Panos Koronakis-Rohlf

The German Poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the first President of the USA, George Washington, the English Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, the French writer and philosopher Voltaire, the Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the Italian adverturer and author Giacomo Casanova, the English actor Peter Sellers, the Greek-American actor and film director Aristotelis ("Telly) Savalas, the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, the Scottish biologist and pharmacologist Sir Alexander Fleming, the Swiss founder of the Red Cross Henry Dunant, the English writer Alexander Pope, the US actor John Wayne, the Hungarian composer Franz Liszt, the English poet and novelist Rudyard Kipling, the German poet, writer and philosopher Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, the Austrian composer Franz J. Haydn, and many other figures of international renown; one thing links them all: they were Freemasons. They were members of this brotherhood, and supporters of a philosophical system that seeks to answer the question posed by all thinking men; Who am I? Why am I here? What i the purpose of life? Freemasonry offers a way forward to all people who are genuinely seeking to find the meaning and purpose of life. It is an organization, a brotherhood, dedicated to philosophical enquiry and philanthropy. This anthology contains selected words of wisdom from internationally renowned Freemasons - poets, philosophers, writers, artists, politicians, scientists, painters, inventors, soldiers, journalists, industrialists, jurists, and entrepreneurs - from the founding of Freemasonry to the present day A timeless and symbolic sample of the wisdom and thought of the Freemasons

Στους Δελφούς, όπως λέει ο μύθος, συναντήθηκαν οι δύο αετοί που έστειλε ο Δίας, καθώς αναζητούσαν το κέντρο του σύμπαντος, τον ομφαλό της γης. Στον εκεί ναό του θεού του φωτός Απόλλωνα, είχαν χαραχτεί, ως παρακαταθήκη των λεγόμενων επτά σοφών της αρχαιότητας προς τις επόμενες γενεές, ορισμένα παραγγέλματα που αποτέλεσαν έναν διαχρονικό κώδικα ηθικής και συμπεριφοράς των αρχαίων Ελλήνων. Τα δελφικά παραγγέλματα, ή Πυθίας γράμματα, προτρέπουν προς έναν ηθικό και πνευματικό βίο. Η πεμπτουσία αυτών των δελφικών παραγγελμάτων συμπυκνώνεται στα τρία πιο σημαντικά από αυτά - τα οποία δέσποζαν στο αέτωμα του ναού του Απόλλωνα επιτρέποντας έτσι στον επισκέπτη να τα διακρίνει εύκολα: "Στους Δελφούς είσαι", "Μάθε τον εαυτό σου" και "Τίποτε σε υπερβολή". In Greek mythology, Delphi was the site where the two eagles met, sent by Zeus from opposite locations to discover the center of the universe, the navel of the earth. Αmid the majestic landscape of Delphi, the most magnificent and most renowned temple was founded, the temple of Apollo, god of light, which became the spiritual center of the ancient world. There, a number of commandments were inscribed by the seven sages of ancient Greece, which formed a code of conduct, an enduring moral guide to last throughout the centuries. These sayings were accessible to all visitors of Delphi, and formed the legacy of the seven sages for future generations, showing them how to live a life in wisdom, succinctly expressed through the three prime commandments carved on the pediment of the temple of Apollo: "In Delphi you exist," "Know thyself," and "Nothing in excess." Περιέχονται τα κείμενα: - Εισαγωγή - Τα παραγγέλματα των επτά σοφών - Το Μαντείο των Δελφών - Οι επτά σοφοί της αρχαίας Ελλάδας - Πιττακός ο Μυτιληναίος - θαλής ο Μιλήσιος - Βίας ο Πριηνεύς - Σόλων ο Αθηναίος - Κλεόβουλος ο Ρόδιος - Περίανδρος ο Κορίνθιος - Χίλων ο Λακεδαιμόνιος - Αντί επιλόγου - Ευρετήριο