Married couples who quarrel bitterly every day may really need each other as deeply as those who appear to be desperately in love.
Edward AbbeyRead
We judge individual man and women as we do nations and races -- by the character of their achievement and by their achievement of character.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes that both individuals and groups should be evaluated based on their accomplishments and moral character.
Edward Abbey's quote reflects on the human tendency to assess worth and value based on achievements and character. Just as nations and races are often judged by their historical successes and the integrity of their citizens, so too should individuals be evaluated on what they have accomplished and the quality of their character. This perspective invites a deeper understanding of a personβs true value beyond surface-level traits or achievements.
Themes
CharacterAchievementJudgmentValuesMorality
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a motivational speech about personal growth and integrity.
More from Edward Abbey
All quotes βI love America because it is a confused, chaotic mess - and I hope we can keep it this way for at least another thousand years. The permissive society is the free society.
Edward AbbeyRead
If it's knowledge and wisdom you want, then seek out the company of those who do real work for an honest purpose.
Edward AbbeyRead
The earth is real. Only a fool, milking his cow, denies the cow's reality.
Edward AbbeyRead
I believe in nothing that I cannot touch, kiss, embrace.... The rest is only hearsay.
Edward AbbeyRead
Why can't we simply borrow what is useful to us from Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, especially Zen, as we borrow from Christianity, science, American Indian traditions and world literature in general, including philosophy, and let the rest go hang? Borrow what we need but rely principally upon our own senses, common sense and daily living experience.
Edward AbbeyRead
Similar quotes
Even his griefs are a joy long after to one that remembers all that he wrought and endured.
HomerRead
There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition.
Rod SerlingRead
For 200 years, the West has been so dominant in the world that it's not really needed to understand other cultures, other civilizations. Because, at the end of the day, it could, if necessary by force, get its own way.
Martin JacquesRead
Those who wish to promote the welfare of the people should advance in solidarity with them and select the path most suitable for them. Since the history of our people is different from that of the people of the West, the steps that the two peoples choose to take in order to advance must also be different.
Sun Yat-SenRead
As long as we are children, we have the ability to experience things around us--but then we grow used to the world. To grow up is to get drunk on sensory experience.
Jostein GaarderRead
Very few people really care about freedom, about liberty, about the truth, very few. Very few people have guts, the kind of guts on which a real democracy has to depend. Without people with that sort of guts a free society dies or cannot be born.
Doris LessingRead