Communism needs democracy like the human body needs oxygen.
Leon TrotskyRead
In a serious struggle there is no worse cruelty than to be magnanimous at an inopportune time.
Interpretation
Being generous or noble at the wrong moment can be detrimental.
This quote by Leon Trotsky highlights the importance of timing in our actions, specifically in situations of conflict or struggle. It suggests that showing generosity or kindness when it is not appropriate can lead to negative outcomes, emphasizing that compassion must be tempered with an understanding of the context and timing of our responses.
In practice
In a motivational speech about leadership, one might cite this quote to stress the need for situational awareness.
Communism needs democracy like the human body needs oxygen.
Abusive language and swearing are a legacy of slavery, humiliation, and disrespect for human dignity, oneβs own and that of other people.
In a country where the sole employer is the State, opposition means death by slow starvation. The old principle: who does not work shall not eat, has been replaced by a new one: who does not obey shall not eat.
Man will become immeasurably stronger, wiser, and subtler; his body will become more harmonious, his movements more rhythmic, his voice more musical. The forms of life will become dynamically dramatic. The average human type will rise to the heights of an Aristotle, a Goethe, or a Marx. And above these heights, new peaks will rise.
The masses go into a revolution not with a prepared plan of social reconstruction, but with a sharp feeling that they cannot endure the old regime. Only the guiding layers of a class have a political program, and even this still requires the test of events and the approval of the masses.
History has different yardsticks for the cruelty of the Northerners and the cruelty of the Southerners in the Civil War. A slave-owner who through cunning and violence shackles a slave in chains, and a slave who through cunning or violence breaks the chains β let not the contemptible eunuchs tell us that they are equals before a court of morality!
Facing difficulties is inevitable. Learning from them is optional.
Egolessness is contentment. Egoless, you don't expect anything, and just a small child smiles at you, but it is so beautiful. What else could you need? Suddenly you see a flower and the flower sends its perfume to you. What else could you need? What more could you want? The whole sky goes on filling with stars, the whole life becomes a celebration because now everything is beautiful. Without expectation everything fulfills - just to breathe is enough, just to breathe is such a bliss.
Maybe it's just in America, but it seems that if you're passionate about something, it freaks people out. You're considered bizarre or eccentric. To me, it just means you know who you are.
It's true; life really is generous to those who pursue their destiny
I shall die here. Every last inch of me shall perish. Except one. An inch. It's small and it's fragile and it's the only thing in the world worth having. we must never lose it, or sell it, or give it away. We must never let them take it from us.
I believe in intuition and inspiration...at times I feel certain I am right while not knowing the reason.
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