The true secret of giving advice is, after you have honestly given it, to be perfectly indifferent whether it is taken or not, and never persist in trying to set people right.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
Laws are not masters but servants, and he rules them who obey them.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Laws serve to guide society and should be obeyed to ensure order and freedom.
This quote emphasizes the idea that laws should be considered tools for the benefit of society rather than authoritative entities. It suggests that true power lies in the hands of those who respect and follow the laws, as they enable a functioning and just society. Instead of viewing laws as oppressive masters, they are meant to serve the people, and it is the responsibility of individuals to adhere to them to maintain order and justice.
Themes
LawsFreedomOrderObedienceSociety
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about civil disobedience, this quote can signify the importance of respecting laws in a democracy.
More from Henry Ward Beecher
All quotes βA man who cannot get angry is like a stream that cannot overflow, that is always turbid. Sometimes indignation is as good as a thunderstorm in summer, clearing and cooling the air.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
No one can deal with the hearts of men unless he has the sympathy which is given by love.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
We are always on the anvil; by trials God is shaping us for higher things.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
No man can tell if he is rich or poor by turning to his ledger. It is the heart that makes a man rich. He is rich according to what he is, not according to what he has.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
There are joys which long to be ours. God sends ten thousands truths, which come about us like birds seeking inlet; but we are shut up to them, and so they bring us nothing, but sit and sing awhile upon the roof, and then fly away.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
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They were indeed what was known as 'old money', which meant that it had been made so long ago that the black deeds which had originally filled the coffers were now historically irrelevant. Funny, that: a brigand for a father was something you kept quiet about, but a slave-taking pirate for a great-great-great-grandfather was something to boast of over the port. Time turned the evil bastards into rogues, and rogue was a word with a twinkle in its eye and nothing to be ashamed of.
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