Grant us brotherhood, not only for this day but for all our years - a brotherhood not of words but of acts and deeds.
Stephen Vincent BenetRead
I tried to think of my knowledge, but it was a squirrel's heap of winter nuts. There was no strength in my knowledge any more and I felt small and naked as a new-hatched bird.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote expresses a feeling of inadequacy regarding one's knowledge and understanding.
In this quote, the author reflects on the limitations of his own knowledge, comparing it to a disorganized collection of winter nuts belonging to a squirrel. This metaphor illustrates the idea that despite the potential for growth and learning, one can feel exposed and vulnerable when confronted with the vastness of what remains unknown, much like a new-hatched bird being unprepared for the world.
Themes
KnowledgeWisdomVulnerabilityLearningSelf-Awareness
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about embracing our limitations, this quote underscores the importance of self-reflection.
More from Stephen Vincent Benet
All quotes →It is forbidden to go east, but I have gone, forbidden to go on the great river, but I am there. Open your hearts, you spirits, and hear my song.
Stephen Vincent BenetRead
Our fathers and ourselves sowed dragon's teeth. Our children know and suffer the armed men.
Stephen Vincent BenetRead
You can't depend on the kind of folks people think they are - you've got to go by what they do. And I wouldn't give much for a man that some folks hadn't thought was a fool, in his time.
Stephen Vincent BenetRead
Go play with the towns you have built of blocks, The towns where you would have bound me! I sleep in my earth like a tired fox, And my bufdfalo have found me.
Stephen Vincent BenetRead
We can no longer take our own way of life for granted - we know that it may be challenged. And we know this, too - and know it ever more deeply - we know that freedom and democracy are not just big words mouthed by orators but the rain and the wind and the sun, the air and the light by which we breathe and live.
Stephen Vincent BenetRead
Similar quotes
There are many truths of which the full meaning cannot be realized until personal experience has brought it home.
John Stuart MillRead
It's not the problem that causes our suffering; it's our thinking about the problem.
Byron KatieRead
No man can climb out beyond the limitations of his own character.
John MorleyRead
I get one hour, really 25 minutes in a sermon on a weekend, to combat all the hours of the week that people are told you are what you have through billboards, commercials, and sitcoms, and so forth.
Max LucadoRead
Wasting time is worse than death, because death separates you from this world whereas wasting time separates you from Allah
Ibn Qayyim Al-JawziyyaRead
There is so much noise on the Internet, with would-be prophets daily haranguing their audience and megalomaniacs trying to push bizarre ideas, that eventually people will cherish a new commodity: wisdom.
Michio KakuRead