If you have the guts to be yourself, other people'll pay your price.
John UpdikeRead
Belief, like love, must be voluntary.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Belief should be given freely, just like love; it cannot be forced.
John Updike emphasizes the importance of voluntary consent in both belief and love. He suggests that genuine belief, akin to authentic love, cannot be coerced or compelled; it must arise freely from the individual for it to be true and meaningful.
Themes
BeliefLoveVoluntaryFreedomGenuine
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about relationships, one might say, 'Belief, like love, must be voluntary' to emphasize personal autonomy.
More from John Updike
All quotes βDost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of. _x000D_ _x000D_ Suspect each moment, for it is a thief, tiptoeing away with more than it brings.
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Museums and bookstores should feel, I think, like vacant lots - places where the demands on us are our own demands, where the spirit can find exercise in unsupervised play.
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But it is just two lovers, holding hands and in a hurry to reach their car, their locked hands a starfish leaping through the dark.
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The reader knows the writer better than he knows himself; but the writer's physical presence is light from a star that has moved on.
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To guarantee the individual maximum freedom within a social frame of minimal laws ensures - if not happiness - its hopeful pursuit.
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