It is more blessed to give than to receive, and therefore less blessed to receive than to give.
Interpretation
The act of giving brings more joy and fulfillment than the act of receiving.
This quote emphasizes the principle that generosity and altruism are more rewarding than self-interest. It suggests that the true blessings in life come from what we offer to others rather than what we take for ourselves, advocating for a mindset focused on compassion and giving.
In practice
In a speech on philanthropy, one could quote this to inspire listeners about the importance of charitable acts.
I want to feel my own nothingness, I want to give myself up in absolute resignation to God, to lie prostrate and passive at His feet, with no other disposition in my heart than that of merging my will into His will, and no other language in my mouth than that of prayer for the perfecting of His strength in my weakness.
With the magnificence of eternity before us, let time, with all its fluctuations, dwindle into its own littleness.
Every man is a missionary, now and forever, for good or for evil, whether he intends or designs it or not. He may be a blot radiating his dark influence outward to the very circumference of society, or he may be a blessing spreading benediction over the length and breadth of the world. But a blank he cannot be: there are no moral blanks; there are no neutral characters.
Faith is like the hand of the beggar that takes the gift while adding nothing to it.
The disobedient child is continuously condemned. The obedient child is, on the other hand, continuously praised. But have you heard of any obedient child having become world-famous in any dimension of creativity? Have you heard of any obedient child who has attained the Nobel prize for anything - literature, peace, science? The obedient child becomes just the common crowd. All that is added to existence is added by the disobedient.
There is nothing wrong with America that faith, love of freedom, intelligence, and energy of her citizens cannot cure.
All this shouldn't last; but it will, always; the human 'always' of course, a century, two centuries... and after that it will be different, but worse. We were the Leopards, the Lions; those who'll take our place will be little jackals, hyenas; and the whole lot of us, Leopards, jackals, and sheep, we'll all go on thinking ourselves the salt of the earth.
My grandfather did not travel across 4,000 miles of the Atlantic Ocean to see this country overrun by immigrants. He did it because he killed a man back in Ireland.
There is no Master but the Master,β he said, βand QT-1 is his prophet.
If we have chosen the position in life in which we can most of all work for mankind, no burdens can bow us down, because they are sacrifices for the benefit of all; then we shall experience no petty, limited, selfish joy, but our happiness will belong to millions, our deeds will live on quietly but perpetually at work, and over our ashes will be shed the hot tears of noble people.
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