Man makes holy what he believes as he makes beautiful what he loves.
Interpretation
Our beliefs and loves shape our perceptions of holiness and beauty.
This quote by Ernest Renan suggests that individuals have the power to transform their beliefs and passions into sacredness and aesthetic appreciation. It emphasizes the idea that what we hold dear—what we love and believe—defines our understanding of holiness, infusing the mundane with meaning and beauty through our subjective experiences and perspectives.
In practice
In a speech on personal values, one might use this quote to illustrate how our beliefs shape our realities.
None of the miracles with which ancient histories are filled, occurred under scientific conditions. Observation never once contradicted, teaches us that miracles occur only in periods and countries in which they are believed in and before persons disposed to believe in them.
Forgetfulness, and I would even say historical error, are essential in the creation of a nation.
When people complain of life, it is almost always because they have asked impossible things of it.
He whom God has touched will always be a being apart: he is, whatever he may do, a stranger among men; he is marked by a sign.
Let us remember that sorrow alone is the creator of great things.
The talent of historians lies in their creating a true ensemble out of facts which are but half true.
There was never a good war, or a bad peace.
We have peace with God as soon as we believe, but not always with ourselves. The pardon may be past the prince's hand and seal, and yet not put into the prisoner's hand.
Here was what Kilgore Trout cried out to me in my father's voice: "Make me young, make me young, make me young!
As to the fable that there are Antipodes, that is to say, men on the opposite side of the earth where the sun rises when it sets to us, men who walk with their feet opposite ours, that is on no ground credible. Even if some unknown landmass is there, and not just ocean, there was only one pair of original ancestors, and it is inconceivable that such distant regions should have been peopled by Adam's descendants.
Until the courts put a stop to it, public debate over same-sex marriage displayed American democracy at its best. Individuals on both sides of the issue passionately, but respectfully, attempted to persuade their fellow citizens to accept their views.
With some notable exceptions, businessmen favor free enterprise in general but are opposed to it when it comes to themselves.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.