It is chiefly through books that we enjoy intercourse with superior minds. In the best books, great men talk to us, give us their most precious thoughts, and pour their souls into ours.
William Ellery ChanningRead
I laugh, for hope hath a happy place with me; If my boat sinks, 'tis to another sea.
Interpretation
This quote expresses the idea of maintaining hope and positivity even in the face of setbacks or challenges.
William Ellery Channing's quote suggests that even when experiencing difficulties, such as a sinking boat symbolizing failure or loss, one should remain hopeful knowing that new opportunities (represented by another sea) await. The underlying message is about resilience and the importance of keeping a positive outlook despite adversity.
In practice
In a motivational speech about overcoming challenges, one might quote this to inspire the audience.
It is chiefly through books that we enjoy intercourse with superior minds. In the best books, great men talk to us, give us their most precious thoughts, and pour their souls into ours.
No power in society, no hardship in your condition can depress you, keep you down, in knowledge, power, virtue, influence, but by your own consent.
We smile at the ignorance of the savage who cuts down the tree in order to reach its fruit; but the same blunder is made by every person who is over eager and impatient in the pursuit of pleasure.
Every mind was made for growth, for knowledge, and its nature is sinned against when it is doomed to ignorance.
He who is false to the present duty breaks a thread in the loom, and you will see the effect when the weaving of a life-time is unraveled.
Influence is to be measured, not by the extent of surface it covers, but by its kind.
My prayer became 'May I find peace... May I love this life no matter what.' I was seeking an inner refuge, an experience of presence and wholeness that could carry me through whatever losses might come.
We listen to those whom we know to be of the same opinion as ourselves, and we call them wise for being of it; but we avoid such as differ from us.
It put our energies to sleep and made visionaries of us - dreamers and indolent... It is good to begin life poor; it is good to begin life rich - these are wholesome; but to begin it prospectively rich! The man who has not experienced it cannot imagine the curse of it.
Hubris is one of the great renewable resources.
It is not the desire of new acquisitions, but the glory of conquests, that fires the soldier's breast; as indeed the town is seldom worth much, when it has suffered the devastations of a siege.
Ideas don't desert you; ideas aren't treasonous to you, but people can be.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.