A civilization is built on what is required of men, not on that which is provided for them.
Interpretation
Civilization thrives on the responsibilities and efforts of individuals rather than just the benefits they receive.
This quote suggests that the foundation of a thriving civilization depends on the obligations and contributions of its members, rather than solely on the resources or benefits provided to them. It emphasizes the importance of personal initiative, accountability, and the role of each individual in the collective progress of society.
In practice
In a speech about community service, one might quote this to encourage people to take active roles in improving society.
Grown-ups love figures... When you tell them you've made a new friend they never ask you any questions about essential matters. They never say to you "What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies? " Instead they demand "How old is he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make? " Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.
Attitude is a paintbrush. It colors everything!
Water, thou hast no taste, no color, no odor; canst not be defined, art relished while ever mysterious. Not necessary to life, but rather life itself, thou fillest us with a gratification that exceeds the delight of the senses.
In those days, I didn't understand anything. I should have judged her according to her actions, not her words. She perfumed my planet and lit up my life. I should never have run away! I ought to have realized the tenderness underlying her silly pretensions. Flowers are so contadictory! But I was too young to know how to love her.
When a mystery is too overpowering, one dare not disobey.
When the body sinks into death, the essence of man is revealed. Man is a knot, a web, a mesh into which relationships are tied. Only those relationships matter. The body is an old crock that nobody will miss. I have never known a man to think of himself when dying. Never.
All of us have not been to a natural prison, but everybody in here has had a spiritual prison.
Life is, if anything, the art of combination. Of discrimination. Of freely picking one's own personal pattern out of a hundred choices. Not letting it be picked for youβeither by the Establishment, or by the Rebels. Conformity of Hip is no better than Conformity of Square.
Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice.
I am opposed to the military use of animals. I am also opposed to the military use of men.
We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race.
What has been attained may again be lost. Only when you realise the true peace, the peace you have never lost, that peace will remain with you for it was never away. Instead of searching for what you do not have, find out what is it that you have never lost. That which is there before the beginning and after the ending of everything, to That there is no birth nor death. That Immovable state, which is not affected by the birth and death of a body or a mind, that state you must perceive.
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