Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame.
Alexander PopeRead
Awake, my St. John! leave all meaner things To low ambition and the pride of kings. Let us (since life can little more supply Than just to look about us, and to die) Expatiate free o'er all this scene of man; A mighty maze! but not without a plan.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote encourages a deeper reflection on life beyond superficial ambitions and recognizes a greater purpose.
In this quote, Alexander Pope calls upon St. John to rise above trivial pursuits and societal ambitions that are fueled by pride. He suggests that life offers limited opportunities, primarily consisting of existence and mortality, yet within this complexity, there is an overarching design or purpose to the human experience—implying that life, though intricate like a maze, is not devoid of meaning or direction.
Themes
LifePurposeReflectionPhilosophyExistence
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about finding purpose in life.
More from Alexander Pope
All quotes →What dire offence from am'rous causes springs, What mighty contests rise from trivial things.
Alexander PopeRead
Fair tresses man's imperial race ensnare; And beauty draws us with a single hair.
Alexander PopeRead
An honest man's the noblest work of God.
Alexander PopeRead
One thought of thee puts all the pomp to flight;_x000D_ _x000D_ Priests, tapers, temples, swim before my sight.
Alexander PopeRead
Who breaks a butterfly on a wheel?
Alexander PopeRead
Similar quotes
The furnace of affliction produces refinement, in states as well as individuals.
John AdamsRead
Are we not all of us fanatics? I say only what you of the U.S.A. pretend you do not know. Attachments are of great seriousness. Choose your attachments carefully. Choose your temple of fanaticism with great care. What you wish to sing of as tragic love is an attachment not carefully chosen. Die for one person? This is a craziness. Persons change, leave, die, become ill. They leave, lie, go mad, have sickness, betray you, die. Your nation outlives you. A cause outlives you.
David Foster WallaceRead
I wasn't just the madwoman in the attic--I was the attic itself. The past was all over me, all under me, all inside me.
Elizabeth WurtzelRead
If the militarily most powerful and least threatened states need nuclear weapons for their security, how can one deny such security to countries that are truly insecure? The present nuclear policy is a recipe for proliferation. It is a policy for disaster.
Joseph RotblatRead
Sameness is the mother of disgust, variety the cure.
PetrarchRead
You run and you run to catch up to the sun but it's sinking, racing around to come up behind you again.
Roger WatersRead