The bad man desires arbitrary power. What moves the evil man is the love of injustice.
John RawlsRead
The perspective of eternity is not a perspective from a certain place beyond the world, nor the point of view of a transcendent being; rather it is a certain form of thought and feeling that rational persons can adopt within the world ... Purity of heart, if one could attain it, would be to see clearly and to act with grace and self-command from this point of view.
Interpretation
Eternity can be understood as a mindset that allows clear perception and graceful actions within our world.
In this quote, John Rawls suggests that the perspective of eternity is not about reaching a distant, divine viewpoint but rather about cultivating a way of thinking and feeling that enables individuals to navigate life with clarity and grace. Attaining a 'purity of heart' means seeing the world without bias and acting with integrity, reflecting a deep understanding and rationality grounded in our earthly existence.
In practice
In a speech about mindfulness and perspective in challenging times.
The bad man desires arbitrary power. What moves the evil man is the love of injustice.
Justice is the first virtue of social institutions.
The principles of justice are chosen behind a veil of ignorance.
The naturally advantaged are not to gain merely because they are more gifted, but only to cover the costs of training and education and for using their endowments in ways that help the less fortunate as well.
The natural distribution is neither just nor unjust; nor is it unjust that persons are born into society at some particular position. These are simply natural facts. What is just and unjust is the way that institutions deal with these facts.
Many of our most serious conflicts are conflicts within ourselves. Those who suppose their judgements are always consistent are unreflective or dogmatic.
Honor and shame from no condition rise. Act well your part: there all the honor lies.
Scientific truth is always paradox, if judged by everyday experience, which catches only the delusive appearance of things.
The heart of a Christian, like the moon, commonly suffers an eclipse when it is at the full, and that by the interposition of the earth.
It 's no fish ye 're buying, it 's men's lives.
The Holocaust teaches us that nature, even in its cruelest moments, is benign in comparison with man when he loses his moral compass and his reason.
The Pacific no longer represents menacing avenues of approach for a prospective invader. It assumes, instead, the friendly aspect of a peaceful lake. Our line of defense is a natural one and can be maintained with a minimum of military effort and expense.
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