Nature smiles at the union of freedom and equality in our utopias. For freedom and equality are sworn and everlasting enemies, and when one prevails the other dies.
Will DurantRead
To give life a meaning, one must have a purpose larger than self.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Finding meaning in life requires a purpose that transcends personal desires.
This quote by Will Durant emphasizes that true fulfillment and meaning in life arise when we dedicate ourselves to causes greater than our individual interests. It suggests that selflessness and a commitment to a larger purpose can enhance our existence, guiding us towards personal growth and a sense of belonging within the larger tapestry of humanity.
Themes
MeaningPurposeSelflessnessLifePhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about community service, one could reference this quote to encourage volunteers.
More from Will Durant
All quotes βThe greatest question of our time is not communism vs. individualism, not Europe vs. America, not even the East vs. the West; it is whether men can bear to live without God.
Will DurantRead
If we have never been amazed by the very fact that we exist, we are squandering the greatest fact of all.
Will DurantRead
Philosophy is harmonized knowledge making a harmonious life; it is the self-discipline which lifts us to serenity and freedom. Knowledge is power, but only wisdom is liberty.
Will DurantRead
If you wish to be loved, be modest; if you wish to be admired, be proud; if you wish both, combine external modesty with internal pride.
Will DurantRead
When liberty destroys order the hunger for order will destroy liberty.
Will DurantRead
Similar quotes
With all their faults, trade unions have done more for humanity than any other organization of men that ever existed. They have done more for decency, for honesty, for education, for the betterment of the race, for the developing of character in men, than any other association of men.
Clarence DarrowRead
If a man thinks he is not conceited, he is very conceited indeed.
C. S. LewisRead
I have no country to fight for; my country is the earth, and I am a citizen of the world.
Eugene V. DebsRead
There is a door. It opens. Then it is closed. But a slip of light stays, like a scrap of unreadable paper left on the floor, or the one red leaf the snow releases in March
Jane HirshfieldRead
What is it the Bible teaches us? -- rapine, cruelty, and murder.
Thomas PaineRead
So much of the language that surrounds us - from things like economics, management theory, and the algorithms built into computer systems - appears to be objective and neutral. But in fact, it is loaded with powerful, and very debatable, political assumptions about how society should work and what human beings are really like.
Adam CurtisRead