Human affairs inspire in noble hearts only two feelings-admiration or pity.
Anatole FranceRead
The average man does not know what to do with this life, yet wants another one which will last forever.
Interpretation
People often seek something beyond life without understanding or valuing the one they have.
In this quote, Anatole France reflects on the paradox of human existence where many individuals are dissatisfied with their current lives but simultaneously yearn for an eternal existence. This suggests a disconnect between recognizing the value of the present life and the desires for an infinite, often idealized, life beyond it, urging a deeper contemplation on how we live and appreciate our time on earth.
In practice
In a motivational speech about appreciating life, this quote could highlight the importance of living in the moment.
Human affairs inspire in noble hearts only two feelings-admiration or pity.
Awaken people's curiosity. It is enough to open minds, do not overload them. Put there just a spark.
In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal loaves of bread.
Justice is the means by which established injustices are sanctioned
There is a certain impertinence in allowing oneself to be burned for an opinion.
Lovers who love truly do not write down their happiness.
If most of us are ashamed of shabby clothes and shoddy furniture let us be more ashamed of shabby ideas and shoddy philosophies.
In the space which thought creates around itself there is no love. This space divides man from man, and in it is all the becoming, the battle of life, the agony and fear. Meditation is the ending of this space, the ending of the me.
Whatever you do in life, if you want to be creative and intelligent, and develop your brain, you must do everything with the awareness that everything, in some way, connects to everything else.
The exercise of natural rights has no limits but such as will ensure their enjoyment to other members of society.
No, I never saw an angel, but it is irrelevant whether I saw one or not. I feel their presence around me.
I won't say that I'm an agnostic, since agnosticism maintains that one cannot know... but I'm not averse to the idea of some intelligence or some organizing force that set up the initial conditions of the universe in such a way that ultimately generated stars, planets and life.
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