Endurance is nobler than strength, and patience than beauty.
John RuskinRead
You talk of the scythe of Time, and the tooth of Time: I tell you, Time is scytheless and toothless; it is we who gnaw like the worm - we who smite like the scythe. It is ourselves who abolish - ourselves who consume: we are the mildew, and the flame.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Time is not the enemy; our own actions and choices determine our fate.
This quote by John Ruskin emphasizes that time is not inherently destructive; rather, it is our own behaviors and decisions that lead to deterioration and change. By comparing ourselves to a worm and a scythe, Ruskin suggests that we are the agents of our own consumption and transformation, emphasizing personal responsibility in the passage of time and our existence.
Themes
TimeSelfResponsibilityChangeExistence
In practice
Example use cases
A speaker at a personal development seminar could use this quote to highlight the importance of self-awareness.
More from John Ruskin
All quotes →In health of mind and body, men should see with their own eyes, hear and speak without trumpets, walk on their feet, not on wheels, and work and war with their arms, not with engine-beams, nor rifles warranted to kill twenty men at a shot before you can see them.
John RuskinRead
To be able to ask a question clearly is two-thirds of the way to getting it answered.
John RuskinRead
See that your children be taught, not only the labors of the earth, but the loveliness of it.
John RuskinRead
A little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money.
John RuskinRead
When men do not love their hearth, nor reverence their thresholds, it is a sign that they have dishonoured both ... Our God is a house-hold God, as well as a heavenly one; He has an altar in every man's dwelling.
John RuskinRead
Similar quotes
I cannot fail to note once again that the poor constitute the modern challenge, especially for the well-off of our planet, where millions of people live in inhuman conditions and many are literally dying of hunger. It is not possible to announce God the Father to these brothers and sisters without taking on the responsibility of building a more just society in the name of Christ.
Pope John Paul IiRead
A truly religious man does not embrace a religion; and he who embraces one has no religion.
Khalil GibranRead
Our passions do not live apart in locked chambers but dress in their small wardrobe of notions, bring their provisions to a common table and mess together, feeding out of the common store according to their appetite.
George EliotRead
I have read descriptions of Paradise that would make any sensible person stop wanting to go there.
MontesquieuRead
When we passed a Catholic church, I recalled, he said, "You think your dad's a good chemist? They're turning soda crackers into meat in there. Can your dad do that?
Kurt VonnegutRead
Go anywhere in England where there are natural wholesome, contented and really nice English people; and what do you find? That the stables are the real centre of the household.
George Bernard ShawRead