It is indeed a desirable thing to be well-descended, but the glory belongs to our ancestors.
Interpretation
Our lineage may provide us with honor, but true glory comes from the achievements of those who came before us.
This quote by Plutarch emphasizes the value of ancestry and heritage while stating that the true glory of a person's status should be attributed to their ancestors' accomplishments rather than their own social standing or lineage. It reflects on how one's background can influence opportunities but underscores the importance of recognizing and honoring those who have paved the way.
In practice
During a family reunion, one might quote this to reflect on the family's history.
Sometimes small incidents, rather than glorious exploits, give us the best evidence of character. So, as portrait painters are more exact in doing the face, where the character is revealed, than the rest of the body, I must be allowed to give my more particular attention to the marks of the souls of men.
It were better to have no opinion of God at all than such a one as is unworthy of him; for the one is only belief - the other contempt.
Come back with your shield - or on it
The richest soil, if uncultivated, produces the rankest weeds.
For the correct analogy for the mind is not a vessel that needs filling, but wood that needs igniting.
Our senses through ignorance of Reality, falsely tell us that what appears to be, is. FEAR = False Evidence Appearing Real
And what a congress of stinks!- Roots ripe as old bait, Pulpy stems, rank, silo-rich, Leaf mold, manure, lime, piled against slippery planks, Nothing would give up life: Even the dirt kept breathing a small breath.
People will always prefer black-and-white over shades of grey, and so there will always be the temptation to hold overly-simplified beliefs and to hold them with excessive confidence
The day we fret about the future is the day we leave our childhood behind.
Magick is the Science of understanding oneself and one's conditions. It is the Art of applying that understanding in action.
Either things happen for a reason, or they happen for no reason at all. Either one's life is a thread in a glorious tapestry or humanity is just a hopelessly tangled knot.
All life is part of a complex relationship in which each is dependent upon the others, taking from, giving to and living with all the rest.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.