The priest has just baptized you a Christian with water; and I baptize you a Frenchman, daring child, with a dewdrop of champagne on your lips.
Paul ClaudelRead
When man tries to imagine Paradise on earth, the immediate result is a very respectable Hell.
Interpretation
Desiring perfection often leads to the creation of distress and conflict.
This quote suggests that when individuals attempt to envision or create an ideal world, they may inadvertently produce conditions that are contrary to their desires, which can lead to turmoil or suffering. It highlights the complexity of human nature and the paradox that striving for utopia can result in undesirable outcomes, reflecting the challenges of idealism in the real world.
In practice
During a discussion about societal reform, one might say this quote to emphasize the potential unintended consequences of striving for a perfect society.
Sometimes I wonder what it's gonna take to find dignity.
Corliss wondered what happens to a book that sits unread on a library shelf for thirty years. Can a book rightfully be called a book if it never gets read? If a tree falls in a forest and gets pulped to make paper for a book that never gets read, but there's nobody there to read it, does it make a sound?
Behind all their personal vanity, women themselves always have an impersonal contempt for woman.
I don't think you should have to try to be nice, I think most people are nice. I think being cheerful and nice is just a politeness.
If through a broken heart God can bring His purposes to pass in the world, then thank Him for breaking your heart.
You don't need a Harvard MBA to know that the bedroom and the boardroom are just two sides of the same ballgame.
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