But perhaps when you were too obedient, and did not do openly what others did, and were quiet in church and hard-working at school, then some unknown rebellion brewed in you, doing harm to you, though how I do not understand.
Interpretation
Obedience can sometimes stifle personal expression and lead to inner conflict.
In this quote, Alan Paton reflects on the consequences of extreme obedience and conformity. While being diligent and respectful in environments like school and church is often valued, the quote suggests that suppressing one's true feelings and desires can ferment internal rebellion, causing harm and confusion to the individual. The tension between societal expectations and personal authenticity is highlighted, emphasizing the need for balance.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about educational environments and the importance of self-expression.
Cry, the beloved country, for the unborn child that's the inheritor of our fear. Let him not love the earth too deeply. Let him not laugh too gladly when the water runs through his fingers, nor stand too silent when the setting sun makes red the veld with fire. Let him not be too moved when the birds of his land are singing. Nor give too much of his heart to a mountain or a valley. For fear will rob him if he gives too much.
Ask yourself not if this or that is expedient, but if it is right.
One day in Johannesburg, and already the tribe was being rebuilt, the house and soul being restored.
What broke in a man when he could bring himself to kill another? What broke when he could bring himself to thrust down the knife into the warm flesh, to bring down the axe on the living head, to cleave down between the seeing eyes, to shoot the gun that would drive death into the beating heart?
It is not permissible to add to one's possesions if these things can only be done at the cost of other men. Such development has only one true name, and that is exploitation.
If you wrote a novel in South Africa which didn't concern the central issues, it wouldn't be worth publishing.
The more you know yourself, the more clarity there is. Self-knowledge has no end - you don't come to an achievement, you don't come to a conclusion. It is an endless river.
At fifteen, my mind was bent on learning._x000D_ _x000D_ At thirty, I stood firm._x000D_ _x000D_ At forty, I had no doubts._x000D_ _x000D_ At fifty, I knew the decrees of Heaven._x000D_ _x000D_ At sixty, my ear was receptive to truth._x000D_ _x000D_ At seventy, I could follow my heart's desires without sin.
In difficult times carry something beautiful in your heart.
To be unafraid of the judgement of others is the greatest freedom you can have.
People of genius do not excel in any profession because they work in it, they work in it because they excel.
Every man must have the right fearlessly to think independently and express his opinion about what he knows, what he has personally thought about and experienced, and not merely to express with slightly different variations the opinion which has been inculcated in him.
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