When the freedom they wished for most was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free and was never free again.
Edith HamiltonRead
The power of good is shown not by triumphantly conquering evil, but by continuing to resist evil while facing certain defeat.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True strength lies in the persistent fight against evil, even in the face of inevitable failure.
This quote by Edith Hamilton emphasizes that true goodness is not just about defeating evil but about the courage to stand up against it, even when the outcome seems bleak. It suggests that the moral character of individuals is revealed through their ability to persist in resisting wrongdoing, regardless of the probability of success.
Themes
GoodnessEvilCourageResistanceDefeat
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about standing up for what is right, one might quote Hamilton to inspire others to resist injustice.
More from Edith Hamilton
All quotes βTheories that go counter to the facts of human nature are foredoomed.
Edith HamiltonRead
To rejoice in life, to find the world beautiful ... was a mark of the Greek spirit.
Edith HamiltonRead
Responsibility is the price every man must pay for freedom.
Edith HamiltonRead
So far, we do not seem appalled at the prospect of exactly the same kind of education being applied to all the school children from the Atlantic to the Pacific, but there is an uneasiness in the air, a realization that the individual is growing less easy to find; an idea, perhaps, of what standardization might become when the units are not machines, but human beings.
Edith HamiltonRead
Pain is the most individualized thing on earth. It is true that it is the great common bond as well, but that realization only comes when it is over. To suffer is to be alone. To watch another suffer is to know the barrier that shuts each of us away by himself Only individuals can suffer.
Edith HamiltonRead
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