I saw within Its depth how It conceives_x000D_ _x000D_ All things in a single volume bound by Love_x000D_ _x000D_ of which the universe is the scattered leaves.
Dante AlighieriRead
Mankind is at its best when it is most free. This will be clear if we grasp the principle of liberty. We must recall that the basic principle is freedom of choice, which saying many have on their lips but few in their minds.
Interpretation
True human flourishing occurs when individuals have the freedom to make their own choices.
This quote emphasizes the importance of liberty and personal choice in achieving the best of humanity. Dante Alighieri points out that while people often speak of freedom, few genuinely understand its significance, suggesting that true freedom allows for personal growth, responsibility, and the exercise of one’s will, leading to a better society.
In practice
In a speech about democracy, one might quote Dante to highlight the importance of individual freedom.
I saw within Its depth how It conceives_x000D_ _x000D_ All things in a single volume bound by Love_x000D_ _x000D_ of which the universe is the scattered leaves.
Before me things created were none, save things Eternal, and eternal I endure. All hope abandon, ye who enter here.
The customs and fashions of men change like leaves on the bough, some of which go and others come.
Heaven wheels above you, displaying to you her eternal glories, and still your eyes are on the ground.
Pride, envy, avarice - these are the sparks have set on fire the hearts of all men.
Thus you may understand that love alone is the true seed of every merit in you, and of all acts for which you must atone.
Human kind is made up of two sexes, women and men. Is it possible that a mass is improved by the improvement of only one part and the other part is ignored? Is it possible that if half of a mass is tied to earth with chains and the other half can soar into skies?
I know that's the sort of thing people say and I really hate it when people say the sort of things people say. I always think, 'You don't mean that, you just think it sounds good.
We've been deceived by the thought that we would be more pleasing to God in our own way than in the way God has given us.
I am in fact, a hobbit in all but size
We grow tyrannical fighting tyranny. . . . The most alarming spectacle today is not the spectacle of the atomic bomb in an unfederated world, it is the spectacle of the Americans beginning to accept the device of loyalty oaths and witch hunts, beginning to call anybody they don't like a Communist.
The street finds its own uses for things.
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