Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame.
Alexander PopeRead
To observations which ourselves we make, we grow more partial for th' observer's sake.
Interpretation
We tend to become biased in our observations due to our personal involvement and perspectives.
This quote by Alexander Pope emphasizes how our personal experiences and positions as observers influence our interpretations of reality. When we make observations, we often allow our biases and emotional connections to color our view, leading us to prioritize our personal stake in the matter above an objective understanding.
In practice
During a discussion about a controversial topic, you might quote this to remind others of the biases that influence their views.
Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame.
What dire offence from am'rous causes springs, What mighty contests rise from trivial things.
Fair tresses man's imperial race ensnare; And beauty draws us with a single hair.
An honest man's the noblest work of God.
One thought of thee puts all the pomp to flight;_x000D_ _x000D_ Priests, tapers, temples, swim before my sight.
Who breaks a butterfly on a wheel?
The practical revolutionary will understand Goethe's 'conscience is the virtue of observers and not of agents of action'; in action, one does not always enjoy the luxury of a decision that is consistent both with one's individual conscience and the good of mankind.
Instead of saying that man is the creature of circumstance, it would be nearer the mark to say that man is the architect of circumstance.
Scriptures were written, not to satisfy our curiosity and make us astronomers, but to lead us to God, and make us saints.
A grocer is attracted to his business by a magnetic force as great as the repulsion which renders it odious to artists.
And therefore in geometry (which is the only science that it hath pleased God hitherto to bestow on mankind), men begin at settling the significations of their words; which settling of significations, they call definitions, and place them in the beginning of their reckoning.
The moon and sun are travelers through eternity. Even the years wander on. Whether drifting through life on a boat or climbing toward old age leading a horse, each day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.
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