Love built on beauty, soon as beauty, dies.
John DonneRead
If I lose at play, I blaspheme; if my fellow loses, he blasphemes. So, God is always the loser.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on human nature and perspective in both winning and losing, suggesting that we often blame higher powers for our misfortunes.
John Donne's quote explores the idea that in the context of games or competitions, individuals often project their frustrations and disappointments onto a divine figure, ultimately suggesting that God bears the burden of humanity's losses. It highlights a deep philosophical reflection on the nature of blame and the human inclination to seek meaning or fault in external forces, especially when faced with failure or defeat.
In practice
In a discussion about competition and personal failure.
Love built on beauty, soon as beauty, dies.
Reason is our soul's left hand, Faith her right, By these we reach divinity
All occasions invite His mercies, and all times are His seasons.
If poisonous minerals, and if that tree, Whose fruit threw death on else immortal us, If lecherous goats, if serpents envious Cannot be damned; alas; why should I be?
Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
I call not that virginity a virtue, which resideth onely in the bodies integrity; much less if it be with a purpose of perpetually keeping it: for then it is a most inhumane vice. - But I call that Virginity a virtue which is willing and desirous to yield it self upon honest and lawfull terms, when just reason requireth; and until then, is kept with a modest chastity of body and mind.
I consider the official Catholic attitude on divorce, birth control, and censorship exceedingly dangerous to mankind.
I look at anything in nature and how things work - the stars, the pyramids - and I can't imagine that there's not some kind of design to it all. There's got to be something big that we don't understand. I do believe in Jesus. I believe in being good to one another. Life is about spending our time here contributing and not taking away. That's my faith.
A global human society, characterised by islands of wealth, surrounded by a sea of poverty, is unsustainable
Boredom is just the reverse side of fascination: both depend on being outside rather than inside a situation, and one leads to the other.
We may, perhaps, imagine that the creation was finished long ago. But that would be quite wrong. It continues still more magnificently, and at the highest levels of the world.
O Lord, you have been our refuge in all generations.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.