What a test that is: more than devotion, admiration, passion. If you long and long for someoneβs company you love them.
Iris MurdochRead
Human affairs are not serious, but they have to be taken seriously.
Interpretation
While human activities may seem trivial, they require a serious approach and consideration.
Iris Murdoch's quote reflects the paradox of human existence, suggesting that although our daily lives and choices might appear insignificant in the grand scheme of things, it is essential to engage with them earnestly. This duality emphasizes that seriousness in our interactions and decisions is necessary to navigate the complexities of life and relationships, acknowledging the weight of our actions despite their seeming triviality.
In practice
In a speech about finding meaning in everyday actions.
What a test that is: more than devotion, admiration, passion. If you long and long for someoneβs company you love them.
The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart.
Man's creative struggle, his search for wisdom and truth, is a love story.
All art deals with the absurd and aims at the simple. Good art speaks truth, indeed is truth, perhaps the only truth.
A bad review is even less important than whether it is raining in Patagonia.
Perhaps when distant people on other planets pick up some wavelength of ours all they hear is a continuous scream.
Both dreams and myths are important communications from ourselves to ourselves.
Therefore, if God existed, only in one way could he serve human liberty - by ceasing to exist.
The Press was protected so that it could bare the secrets of the government and inform the people. Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government. And paramount among the responsibilities of a free press is the duty to prevent any part of the government from deceiving the people.
Inside the peach, there is a stone.
As far as you can, get into the habit of asking yourself in relation to any action taken by another: "What is his point of reference here?" But begin with yourself: examine yourself first.
Remember that rights are moral principles which define and protect a man's freedom of action, but impose no obligations on other men.
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