Justice is to be found only in the imagination.
Alfred NobelRead
A recluse without books and ink is already in life a dead man.
Interpretation
Books and knowledge are essential for a fulfilling life; without them, one is lifeless.
In this quote, Alfred Nobel emphasizes the importance of books and the pursuit of knowledge, suggesting that a life devoid of intellectual engagement is akin to being dead. He implies that literature and learning are vital for personal growth and vitality, and that those who isolate themselves from literature and the world of ideas are missing out on the essence of life itself.
In practice
In a speech about the value of education, you might quote Nobel to emphasize the need for literacy.
Justice is to be found only in the imagination.
Second to agriculture, humbug is the biggest industry of our age.
The savants will write excellent volumes. There will be laureates. But wars will continue just the same until the forces of the circumstances render them impossible.
I regard large inherited wealth as a misfortune, which merely serves to dull men's faculties. A man who possesses great wealth should, therefore, allow only a small portion to descend to his relatives. Even if he has children, I consider it a mistake to hand over to them considerable sums of money beyond what is necessary for their education. To do so merely encourages laziness and impedes the healthy development of the individual's capacity to make an independent position for himself.
A heart can no more be forced to love than a stomach can be forced to digest food by persuasion.
I intend to leave after my death a large fund for the promotion of the peace idea, but I am skeptical as to its results.
Education has now become the chief problem of the world, its one holy cause. The nations that see this will survive, and those that fail to do so will slowly perish. . . . There must be re-education of the will and of the heart as well as of the intellect; and the ideals of service must supplant those of selfishness and greed.
To be ignorant of the lives of the most celebrated men of antiquity is to continue in a state of childhood all our days.
If you teach a poor young man to shave himself, and keep his razor in order, you may contribute more to the happiness of his life than in giving him a thousand guineas.
Certain governments are suggesting that bloggers and tweeters aren't 'real' writers and, so, don't merit protection. A writer is anyone from a Nobel laureate to a debut blogger. They all get PEN's attention.
Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that was called cheating. The curriculum sent the clear message to me that learning was a highly individualistic, almost secretive, endeavor. My working class experience...was disparaged.
Knowledge has to be improved, challenged, and increased constantly, or it vanishes.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.