Civilization is first of all a moral thing. Without truth, respect for duty, love of neighbor, and virtue, everything is destroyed. The morality of a society is alone the basis of civilization.
Henri Frederic AmielRead
He who floats with the current, who does not guide himself according to higher principles, who has no ideal, no convictions-such a man is . . . a thing moved, instead of a living and moving being-an echo, not a voice. The man who has no inner-life is a slave of his surroundings as the barometer is the obedient servant of the air.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of having personal convictions and guiding principles in life.
Henri Frederic Amiel suggests that individuals who lack strong ideals and convictions are merely passive participants in life, subject to external influences rather than acting as autonomous beings. He compares such individuals to an echo, which reflects sounds but does not create its own, highlighting that true vitality comes from an inner life driven by personal values and principles.
Themes
PrinciplesConvictionsInner-LifeAutonomyInfluence
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about self-empowerment.
More from Henri Frederic Amiel
All quotes →Man never knows what he wants; he aspires to penetrate mysteries and as soon as he has, wants to re-establish them. Ignorance irritates him and knowledge cloys.
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Truth is not only violated by falsehood; it may be equally outraged by silence.
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Any landscape is a condition of the spirit.
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True love is that which ennobles the personality, fortifies the heart, and sanctifies the existence.
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It is by teaching that we teach ourselves, by relating that we observe, by affirming that we examine, by showing that we look, by writing that we think, by pumping that we draw water into the well.
Henri Frederic AmielRead
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