What does this quote mean?

“Do no violence to yourself, respect in yourself the oscillations of feeling.”

Self-respect here means refusing to force inner life into an artificial uniformity; changing feelings can be observed and treated with patience instead of self-aggression.

Source note: Amiel's Journal, entry dated April 28, 1852, in Mary Augusta Ward’s public-domain translation; Amiel counsels patience with the movement of feeling.

“Be still, and know that I am God.”

Stillness is paired with trust, shifting attention away from frantic control and toward a larger frame of confidence and perspective.

Source note: Psalm 46:10 in the King James Version; the verse places stillness and trust inside a psalm about turmoil and refuge.

“The excellence of the mind is in abysmal stillness.”

The water analogy extends inward: excellence of mind is associated with depth and stillness rather than constant display, rivalry, or restless reaction.

Source note: Tao Teh King, chapter 8, James Legge translation; the line is one element in a broader comparison between highest excellence and water.

“Purity and stillness give the correct law to all under heaven.”

The line gives stillness a governing role: clarity and quiet are treated as conditions from which more ordered action can emerge.

Source note: Tao Teh King, chapter 45, James Legge translation; the sentence follows the claim that being still overcomes heat.

“It is in thy power whenever thou shalt choose to retire into thyself.”

A person can create an inward pause even when external conditions are noisy, using reflection to restore order before returning to action.

Source note: Meditations, Book IV, in George Long’s translation; this is the central clause of the retreat passage.

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”

Guarding inner life is presented as practical because attention and motives influence conduct downstream.

Source note: Proverbs 4:23 in the King James Version.