Women have been called queens for a long time, but the kingdom given them isn't worth ruling.
Louisa May AlcottRead
The scar will remain, but it is better for a man to lose both arms than his soul; and these hard years, instead of being lost, may be made the most precious of your lives, if they teach you to rule yourselves.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Outer scars may fade, but the integrity of one's soul is paramount, and difficult experiences can lead to profound personal growth.
This quote emphasizes the importance of inner strength and self-control over physical capabilities or injuries. It suggests that while external wounds may heal over time, the integrity of one's soul is irreplaceable and should not be sacrificed. The hardships we face can serve as valuable lessons that contribute to our personal development, encouraging us to gain mastery over our emotions and actions.
Themes
ScarSoulHardshipGrowthSelf-Control
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about overcoming adversity, one might use this quote to inspire resilience.
More from Louisa May Alcott
All quotes →You have grown abominably lazy, and you like gossip, and waste time on frivolous things, you are contented to be petted and admired by silly people, instead of being loved and respected by wise ones.
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"Stay" is a charming word in a friend's vocabulary.
Louisa May AlcottRead
... swept into the giddy vortex which keeps so many young people revolving aimlessly, till they go down or are cast upon the shore, wrecks of what they might have been
Louisa May AlcottRead
Simple, genuine goodness is the best capital to found the business of this life upon. It lasts when fame and money fail, and is the only riches we can take out of this world with us.
Louisa May AlcottRead
It takes two flints to make a fire.
Louisa May AlcottRead
Similar quotes
I have great respect for the past. If you don't know where you've come from, you don't know where you're going. I have respect for the past, but I'm a person of the moment. I'm here, and I do my best to be completely centered at the place I'm at, then I go forward to the next place.
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I laugh at those who think they can damage me. They do not know who I am, they do not know what I think, they cannot even touch the things which are really mine and with which I live.
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Only when we accept and forgive all that is or has been the good, the bad, and the ugly of our human lives can we get off the guilt trip and back into the flow. That means we must love our humanness and all of our failings; we must accept, learn from, and yes, even love our mistakes.
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Learning not to crumple before these uncertainties fuels my resolve to print myself upon the texture of each day fully rather than forever.
Audre LordeRead
Never sit at a table you can’t walk away from.
Joss WhedonRead
Avoid a sugared gospel as you would shun sugar of lead. Seek the gospel which rips up and tears and cuts and wounds and hacks and even kills, for that is the gospel that makes alive again. And when you have found it, give good heed to it. Let it enter into your inmost being. As the rain soaks into the ground, so pray the Lord to let his gospel soak into your soul.
Charles SpurgeonRead