Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame.
Alexander PopeRead
We think our fathers fools, so wise we grow. Our wiser sons, no doubt will think us so.
Interpretation
What this quote means
As we gain knowledge and maturity, we often view our parents' beliefs as outdated, and future generations will likely do the same to us.
This quote reflects the generational cycle of knowledge and perception, illustrating how each new generation often considers the preceding ones to be less wise than themselves. It serves as a reminder of the inevitable shift in understanding and values as society evolves, suggesting that wisdom is subjective and that each generation might eventually regard their own perspectives with similar skepticism as they mature.
Themes
WisdomGenerationPerceptionKnowledgeFathers
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about how values change over time.
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
One way to look at meditation is as a kind of intrapsychic technology that's been developed over thousands of years by traditions that know a lot about the mind/body connection.
Jon Kabat-ZinnRead
I don't own my emotions unless I can think about them. I am not afraid of feeling but I am afraid of feeling unthinkingly. I don't want to drown. My head is my heart's lifebelt.
Jeanette WintersonRead
I'll walk where my own nature would be leading: It vexes me to choose another guide.
Emily BronteRead
A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.
Winston ChurchillRead
Merely to resist evil with evil by hating those who hate us and seeking to destroy them, is actually no resistance at all. It is active and purposeful collaboration in evil that brings the Christian into direct and intimate contact with the same source of evil and hatred which inspires the acts of his enemy. It leads in practice to a denial of Christ and to the service of hatred rather than love.
Thomas MertonRead
Sometimes during solitude I hear truth spoken with clarity and freshness; uncolored and untranslated it speaks from within myself in a language original but inarticulate, heard only with the soul, and I realize I brought it with me, was never taught it nor can I efficiently teach it to another.
Hugh B. BrownRead