Love, whether newly born, or aroused from a deathlike slumber, must always create sunshine, filling the heart so full of radiance, this it overflows upon the outward world.
Nathaniel HawthorneRead
See! those fiendish lineaments graven on the darkness, the writhed lip of scorn, the mockery of that living eye, the pointed finger, touching the sore place in your heart! Do you remember any act of enormous folly, at which you would blush, even in the remotest cavern of the earth? Then recognize your Shame.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote encourages self-reflection on one's past mistakes and the inherent shame that accompanies folly.
Hawthorne's quote delves into the deep-seated feelings of shame and regret that often accompany our past actions. It challenges us to confront those moments of folly, as the 'fiendish lineaments' and 'mockery' suggest that these past mistakes are not easily forgotten or escaped, but instead are inscribed upon our consciousness and serve as reminders of our humanity and vulnerability.
Themes
ShameReflectionFollyRegretHumanity
In practice
Example use cases
In a personal development seminar discussing accountability, this quote can be used to emphasize the importance of recognizing our past mistakes.
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Let men tremble to win the hand of woman, unless they win along with it the utmost passion of her heart! Else it may be their miserable fortune, when some mightier touch than their own may have awakened all her sensibilities, to be reproached even for the calm content, the marble image of happiness, which they will have imposed upon her as the warm reality.
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The thing you set your mind on is the thing you ultimately become.
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