though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till.
Interpretation
Success and fulfillment come through hard work and effort in our personal endeavors.
This quote suggests that while there is goodness and potential in the world around us, individual success is dependent on the dedicated work we put into our own lives and responsibilities. It emphasizes the importance of personal effort—the 'toil'—in reaping rewards, which are symbolized by the 'kernel of nourishing corn'.
In practice
During a graduation speech to inspire students about their futures.
It is plain that there is no separate essence called courage, no cup or cell in the brain, no vessel in the heart containing drops or atoms that make or give this virtue; but it is the right or healthy state of every man, when he is free to do that which is constitutional to him to do.
Few people have any next, they live from hand to mouth without a plan, and are always at the end of their line.
Men cease to interest us when we find their limitations
Tis the good reader that makes the good book; a good head cannot read amiss: in every book he finds passages which seem confidences or asides hidden from all else and unmistakeably meant for his ear.
The world belongs to the energetic.
Hast thou named all the birds without a gun?
There is no true joy in a life lived closed up in the little shell of the self. When you take one step to reach out to people, when you meet with others and share their thoughts and sufferings, infinite compassion and wisdom well up within your heart. Your life is transformed.
Do not grieve over any joy that has gone forever, for it will return to you in another form, know that for sure.
You don't have to preach honesty to men with creative purpose. Let a human being throw the engines of his soul into the making of something, and the instinct of workmanship will take care of his honesty.
if i have gained anything over these months, it is the knowledge there is no starting over - only living with the mistakes you've made. but then, caleb taught me long ago you can't build anything without some sort of foundation. maybe we learn to live our lives by understanding, firsthand, how not to live them.
We are always on the anvil; by trials God is shaping us for higher things.
Primum non nocerum. (First do no harm)
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