Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality.
Edgar Allan PoeRead
Grace finds us beggars but leaves us debtors.
Interpretation
Grace can help us, but it can also create a sense of obligation.
In this quote, Augustus Toplady reflects on the concept of grace, suggesting that while it offers us support and kindness when we are in need (like beggars), it also imposes a responsibility or a sense of indebtedness to respond to that grace, transforming us from mere recipients into those who owe something in return. This highlights the complex relationship between receiving help and recognizing one's obligation to show gratitude or act in kind.
In practice
In a speech about philanthropy, one could quote this to emphasize the responsibility that comes with receiving charitable aid.
Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality.
You don't need organized religion to connect with the universe. Often a church is the only place you can go to find peace and quiet... But it shouldn't be confused with connecting with one's spirit.
We get stressed out now by having somebody yell at us in the office or by making a mistake or by losing a bunch of money. These aren't problems that our hunter-gatherer ancestors had. They'd get stressed if a lion came to them or a boulder was rolling towards their living quarters. That kind of stress provoked the fight or flight response.
There is no other life; life itself is only a vision and a dream for nothing exists but space and you. If there was an all-powerful God, he would have made all good, and no bad.
Life is not a check-list of acquisition or achievement.
I never could bear the idea of anyone's expecting something from me. It always made me want to do just the opposite.
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