There are many sham diamonds in this life which pass for real, and vice versa.
William Makepeace ThackerayRead
Are not there little chapters in everybody's life, that seem to be nothing, and yet affect all the rest of the history?
Interpretation
Small, seemingly insignificant events can profoundly influence our lives.
In this quote, Thackeray reflects on the nature of life, suggesting that even the most mundane or minor events can have lasting impacts on our personal narratives. These 'little chapters' represent moments that, while not immediately recognized as important, shape our future experiences and the trajectory of our lives.
In practice
This quote can be shared during a graduation speech to emphasize the importance of every experience in shaping one's future.
There are many sham diamonds in this life which pass for real, and vice versa.
There's a great power of imagination about these little creatures, and a creative fancy and belief that is very curious to watch . . . I am sure that horrid matter-of-fact child-rearers . . . do away with the child's most beautiful privilege. I am determined that Anny shall have a very extensive and instructive store of learning in Tom Thumbs, Jack-the-Giant-Killers, etc.
When you look at me, when you think of me, I am in paradise.
And in those varieties of pain of which we spoke anon, what a part of confidante has that poor teapot played ever since the kindly plant was introduced among us! What myriads of women have cried over it, to be sure! What sickbeds it has smoked by! What fevered lips have received refreshment from out of it! Nature meant very gently by women when she made that teaplant; and with a little thought what a series of pictures and groups the fancy may conjure up and assemble round the teapot and cup!
The play is done; the curtain drops,_x000D_ _x000D_ Slow falling to the prompter's bell_x000D_ _x000D_ A moment yet the actor stops_x000D_ _x000D_ And looks around to say farewell.
The moral world has no particular objection to vice, but an insuperable repugnance to hearing vice called by its proper name.
Certain things need to be said if one is to avoid falsifying the problem.
But that night as I drove back to Montreal, I at least discovered this: that there is no simple explanation for anything important any of us do, and that the human tragedy, or the human irony, consists in the necessity of living with the consequences of actions performed under the pressure of compulsions so obscure we do not and cannot understand them.
If the words 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' don't include the right to experiment with your own consciousness, then the Declaration of Independence isn't worth the hemp it was written on.
A monk is a man who considers himself one with all men because he seems constantly to see himself in every man.
Religion is as effectively destroyed by bigotry as by indifference.
Intellectually I know that America is no better than any other country; emotionally I know she is better than every other country.
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