Motherhood is priced Of God, at price no man may dare To lessen or misunderstand.
Helen Hunt JacksonRead
Wounded vanity knows when it is mortally hurt; and limps off the field, piteous, all disguises thrown away. But pride carries its banner to the last; and fast as it is driven from one field unfurls it in another, never admitting that there is a shade less honor in the second field than in the first, or in the third than in the second.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the differences between wounded vanity and persistent pride, highlighting the struggle between self-awareness and self-deception.
Helen Hunt Jackson's quote illustrates how wounded vanity retreats from a situation when it feels defeated, while pride clings to its honor, seeking new arenas where it can maintain the facade of superiority, regardless of the diminished value of that pride. It shows the contrasts between genuine self-awareness, which acknowledges weaknesses, and pride that never accepts defeat, often leading to a cycle of illusion and denial.
Themes
PrideVanitySelf-DeceptionHonorSelf-Awareness
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the importance of humility vs. pride in leadership.
More from Helen Hunt Jackson
All quotes →But all lost things are in the angels' keeping, Love; No past is dead for us, but only sleeping, Love; The years of Heaven with all earth's little pain Make Good Together there we can begin again, In babyhood.
Helen Hunt JacksonRead
If I could write a story that would do for the Indian one-hundredth part what 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' did for the Negro, I would be thankful the rest of my life.
Helen Hunt JacksonRead
Similar quotes
A rational man acting in the real world may be defined as one who decides where he will strike a balance between what he desires and what can be done.
Walter LippmannRead
Man's maker was made man that He, Ruler of the stars, might nurse at His mother's breast; that the Bread might hunger, the Fountain thirst, the Light sleep, the Way be tired on its journey; that Truth might be accused of false witnesses, the Teacher be beaten with whips, the Foundation be suspended on wood; that Strength might grow weak; that the Healer might be wounded; that Life might die.
Saint AugustineRead
The most important questions of life are indeed, for the most part, really only problems of probability.
Pierre-Simon LaplaceRead
The only proper purpose of a government is to protect man's rights, which means: to protect him from physical violence. A proper government is only a policeman, acting as an agent of man's self-defense, and, as such, may only resort to force only against those who start the use of force.
Ayn RandRead
Half the world cries Half the world laughs Half the world tries To be the other half
Neil PeartRead
Social justice cannot be attained by violence. Violence kills what it intends to create.
Pope John Paul IiRead