It is chiefly through books that we enjoy intercourse with superior minds. In the best books, great men talk to us, give us their most precious thoughts, and pour their souls into ours.
William Ellery ChanningRead
He who is false to the present duty breaks a thread in the loom, and you will see the effect when the weaving of a life-time is unraveled.
Interpretation
Neglecting your current responsibilities can lead to serious consequences in your life.
This quote by William Ellery Channing emphasizes the importance of being true to our present duties and responsibilities. It suggests that failing to fulfill our obligations can have a ripple effect, unraveling the fabric of our lives over time, as the metaphor of a loom signifies how interconnected our actions and responsibilities are in shaping our overall life experience.
In practice
This quote can be used in a motivational speech to inspire accountability.
It is chiefly through books that we enjoy intercourse with superior minds. In the best books, great men talk to us, give us their most precious thoughts, and pour their souls into ours.
No power in society, no hardship in your condition can depress you, keep you down, in knowledge, power, virtue, influence, but by your own consent.
I laugh, for hope hath a happy place with me; If my boat sinks, 'tis to another sea.
We smile at the ignorance of the savage who cuts down the tree in order to reach its fruit; but the same blunder is made by every person who is over eager and impatient in the pursuit of pleasure.
Every mind was made for growth, for knowledge, and its nature is sinned against when it is doomed to ignorance.
Influence is to be measured, not by the extent of surface it covers, but by its kind.
He will therefore have to use what knowledge he can achieve, not to shape the results as the craftsman shapes his handiwork, but rather to cultivate a growth by providing the appropriate environment, in the manner in which the gardener does this for his plants.
Enlightenment for a wave is the moment the wave realizes it is water. At that moment, all fear of death disappears.
The mark of a master is to select only a few moments, but give us a lifetime.
Sense shines with a double luster when it is set in humility. An able yet humble man is a jewel worth a kingdom.
The only people who see the whole picture,' he murmured, 'are the ones who step out of the frame.
Chance... in the accommodation peculiar to sensorimotor intelligence, plays the same role as in scientific discovery. It is only useful to the genius and its revelations remain meaningless to the unskilled.
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