What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child.
George Bernard ShawRead
I have to live for others and not for myself: that's middle-class morality.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that living selflessly is a moral standard of the middle class.
George Bernard Shaw's quote highlights the moral philosophy that emphasizes the importance of altruism and community over individualism. It critiques the idea that one's life should be centered around personal desires, proposing instead that a fulfilled life is achieved through serving others and contributing to the well-being of society, a notion often associated with middle-class values.
Themes
SelflessnessMoralityCommunityAltruismService
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about community service, I used Shaw's quote to emphasize the importance of helping others.
More from George Bernard Shaw
All quotes βMarriage is good enough for the lower classes: they have facilities for desertion that are denied to us.
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Forgive him, for he believes that the customs of his tribe are the laws of nature!
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Those who talk most about the blessings of marriage and the constancy of its vows are the very people who declare that if the chain were broken and the prisoners left free to choose, the whole social fabric would fly asunder. You cannot have the argument both ways. If the prisoner is happy, why lock him in? If he is not, why pretend that he is?
George Bernard ShawRead
Treat a friend as a person who may someday become your enemy; an enemy as a person who may someday become your friend.
George Bernard ShawRead
The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.
George Bernard ShawRead
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