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It is a law of our humanity, that man must know both good and evil; he must know good through evil. There never was a principle but what triumphed through much evil; no man ever progressed to greatness and goodness but through great mistakes.
Frederick William Robertson
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Understanding the duality of good and evil is essential for human growth and development.

This quote by Frederick William Robertson emphasizes that knowledge and understanding of both good and evil are integral aspects of being human. It suggests that the journey toward greatness and goodness is often accompanied by mistakes and challenges, implying that personal growth is achieved through the struggles and the lessons learned from our failures.

Themes

HumanityGoodEvilMistakesGrowthGreatness

In practice

Example use cases

In a motivational speech about learning from failures.

More from Frederick William Robertson

To turn water into wine, and what is common into what is holy, is indeed the glory of Christianity.
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The one who will be found in trial capable of great acts of love is ever the one who is always doing considerate small ones.
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No one can be great, or good, or happy except through the inward efforts of themselves.
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In these two things the greatness of man consists, to have God dwelling in us as to impart His character to us, and to have Him dwelling in us, that we recognize His presence, and know that we are His, and He is ours. The one is salvation; the other, the assurance of it.
Frederick William RobertsonRead
The office of poetry is not to make us think accurately, but feel truly.
Frederick William RobertsonRead
There are three things in the world that deserve no mercy, hypocrisy, fraud, and tyranny.
Frederick William RobertsonRead

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