Pride is founded not on the sense of happiness, but on the sense of power.
Shall I faint, now that I have poured out the spirit of my mind to the world, and treated many subjects with truth, with freedom, with power, because I have been followed with one cry of abuse ever since for not being a Government tool?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the struggle of expressing one's truth amidst criticism and societal expectations.
In this quotation, William Hazlitt expresses the tension between personal conviction and external judgment. He contemplates the emotional toll of exposing one’s thoughts and truths to the world, especially when faced with backlash for not conforming to the expectations of authority. Hazlitt’s words highlight the challenges of maintaining authenticity and courage despite opposition, emphasizing the value of freedom of expression.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of freedom of speech, one might quote Hazlitt to emphasize the dangers of criticism against honest expression.
More from William Hazlitt
All quotes →The world loves to be amused by hollow professions, to be deceived by flattering appearances, to live in a state of hallucination; and can forgive everything but the plain, downright, simple, honest truth.
Our repugnance to death increases in proportion to our consciousness of having lived in vain.
We can bear to be deprived of everything but our self-conceit.
There are few things in which we deceive ourselves more than in the esteem we profess to entertain for our firends. It is little better than a piece of quackery. The truth is, we think of them as we please, that is, as they please or displease us.
Prosperity is a great teacher; adversity is a greater. Possession pampers the mind; privation trains and strengthens it.
Similar quotes
These things, she felt, were not to be passed around like disingenuous party favors. She kept an honor code with her journals and her poems. 'Inside, inside,' she would whisper quietly to herself when she felt the urge to tell.
It is my belief, that we should not be too sure of having found Christ in ourselves until we have found him also in that part of humanity that is most remote from our own.
The man who believes that the secrets of the world are forever hidden lives in mystery and fear. Superstition will drag him down." -The Judge
Your numbness is something perhaps you cannot help. It is what the world has done to you. But your coldness. That is what you do to the world.
My principle anguish and the source of all my joys and sorrows from my youth onward has been the incessant, merciless battle between the spirit and the flesh.
The government solution to a problem is usually as bad as the problem.