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.
I have ever deemed it more honorable and more profitable, too, to set a good example than to follow a bad one.
I'm for the dreamers. The only really important things in history have been started by the dreamers. They never know what can't be done.
Desolation is a file, and the endurance of darkness is preparation for great light.
There are no makeovers in my books. The ugly duckling does not become a beautiful swan. She becomes a confident duck able to take charge of her own life and problems.
You can't change the past, but you can ruin the present by worrying about the future.
The best way to handle responsibility is to break it down into smaller parts. Take care of one small thing at a time.
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