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No man ever yet thought whether he was preaching well without weakening his sermon.
Phillips Brooks
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote suggests that overthinking can distract from delivering a good message.

Phillips Brooks emphasizes that when individuals focus too much on how they are being perceived while conveying their thoughts, it detracts from the quality and strength of the message itself. The idea is that self-consciousness can undermine effectiveness, and true communication should prioritize the content over the delivery concerns.

Themes

PreachingCommunicationSelf-ConsciousnessMessageEffectiveness

In practice

Example use cases

A teacher could use this quote to encourage students to focus on the material rather than their performance.

More from Phillips Brooks

The earth has grown old with its burden of care, But at Christmas it always is young.
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We never become truly spiritual by sitting down and wishing to become so. You must undertake something so great that you cannot accomplish it unaided.
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The truest help we can render an afflicted man is not to take his burden from him, but to call out his best energy, that he may be able to bear the burden.
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To believe in the God over us and around us and not in the God within us - that would be a powerless and fruitless faith.
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To say, 'well done' to any bit of good work is to take hold of the powers which have made the effort and strengthen them beyond our knowledge.
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Think of life as a voyage. The truest liver of the truest life is like a voyager who, as he sails, is not indifferent to all the beauty of the sea around him.
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