Good nature is more agreeable in conversation than wit and gives a certain air to the countenance which is more amiable than beauty.
Joseph AddisonRead
Unbounded courage and compassion join'd, Tempering each other in the victor's mind, Alternately proclaim him good and great, And make the hero and the man complete.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Courage and compassion are key traits that together define a true hero.
This quote highlights the importance of both courage and compassion in defining a hero. It suggests that a hero is not just someone who exhibits bravery, but also someone who possesses empathy and kindness, with each quality balancing the other to create a complete and admirable character.
Themes
CourageCompassionHeroGreatnessCharacter
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about leadership qualities.
More from Joseph Addison
All quotes βRidicule is generally made use of to laugh men out of virtue and good sense, by attacking everything praiseworthy in human life.
Joseph AddisonRead
Admiration is a very short lived passion that immediately decays upon growing familiar with its object, unless it still be fed with fresh discoveries, and kept alive by a new perpetual succession of miracles rising up to its view.
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It is impossible for us, who live in the latter ages of the world, to make observations in criticism, morality, or in any art or science, which have not been touched upon by others. We have little else left us but to represent the common sense of mankind in more strong, more beautiful, or more uncommon lights.
Joseph AddisonRead
An ostentatious man will rather relate a blunder or an absurdity he has committed, than be debarred from talking of his own dear person.
Joseph AddisonRead
There is no greater sign of a general decay of virtue in a nation, than a want of zeal in its inhabitants for the good of their country.
Joseph AddisonRead
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