Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame.
Alexander PopeRead
Extremes in nature equal ends produce; In man they join to some mysterious use.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The extremes in nature create balance, and in humans, they serve a purpose that may be beyond our understanding.
Alexander Pope's quote reflects on the duality and balance present in both nature and humanity. He suggests that just as extremes in nature lead to an equilibrium, the conflicting qualities and extremes found within individuals play a crucial role in shaping their purpose and contributions to the world, often in ways that are not immediately clear to us.
Themes
BalanceDualityNatureHumanityExtremesPurpose
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could serve as inspiration for a discussion about environmental sustainability.
More from Alexander Pope
All quotes βWhat dire offence from am'rous causes springs, What mighty contests rise from trivial things.
Alexander PopeRead
Fair tresses man's imperial race ensnare; And beauty draws us with a single hair.
Alexander PopeRead
An honest man's the noblest work of God.
Alexander PopeRead
One thought of thee puts all the pomp to flight;_x000D_ _x000D_ Priests, tapers, temples, swim before my sight.
Alexander PopeRead
Who breaks a butterfly on a wheel?
Alexander PopeRead
Similar quotes
Death is the wish of some, the relief of many, and the end of all.
Seneca The YoungerRead
Human affairs are so obscure and various that nothing can be clearly known.
Desiderius ErasmusRead
There is a growing movement called effective altruism. It's important because it combines both the heart and the head.
Peter SingerRead
So we don't believe that life is beautiful because we don't recall it but if we get a whiff of a long-forgotten smell we are suddenly intoxicated and similarly we think we no longer love the dead because we don't remember them but if by chance we come across an old glove we burst into tears.
Marcel ProustRead
Where man had been, in every place he left, garbage remained. Even in his pursuit of the ultimate truth and quest for his God, he produced garbage. By his garbage, which lay stratum upon stratum, he could always - one had only to dig - be known. For more long-lived than man is his refuse. Garbage alone lives after him.
Gunter GrassRead
Liberty, Humanity, Justice, Equality
Susan B. AnthonyRead