Endurance is nobler than strength, and patience than beauty.
John RuskinRead
No one can ask honestly or hopefully to be delivered from temptation unless he has himself honestly and firmly determined to do the best he can to keep out of it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
To seek freedom from temptation, one must first commit to avoiding it with sincerity and determination.
This quote by John Ruskin emphasizes that genuine desire for deliverance from temptation requires personal responsibility and a proactive effort to stay away from it. Only by firmly deciding to act in ways that avoid temptation can one truly hope to overcome it, signifying the importance of self-awareness and intentional behavior in moral and ethical conduct.
Themes
TemptationCommitmentResponsibilitySelf-ControlIntention
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational talk about personal growth, you might reference this quote to highlight the importance of making conscious choices.
More from John Ruskin
All quotes →In health of mind and body, men should see with their own eyes, hear and speak without trumpets, walk on their feet, not on wheels, and work and war with their arms, not with engine-beams, nor rifles warranted to kill twenty men at a shot before you can see them.
John RuskinRead
You talk of the scythe of Time, and the tooth of Time: I tell you, Time is scytheless and toothless; it is we who gnaw like the worm - we who smite like the scythe. It is ourselves who abolish - ourselves who consume: we are the mildew, and the flame.
John RuskinRead
To be able to ask a question clearly is two-thirds of the way to getting it answered.
John RuskinRead
See that your children be taught, not only the labors of the earth, but the loveliness of it.
John RuskinRead
A little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money.
John RuskinRead
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