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.
If abuses are destroyed, man must destroy them. If slaves are freed, man must free them. If new truths are discovered, man must discover them. If the naked are clothed; if the hungry are fed; if justice is done; if labor is rewarded; if superstition is driven from the mind; if the defenseless are protected, and if the right finally triumphs, all must be the work of man. The grand victories of the future must be won by man, and by man alone.
Whoever does not detach himself from the ego never attains the Absolute and never deciphers life.
The first step toward tolerance is respect and the first step toward respect is knowledge.
There is nothing more difficult to outgrow than anxieties that have become useful to us, whether as explanations for a life that never quite finds its true force or direction, or as fuel for ambition, or as a kind of reflexive secular religion that, paradoxically, unites us with others in a shared sense of complete isolation: you feel at home in the world only by never feeling at home in the world.
She asked me what made me do such a thing. That is an awkward question because I often can't tell what makes me do things. Sometimes I do them just to find out what I feel like doing them. And sometimes I do them because I want to have some exciting things to tell my grandchildren.
Giving is more than a responsibility-it is a privilege; more than an act of obedience-it is evidence of our faith.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.