I have always been of the mind that in a democracy manners are the only effective weapons against the bowie-knife.
James Russell LowellRead
The soil out of which such men as he are made is good to be born on, good to live on, good to die for and to be buried in.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The speaker emphasizes the value of a good homeland and the positive qualities it instills in its people.
This quote reflects the deep connection between an individual's identity and their homeland. It suggests that a truly good place not only nurtures its inhabitants during their lives but also cultivates virtues worth living, fighting, and dying for, highlighting the sacred bond between one's roots and their sense of self and duty.
Themes
HomelandIdentityVirtueLifeDuty
In practice
Example use cases
A speaker at a community event discussing the importance of a supportive environment.
More from James Russell Lowell
All quotes βThe foolish and the dead alone never change their opinions.
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Not failure, but low aim, is crime.
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Good luck is the willing handmaid of upright, energetic character, and conscientious observance of duty.
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Puritanism, believing itself quick with the seed of religious liberty, laid, without knowing it, the egg of democracy.
James Russell LowellRead
Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind.
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One-third to one-half of humanity are said to go to bed hungry every night. In the Old Stone Age the fraction must have been much smaller. This is the era of hunger unprecedented. Now, in the time of the greatest technical power, is starvation an institution. Reverse another venerable formula: the amount of hunger increases relatively and absolutely with the evolution of culture.
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If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.
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Mysticism and exaggeration go together. A mystic must not fear ridicule if he is to push all the way to the limits of humility or the limits of delight.
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In the life of the human spirit, words are action, much more so than many of us realize who live in countries where freedom of expression is taken for granted. The leaders of totalitarian nations understand this very well. The proof is that words are precisely the action for which dissidents in those countries are being persecuted.
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