It takes a wonderful brain and exquisite senses to produce a few stupid ideas.
George SantayanaRead
A man's feet should be planted in his country, but his eyes should survey the world.
Interpretation
One should be grounded in their roots while remaining open to global perspectives.
This quote by George Santayana emphasizes the balance between being true to one's homeland and traditions, while also encouraging awareness and understanding of the wider world. It suggests that one can have strong national ties yet still be curious, educated, and informed about different cultures and experiences that enrich our understanding of life.
In practice
In a speech about global citizenship, this quote could inspire people to respect their heritage while exploring the world.
It takes a wonderful brain and exquisite senses to produce a few stupid ideas.
The working of great institutions is mainly the result of a vast mass of routine, petty malice, self interest, carelessness and sheer mistake. Only a residual fraction is thought.
There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval. The dark background which death supplies brings out the tender colours of life in all their purity.
Not to believe in love is a great sign of dullness. There are some people so indirect and lumbering that they think all real affection rests on circumstantial evidence.
To feel beauty is a better thing than to understand how we come to feel it. To have imagination and taste, to love the best, to be carried by the contemplation of nature to a vivid faith in the ideal, all this is more, a great deal more, than any science can hope to be.
The vital straining towards an ideal, definite but latent, when it dominates a whole life, may express that ideal more fully than could the best chosen words.
I don't believe we have a professional self from Mondays through Fridays and a real self for the rest of the time.
The past is whatever the records and the memories agree upon.
Direct action is the logical, consistent method of Anarchism.
Taking the kids from our districts, forcing them to kill one another while we watch – this is the Capitol’s way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy. How little chance we would stand of surviving another rebellion. Whatever words they use, the real message is clear. “Look how we take your children and sacrifice them and there’s nothing you can do. If you lift a finger, we will destroy every last one of you. Just as we did in District Thirteen
In the magical universe there are no coincidences and there are no accidents. Nothing happens unless someone wills it to happen. The dogma of science is that the will cannot possibly affect external forces, and I think that’s just ridiculous. It’s as bad as the church. My viewpoint is the exact contrary of the scientific viewpoint. I believe that if you run into somebody in the street it’s for a reason.
It is possibly not very helpful to our inner life to ponder a great deal on how the external world is reflected in our soul. By doing so, we do not get beyond a shadowy picture of the world of mental images in ourselves.
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