So as through a glass and darkly_x000D_ The age long strife I see_x000D_ Where I fought in many guises,_x000D_ Many names - but always me.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the struggles of identity and the enduring nature of the self through various experiences.
In this quote, George S. Patton contemplates the essence of one's identity through the struggles of life. Despite engaging in numerous battles and facing various challenges under different roles and names, the core self remains unchanged. It emphasizes the conflict between external circumstances and the enduring nature of personal identity, suggesting that regardless of how one is perceived or the roles they play, their true essence persists across different situations.
In practice
In a speech discussing personal growth and resilience.
A man must know his destiny… if he does not recognize it, then he is lost. By this I mean, once, twice, or at the very most, three times, fate will reach out and tap a man on the shoulder… if he has the imagination, he will turn around and fate will point out to him what fork in the road he should take, if he has the guts, he will take it.
There is only one tactical principle which is not subject to change. It is to use the means at hand to inflict the maximum amount of wound, death, and destruction on the enemy in the minimum amount of time.
The fixed determination to have acquired the warrior soul, to either conquer or perish with honor, is the secret of victory.
I am the best damn ass-kicker in the whole U.S. Army!
Do not try to make circumstances fit your plans. Make plans that fit the circumstances.
An active mind cannot exist in an inactive body.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.
Truly, there is a Christian note which makes the whole World vibrate, like an immense gong, in the divine Christ. This note is unique and universal, and in it alone consists the Gospel.
breathing, sleeping, drinking, eating, working, dreaming, everything we do is dying. to live, in fact, is to die.
But government in which the majority rule in all cases can not be based on justice, even as far as men understand it.
Action is no less necessary than thought to the instinctive tendencies of the human frame.
Global markets must be balanced by global values such as respect for human rights and international law, democracy, security and sustainable economic and environmental development.
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