What does the truth matter? Haven't we mothers all given our sons a taste for lies, lies which from the cradle upwards lull them, reassure them, send them to sleep: lies as soft and warm as a breast!
Georges BernanosRead
It's a fine thing to rise above pride, but you must have pride in order to do so.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Pride can be both a barrier and a motivator; one must recognize its value to transcend it.
This quote by Georges Bernanos highlights the dual nature of pride. While rising above pride is essential for personal growth and humility, it is also important to acknowledge that some degree of pride is necessary for achieving greatness. Pride can motivate individuals to strive for higher standards and develop self-respect, but when allowed to dominate, it can cloud judgment and hinder relationships. Thus, the balance between having pride and overcoming it is crucial in one's journey of self-improvement.
Themes
PrideHumilitySelf-ImprovementBalancePersonal Growth
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about overcoming obstacles and self-criticism.
More from Georges Bernanos
All quotes βFear, true fear, is a savage frenzy. Of all the insanities of which we are capable, it is surely the cruelest. There is naught to equal its drive, and naught can survive its thrust.
Georges BernanosRead
I know the compassion of others is a relief at first. I don't despise it. But it can't quench pain, it slips through your soul as through a sieve. And when our suffering has been dragged from one pity to another, as from one mouth to another, we can no longer respect or love it.
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Hell, madame, is to love no longer.
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God! how is it that we fail to recognize that the mask of pleasure, stripped of all hypocrisy, is that of anguish?
Georges BernanosRead
Have you never been moved by poor men's fidelity, the image of you they form in their simple minds? Why should you always talk of their envy, without understanding that what they ask of you is not so much your worldly goods, as something very hard to define, which they themselves can put no name to; yet at times it consoles their loneliness; a dream of splendor, of magnificence, a tawdry dream, a poor man's dream -and yet God blesses it!
Georges BernanosRead
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The ability to subordinate an impulse to a value is the essence of the proactive person.
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