A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right.
Thomas PaineRead
Virtues are acquired through endeavor, Which rests wholly upon yourself. So, to praise others for their virtues Can but encourage one's own efforts.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Virtues are gained through personal effort, and acknowledging the virtues of others can inspire one's own growth.
In this quote, Thomas Paine emphasizes the importance of personal effort in acquiring virtues. He suggests that while virtues are personal achievements that require hard work, recognizing and praising the virtues in others not only strengthens our admiration for them but also motivates us to develop our own virtuous qualities. Thus, the act of praising others becomes a tool for self-improvement.
Themes
VirtueEffortPraiseSelf-ImprovementEncouragement
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech at a personal development seminar.
More from Thomas Paine
All quotes βThat God cannot lie, is no advantage to your argument, because it is no proof that priests can not, or that the Bible does not.
Thomas PaineRead
I consider the war of America against Britain as the country's war, the public's war, or the war of the people in their own behalf, for the security of their natural rights, and the protection of their own property.
Thomas PaineRead
Had the news of salvation by Jesus Christ been inscribed on the face of the sun and the moon, in characters that all nations would have understood, the whole earth had known it in twenty-four hours, and all nations would have believed it; whereas, though it is now almost two thousand years since, as they tell us, Christ came upon earth, not a twentieth part of the people of the earth know anything of it, and among those who do, the wiser part do not believe it.
Thomas PaineRead
The end of all political associations is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man; and these rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance of oppression.
Thomas PaineRead
To reason with goverments, as they have existed for ages, is to argue with brutes. It is only from the nations themselves that reforms can be expected
Thomas PaineRead
Similar quotes
Faithfulness and sincerity are the highest things.
ConfuciusRead
Perhaps when the light of heaven shows us clearly the pitfalls and dangers of the earth road that led to the heavenly city, our sweetest songs of gratitude will be not for the troubles we have conquered, but for those we have escaped.
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Do not try to push your way through to the front ranks of your profession; do not run after distinctions and rewards; but do your utmost to find an entry into the world of beauty.
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Do not bite at the bait of pleasure, till you know there is no hook beneath it.
Thomas JeffersonRead
But there is another danger besetting your path. I mean the error of regarding your own capacities instead of your work, of putting self-consciousness in place of God.
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I've had the good fortune of teaching and preaching across much of the globe, while also struggling to make sense of my experience in my own tiny world.
Richard RohrRead