It were better to have no opinion of God at all than such a one as is unworthy of him; for the one is only belief - the other contempt.
Interpretation
It's better to have no beliefs about God than to hold an unworthy opinion about Him.
This quote by Plutarch suggests that having a low or contemptuous opinion of God is more detrimental than having no opinion whatsoever. It highlights the importance of forming respectful and worthy beliefs about divine matters, implying that the nature of one's understanding of God can reflect deeply on one's character and moral standing.
In practice
During a philosophical discussion on the nature of belief and its implications on morality, this quote can help frame the argument.
Sometimes small incidents, rather than glorious exploits, give us the best evidence of character. So, as portrait painters are more exact in doing the face, where the character is revealed, than the rest of the body, I must be allowed to give my more particular attention to the marks of the souls of men.
Come back with your shield - or on it
The richest soil, if uncultivated, produces the rankest weeds.
For the correct analogy for the mind is not a vessel that needs filling, but wood that needs igniting.
Our senses through ignorance of Reality, falsely tell us that what appears to be, is. FEAR = False Evidence Appearing Real
I don't need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better.
It's clearly more important to treat one's fellow man well than to be always praying and fasting and touching one's head to a prayer mat.
Beneatha: You didn't tell us what Alaiyo means... for all I know, you might be calling me Little Idiot or something... ... Asagai: It means... it means One for Whom Bread--Food--Is Not Enough.
Those who shun the whimsy of things will experience rigor mortis before death.
If there is only empty space, with no suns nor planets in it, then space loses its substantiality.
But to my mind, though I am native here, And to the manner born, it is a custom, More honored in the breach than the observance.
He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the universe.
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