Man is able, and has the duty, to reach the furthest point on the road he has chosen. Only by means of hope can we attain what is beyond hope.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of human agency and hope in pursuing one's goals.
Nikos Kazantzakis suggests that humans have both the capability and responsibility to strive towards their chosen path. The idea that hope is essential in achieving our aspirations beyond what we currently see implies that it acts as a guiding force that enables us to pursue lofty goals, pushing the boundaries of what we believe is possible.
In practice
This quote can be used in a motivational speech about pursuing dreams.
A weak soul does not have the endurance to resist the flesh for very long. It grows heavy, becomes flesh itself, and the contest ends. But among responsible men, men who keep their eyes riveted day and night upon the Supreme Duty, the conflict between flesh and spirit breaks out mercilessly and may last until death.
This, I thought, is how great visionaries and poets see everything- as if for the first time. Each morning they see a new world before their eyes; they do not really see it, they create it.
What happiness this is: to fly, skimming over the earth just as we do in our dreams! Life has become a dream. Can this be the meaning of paradise?
I collect my tools: sight, smell, touch, taste, hearing, intellect. Night has fallen.
The dual substance of Christ - the yearning, so human, so superhuman, of man to attain God. [...] has always been a deep inscrutable mystery to me. [...] My principle anguish and source of all my joys and sorrows from my youth onward has been the incessant, merciless battle between the spirit and the flesh. [...] And my soul is the arena where these two armies have clashed and met.
I fight to embrace the entire circle of human activity to the full extent of my ability.
You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.
All the great speakers were bad speakers at first.
What appears to be the end of the road may simply be a bend in the road.
Perhaps the very best question that you can memorize and repeat, over and over, is, 'what is the most valuable use of my time right now?'
Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great.
The most important thing to remember is that you can wear all the greatest clothes and all the greatest shoes, but you’ve got to have a good spirit on the inside. That’s what’s really going to make you look like you’re ready to rock the world.
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