Thou art a man God is no more Thy own humanity Learn to adore
William BlakeRead
I must create a system, or be enslav'd by another man's.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of self-determination and creating one's own path in life.
William Blake's quote speaks to the necessity of autonomy and personal agency. It suggests that individuals must take responsibility for building their own systems and frameworks in life, rather than relying on others' designs, which may lead to enslavement or loss of freedom. This highlights the importance of creativity, initiative, and self-empowerment in shaping one's destiny.
Themes
AutonomyCreativityFreedomIndividualitySelf-Determination
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about entrepreneurship, one might use this quote to inspire young innovators.
More from William Blake
All quotes βIn seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.
William BlakeRead
O thou who passest through our valleys in Thy strength, curb thy fierce steeds, allay the heat That flames from their large nostrils! Thou, O Summer, Oft pitchest here thy golden tent, and oft Beneath our oaks hast slept, while we beheld With joy thy ruddy limbs and flourishing hair.
William BlakeRead
Every Night and every Morn Some to Misery are born. Every Morn and every Night Some are born to Sweet Delight, Some are born to Endless Night.
William BlakeRead
As the caterpillar chooses the fairest leaves to lay her eggs on, so the priest lays his curse on the fairest joys.
William BlakeRead
He who would do good to another must do it in minute particulars.
William BlakeRead
Similar quotes
there is no shortage of fault to be found amid our stars
John GreenRead
It must be a peace without victory... Victory would mean peace forced upon the loser, a victor's terms imposed upon the vanquished. It would be accepted in humiliation, under duress, at an intolerable sacrifice, and would leave a sting, a resentment, a bitter memory upon which terms of peace would rest, not permanently, but only as upon quicksand. Only a peace between equals can last.
Woodrow WilsonRead
There is no doubt that healthy-mindedness is inadequate as a philosophical doctrine, because the evil facts which it refuses positively to account for are a genuine portion of reality; and they may after all be the best key to life's significance, and possibly the only openers of our eyes to the deepest levels of truth.
William JamesRead
There is a growing movement called effective altruism. It's important because it combines both the heart and the head.
Peter SingerRead
A critique does not consist in saying that things aren't good the way they are. It consists in seeing on just what type of assumptions, of familiar notions, of established and unexamined ways of thinking the accepted practices are based... To do criticism is to make harder those acts which are now too easy.
Michel FoucaultRead
People are looking for something a little more stable; people are feeling like they need to get closer to God.
Dolly PartonRead