A system of morality that is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception that has nothing sound in it and nothing true.
SocratesRead
True perfection is a bold quest to seek. Only the willing and true of heart will seek the betterment of many.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True perfection involves striving for improvement that benefits others, requiring courage and sincerity.
This quote from Socrates highlights the idea that perfection is not just about achieving personal excellence, but rather it is a noble pursuit that prioritizes the welfare of others. It suggests that genuine seekers of perfection do so with a courageous heart and a sincere intention to uplift and enhance the lives of those around them, underscoring the importance of altruism in the journey towards greatness.
Themes
PerfectionQuestBettermentServiceHeartAltruism
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a motivational speech about personal and community development.
More from Socrates
All quotes βThe poets are only the interpreters of the gods.
SocratesRead
I am wiser than this man, for neither of us appears to know anything great and good; but he fancies he knows something, although he knows nothing; whereas I, as I do not know anything, so I do not fancy I do. In this trifling particular, then, I appear to be wiser than he, because I do not fancy I know what I do not know.
SocratesRead
The unexamined life is not worth living.
SocratesRead
When I was young, I believed that life might unfold in an orderly way, according to my hopes and expectations. But now I understand that the Way winds like a river, always changing, ever onward.. My journeys revealed that the Way itself creates the warrior; that every path leads to peace, every choice to wisdom. And that life has always been, and will always be, arising in Mystery.
SocratesRead
Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued." "It is not living that matters, but living rightly. The unexamined life is not worth living.
SocratesRead
Similar quotes
A battering ram can knock down a city wall, but it cannot stop a hole. Different things have different uses.
ZhuangziRead
In racing, there is no question who is best - the first one to cross the finish line wins first prize. But with wine, even if you make the best wine in the world, someone isn't going to like it, because it isn't their style. Judging wine is very subjective.
Mario AndrettiRead
What you resist persists. And only what you look at, and own, can disappear. You make it disappear by simply changing your mind about it.
Neale Donald WalschRead
And from true lordship it follows that the true God is living, intelligent, and powerful; from the other perfections, that he is supreme, or supremely perfect. He is eternal and infinite, omnipotent and omniscient; that is, he endures from eternity to eternity; and he is present from infinity to infinity; he rules all things, and he knows all things that happen or can happen.
Isaac NewtonRead
Inherent in the impulse to be free, is insecurity. The impulse to be free comes from outside of the mind, and because of this, it makes the mind feel very insecure. Most spiritual seekers move away from this insecurity by seeking and striving for a distant spiritual goal. That's how they avoid feeling insecure.
AdyashantiRead
He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God's providence to lead him aright.
Blaise PascalRead