The comic spirit is given to us in order that we may analyze, weigh, and clarify things in us which nettle us, or which we are outgrowing, or trying to reshape
Thornton WilderRead
Seek the lofty by reading, hearing and seeing great work at some moment every day.
Interpretation
Engage with great art and literature daily to elevate your mind and spirit.
Thornton Wilder emphasizes the importance of exposing oneself to quality literature, art, and experiences as a means to enrich one's mind and elevate one's aspirations. By committing to daily engagement with the great works of human creativity, individuals can cultivate a sense of purpose and ambition that leads to personal growth and fulfillment.
In practice
In a speech about personal development, one might say, 'As Thornton Wilder wisely put it, 'Seek the lofty by reading, hearing and seeing great work at some moment every day.'
The comic spirit is given to us in order that we may analyze, weigh, and clarify things in us which nettle us, or which we are outgrowing, or trying to reshape
A man looks pretty small at a wedding, George. All those good women standing shoulder to shoulder, making sure that the knot's tied in a mighty public way.
Good-by, Good-by, world. Good-by, Grover's Corners... Mama and Papa. Good-by to clocks ticking... and Mama's sunflowers. And food and coffee. And new-ironed dresses and hot baths...and sleeping and waking up. Oh, earth, you're too wonderful for anybody to realize you.
When you're safe at home you wish you were having an adventure; when you're having an adventure you wish you were safe at home.
Many great writers have been extraordinarily awkward in daily exchange, but the greatest give the impression that their style was nursed by the closest attention to colloquial speech.
I want you to try and remember what it was like to have been very young. And particularly the days when you were first in love; when you were like a person sleepwalking, and you didn’t quite see the street you were in, and didn’t quite hear everything that was said to you. You’re just a little bit crazy. Will you remember that, please?
As Bromberger observed, rules are understood to be elements of the computational systems that determine the sound and meaning of the infinite array of expressions of a language; the information so derived is accessed by other systems in language use.
The colleges, while they provide us with libraries, furnish no professors of books; and I think no chair is so much needed.
Child development: Most damaging course of action is attempting to keep children from experience or protect them from pain, for it is this time that children learn that life is a magic thing, if "not a rose garden." The parent's role is primarily to stand by with a good supply of band-aids.
If the truth is told, the youth can grow.
I read. I order books from the States. I literally go into bookstores, close my eyes, and take things off the shelf. If I don't like the book after a bit, I don't finish it. But I like to be surprised.
We must therefore turn to the child as to the key to the fate of our future life.
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