We ought not to extract pernicious honey from poison blossoms of misrepresentation and mendacious half-truth, to pamper the course appetite of bigotry and self-love.
Samuel Taylor ColeridgeRead
Greatness and goodness are not means, but ends! Hath he not always treasures, always friends, The good great man? Three treasures, love and light, And calm thoughts, regular as infants' breath; And three firm friends, more sure than day and night, Himself, his Maker, and the angel Death.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes that greatness and goodness are ultimate goals in life rather than mere tools for achieving something else.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge expresses the idea that true greatness and goodness are ends in themselves, not mere means to an end. He suggests that a truly great person possesses treasures such as love, light, and calm thoughts, which serve to enrich their life and bring them closer to their true self, their Maker, and ultimately, to the acceptance of mortality embodied by the angel of Death.
Themes
GreatnessGoodnessLifeTreasuresPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can inspire discussions about the true meaning of greatness during a leadership seminar.
More from Samuel Taylor Coleridge
All quotes →Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom.
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And all who heard should see them there, And all should cry, Beware! Beware! His flashing eyes, his floating hair! Weave a circle round him thrice, And close your eyes with holy dread, For he on honey-dew hath fed, And drunk the milk of Paradise.
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Often do the spirits stride on before the event; and in today already walks tomorrow.
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Mr. Lyell's system of geology is just half the truth, and no more. He affirms a great deal that is true, and he denies a great deal which is equally true; which is the general characteristic of all systems not embracing the whole truth.
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To believe and to understand are not diverse things, but the same things in different periods of growth.
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