As the clockwork of the millennia moved a notch in front of their eyes, it had taken their thoughts from small things and reminded them of how vulnerable they were to time.
Mark HelprinRead
Though builders may build, in the main they follow the plans of architects. Teachers teach, but they must have a text. Politicians govern, but only upon the flow of commentary that raises them up or casts them down.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that individuals in various professions rely on foundational guidelines and influences that shape their actions and decisions.
Helprin highlights the interconnectedness of roles in society, emphasizing that builders, teachers, and politicians are not entirely autonomous. Instead, they are shaped by plans, texts, and public opinion, which guide their actions and impact their success. This reflects a broader commentary on how individuals are influenced by the structures and ideas around them.
Themes
InfluenceGuidanceStructureRolesSociety
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used during a discussion on the importance of guidance in education.
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You’ll join me sooner than you know in a place with . . . no illusions, where the truth is the only architecture, the only color, the only sound--where that which we sense merely on occasion, and which takes us up and gives us the rare and beautiful glimpses of the things we truly love, flows in deep rivers and tumbles about like clouds in the sky.
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Perhaps things are most beautiful when they are not quite real; when you look upon a scene as an outsider, and come to possess it in its entirety and forever; when you live in the present with the lucidity and feeling of memory; when, for want of connection, the world deepens and becomes art.
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The horse could not do without Manhattan. It drew him like a magnet, like a vacuum, like oats, or a mare, or an open, never-ending, tree-lined road.
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