Duty - that which sternly impels us in the direction of profit, along the line of desire.
Interpretation
Duty drives us toward our desires, emphasizing the balance between obligation and personal ambition.
In this quote, Ambrose Bierce reflects on the nature of duty as a powerful force that guides our actions. It suggests that while duty may push us toward profit or success, it is closely intertwined with our personal desires. This interplay highlights the importance of understanding our motivations and obligations as we navigate our paths in life, ultimately questioning whether we pursue profit for its own sake or as a means to fulfill our deeper desires.
In practice
In a speech about personal accountability, one could reference this quote to emphasize the importance of fulfilling one's responsibilities.
PALM, n. A species of tree . . . of which the familiar "itching palm" ("Palma hominis") is most widely distributed . . . . This noble vegetable exudes a kind of invisible gum, which may be detected by applying to the bark a piece of gold or silver.
Human nature is pretty well balanced; for every lacking virtue there is a rough substitute that will serve at a pinch--as cunning is the wisdom of the unwise, and ferocity the courage of the coward.
Indigestion: A disease which the patient and his friends frequently mistake for deep religious conviction and concern for the salvation of mankind. As the simple Red Man of the Western Wild put it, with, it must be confessed, a certain force: 'Plenty well, no pray; big belly ache, heap God.'
Disobey n:To celebrate with an appropriate ceremony the maturity of a command
NOUMENON, n. That which exists, as distinguished from that which merely seems to exist, the latter being a phenomenon. The noumenon is a bit difficult to locate; it can be apprehended only by a process of reasoning - which is a phenomenon.
PARDON, v. To remit a penalty and restore to the life of crime. To add to the lure of crime the temptation of ingratitude.
The historical mission of our times is to re-invent the humanβat the species level, with critical reflection, within the community of life-systems, in a time-developmental context, by means of story and shared dream experience.
You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.
The old grooves must be erased in your brain, without forming new ones. You must realize yourself as the immovable, behind and beyond the movable, the silent witness of all that happens.
Anyone who has spent a few nights in a tent during a storm can tell you: The world doesn't care all that much if you live or die.
In India we celebrate the commonality of major differences; we are a land of belonging rather than of blood.
In bodies moved, the motion is received, increased, diminished, or lost, according to the relations of the quantity of matter and velocity; each diversity is uniformity, each change is constancy.
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