The deepest quality of a work of art will always be the quality of the mind of the producer...No good novel will ever proceed from a superficial mind.
Henry JamesRead
We care what happens to people only in proportion as we know what people are.
Interpretation
Our concern for others depends on our understanding of who they are.
This quote by Henry James suggests that the degree of our empathy and care for others is directly linked to our knowledge and understanding of their lives and situations. The more we perceive and relate to the experiences of others, the more we are inclined to care about their well-being. It highlights the importance of connection and understanding in fostering compassion in human relationships.
In practice
This quote can be shared during a discussion about empathy in relationships.
The deepest quality of a work of art will always be the quality of the mind of the producer...No good novel will ever proceed from a superficial mind.
What is character but the determination of incident? What is incident but the illustration of character?
Never say you know the last word about any human heart.
I adore adverbs; they are the only qualifications I really much respect.
A swift carriage, of a dark night, rattling with four horses over roads that one canβt see--thatβs my idea of happiness.
Of course what he most intensely dreams of is being taken out on walks, and the more you are able to indulge him the more will he adore you and the more all the latent beauty of his nature will come out.
Some 70% to 80% of all who join the military will return to the civilian workforce. They'll return to communities, and one of the things I've worried about is the increasing disconnect between the American people and our men and women in uniform. We come from fewer and fewer places. We're less than 1% of the population.
I must quit marrying men who feel inferior to me. Somewhere there must be a man who could be my husband and not feel inferior.
He had learned long ago that, in general, the easier it was for anxious patients to reach him, the less likely they were to call. (107)
You're thinking that people don't keep up old jealousies for twenty years or so. Perhaps not. Not just primitive, brute jealousy. That means a word and a blow. But the thing that rankles is hurt vanity. That sticks. Humiliation. And we've all got a sore spot we don't like to have touched.
Sometimes the greatest deterrent to a great marriage is believing you have a perfect marriage.
Word by word, the language of women so often begins with a whisper.
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