less he knows.”

Lao Tzu

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Source
Tao Teh King
Date
ancient
English wording
James Legge — Translator · from Classical Chinese
Meaning

Meaning of “The farther that one goes out (from himself),…”

The paradox warns that outward accumulation can become a distraction from direct understanding; more movement is not automatically the same as deeper knowledge.

Source context

Where does it come from?

Tao Teh King, chapter 47, James Legge translation; the sentence belongs to a passage about knowing without compulsive outward searching.

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CalmDeepIdentityInner PeaceMindMindfulnessPeacePhilosophySelf TrustShortThinking Quotes About Reasoning, Reflection & JudgmentThought-Provoking Quotes That Invite ReflectionWisdom Quotes About Judgment & Living WellMeditation
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Your hearts know in silence the secrets of the days and the nights.
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“Your hearts know in silence the secrets of the days and the nights.”

Kahlil Gibran · The Prophet · 1923
Voice: Fictional character · Almustafa
Meaning & context

In the work’s poetic frame, inward knowledge exists before it is fully verbalized; the line values listening closely to one’s own interior understanding without claiming that intuition is automatically infallible.

Source details

The Prophet, section “Self-Knowledge.” A man asks Almustafa to speak about self-knowledge, and Almustafa answers with this line before describing the heart’s knowledge and the self as a boundless sea. The represented wording is the 1923 text preserved by Wikisource/Project Gutenberg #58585.

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Who can (make) the muddy water (clear)? Let it be still, and it will gradually become clear.
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“Who can (make) the muddy water (clear)? Let it be still, and it will gradually become clear.”

Lao Tzu · Tao Teh King · ancient
Meaning & context

The muddy-water image makes stillness a condition for clarity: agitation can keep disturbance suspended, while enough quiet allows what is clouding perception to settle without force.

Source details

Tao Teh King, Chapter 15, James Legge translation, Project Gutenberg #216. The next sentence asks how the condition of rest is secured and answers through the gradual relation between movement and rest; the passage belongs to Taoist philosophy, not a clinical relaxation technique.

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As you succeed in overcoming self you will begin to see things in their right relations.
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“As you succeed in overcoming self you will begin to see things in their right relations.”

James Allen · The Way of Peace · 1901
Meaning & context

For Allen, clearer perception follows disciplined work on one’s own impulses and biases; self-mastery changes not only conduct but the proportions in which problems are seen.

Source details

The Way of Peace; Allen links self-mastery with clearer perception and a less distorted relationship to circumstances and other people.

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We ought, however, first to examine our own selves, next the business which we propose to transact, next those for whose sake or in whose company we transact it.
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“We ought, however, first to examine our own selves, next the business which we propose to transact, next those for whose sake or in whose company we transact it.”

Seneca · Of Peace of Mind · 49–62 CE
Meaning & context

Before committing to action, Seneca asks for an ordered examination of self, task, and company, treating clear self-knowledge as protection against avoidable agitation and mismatch.

Source details

Of Peace of Mind, section VI, Aubrey Stewart translation (1889), cross-checked against Project Gutenberg #64576 and Wikisource. Seneca orders practical deliberation as an examination of oneself, the proposed business, and the people for whose sake or in whose company it will be done.

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