Keep one thing in view forever- the truth; and if you do this, though it may seem to lead you away from the opinion of men, it will assuredly conduct you to the throne of God.
Interpretation
Always prioritize truth, even if it distances you from others' opinions, as it leads to a higher understanding.
Horace Mann emphasizes the importance of truth as a guiding principle in life. He suggests that while the pursuit of truth may cause one to diverge from popular opinion or societal norms, it ultimately leads to a deeper connection with the divine or a more profound understanding of existence. This quote highlights the courage it takes to follow one's convictions and the ultimate rewards of being truthful.
In practice
During a public speech about personal values, one might say, 'As Horace Mann put it, we should keep the truth in view forever.'
Under the Providence of God, our means of education are the grand machinery by which the 'raw material' of human nature can be worked up into inventors and discoverers, into skilled artisans and scientific farmers, into scholars and jurists, into the founders of benevolent institutions, and the great expounders of ethical and theological science.
Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.
There may be frugality which is not economy. A community, that withholds the means of education from its children, withholds the bread of life and starves their souls.
Let us labor for that larger comprehension of truth, and that more thorough repudiation of error, which shall make the history of mankind a series of ascending developments.
Great knowledge is requisite to instruct those who have been well instructed, but still greater knowledge is requisite to instruct those who have been neglected.
Virtue is an angel, but she is a blind one, and must ask Knowledge to show her the pathway that leads to her goal.
So near is falsehood to truth that a wise man would do well not to trust himself on the narrow edge.
Self-control might be as passionate and as active as the surrender to passion.
I am amazed at the seeker of purity _x000D_ When time for polishing comes _x000D_ Complaints of harsh treatment _x000D_ Love is a lawsuit _x000D_ Without evidence, you will not win _x000D_ My son, when one beats the rug The beating is not intended against the rug _x000D_ But against the dust inside the rug _x000D_ My son, that harsh treatment _x000D_ Is not intended against you _x000D_ But against the ill qualities inside you
Ideas not coupled with action never become bigger than the brain cells they occupied.
Intuition is neither a feeling, an inspiration nor a disorderly sympathy but a fully developed method.
Remember this Saying, 'That the good Paymaster is Lord of another Man's Purse.' He that is known to pay punctually and exactly to the Time he promises, may at any Time, and on any Occasion, raise all the Money his Friends can spare.
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