Nature smiles at the union of freedom and equality in our utopias. For freedom and equality are sworn and everlasting enemies, and when one prevails the other dies.
Will DurantRead
The greatest question of our time is not communism vs. individualism, not Europe vs. America, not even the East vs. the West; it is whether men can bear to live without God.
Interpretation
The essential issue of our era is the struggle for spiritual meaning in a secular world.
This quote by Will Durant emphasizes the significant philosophical question of the modern age: whether humanity can endure the absence of a higher power or divine guidance. It suggests that beyond political ideologies and geographical divides, the true challenge lies in grappling with existential issues of faith and purpose in life.
In practice
In a debate about the role of religion in society, mentioning this quote could highlight the importance of spiritual beliefs.
Nature smiles at the union of freedom and equality in our utopias. For freedom and equality are sworn and everlasting enemies, and when one prevails the other dies.
If we have never been amazed by the very fact that we exist, we are squandering the greatest fact of all.
Philosophy is harmonized knowledge making a harmonious life; it is the self-discipline which lifts us to serenity and freedom. Knowledge is power, but only wisdom is liberty.
If you wish to be loved, be modest; if you wish to be admired, be proud; if you wish both, combine external modesty with internal pride.
When liberty destroys order the hunger for order will destroy liberty.
Civilizations come and go; they conquer the earth and crumble into dust; but faith survives every desolation.
Thoughts without content are empty, intuitions without concepts are blind.
The public good is in nothing more essentially interested, than in the protection of every individual's private rights.
I don't want everyone to like me; I should think less of myself if some people did.
It is a strange fact that freedom and equality, the two basic ideas of democracy, are to some extent contradictory. Logically considered, freedom and equality are mutually exclusive, just as society and the individual are mutually exclusive.
Something my dad would say was that it's not important to win, but it's important to know how not to be defeated. The art of invincibility is the most important attribute in Jiu-Jitsu.
I was pretending that I did not speak their language; on the moon we spoke a soft, liquid tongue, and sang in the starlight, looking down on the dead dried world.
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