To the generous mind the heaviest debt is that of gratitude, when it is not in our power to repay it.
Benjamin FranklinRead
The madness of mobs or the insolence of soldiers, or both, when too near to each other, occasion some mischief.
Interpretation
Mob mentality and militaristic pride can lead to chaos and harm when they converge.
This quote by Benjamin Franklin highlights the dangers that arise when two powerful forces, such as a collective group acting irrationally (the madness of mobs) and individuals bearing authority and aggression (the insolence of soldiers), come into close proximity. Their interaction can incite turmoil and various forms of mischief, suggesting that unchecked emotions and power can lead to destructive outcomes in society.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about social movements and the influence of crowd behavior.
To the generous mind the heaviest debt is that of gratitude, when it is not in our power to repay it.
He'll cheat without scruple, who can without fear.
[E]very Man who comes among us, and takes up a piece of Land, becomes a Citizen, and by our Constitution has a Voice in Elections, and a share in the Government of the Country.
Our Constitution is in actual operation; everything appears to promise that it will last; but in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.
Let honesty and industry be thy constant companions, and spend one penny less than thy clear gains; then shall thy pocket begin to thrive; creditors will not insult, nor want oppress, nor hungerness bite, nor nakedness freeze thee
I think that a young state, like a young virgin, should modestly stay at home, and wait the application of suitors for an alliance with her; and not run about offering her amity to all the world; and hazarding their refusal. Our virgin is a jolly one; and tho at present not very rich, will in time be a great fortune, and where she has a favorable predisposition, it seems to me well worth cultivating.
Ahimsa is the highest duty. Even if we cannot practice it in full, we must try to understand its spirit and refrain as far as is humanly possible from violence.
We are the products of editing, rather than of authorship.
Our science, so called, is always more barren and mixed with error than our sympathies.
I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to condone any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, and in my way of life. We cannot support any act of killing; no killing can be justified. But not to kill is not enough ... If in your thinking you allow the killing to go on, you also break this precept. We must be determined not to condone killing, even in our minds.
On some other world, possibly it is different. Better. There are clear good and evil alternatives. Not these obscure admixtures, these blends, with no proper tool by which to untangle the components.
At physical death man loses his consciousness of the flesh and becomes conscious of his astral body in the astral world. Thus physical death is astral birth. Later, he passes from the consciousness of luminous astral birth to the consciousness of dark astral death and awakens in a new physical body. Thus astral death is physical birth. These recurrent cycles of physical and astral encasements are the ineluctable destiny of all unenlightened men.
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