Genuine good taste consists in saying much in few words, in choosing among our thoughts, in having order and arrangement in what we say, and in speaking with composure.
Francois FenelonRead
All wars are civil wars because all men are brothers... Each one owes infinitely more to the human race than to the particular country in which he was born.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the idea that humanity is interconnected and that obligations to fellow humans outweigh national loyalties.
Francois Fenelon suggests that wars, regardless of their classification, stem from the same fundamental conflict between humans, who are all considered brothers. The sentiment highlights that our responsibilities to the global human community should take precedence over our allegiance to any specific nation, encouraging a more compassionate and unified perspective on global issues and conflicts.
In practice
In a speech about global unity, one might quote this to emphasize the need for peace.
Genuine good taste consists in saying much in few words, in choosing among our thoughts, in having order and arrangement in what we say, and in speaking with composure.
True prayer is only another name for the love of God. Its excellence does not consist in the multitude of our words; for our Father knoweth what things we have need of before we ask Him. The true prayer is that of the heart, and the heart prays only for what it desires. To pray, then is to desire -- but to desire what God would have us desire. He who asks what he does not from the bottom of his heart desire, is mistaken in thinking that he prays.
The greatest of all crosses is self. If we die in part every day, we shall have but little to do on the last. These little daily deaths will destroy the power of the final dying.
How rare it is to find a soul quiet enough to hear God speak.
If we were faultless we should not be so much annoyed by the defects of those with whom we associate.
If the crowns of all the kingdoms of the empire were laid down at my feet in exchange for my books and my love of reading I would spurn them all.
Eventually I saw that the path of the heart requires a full gesture, a degree of abandon that can be terrifying. Only then is it possible to achieve a sparkling metamorphosis.
I do not know what the heart of a bad man is like. But i do know what the heart of a good man is like. And it is terrible.
A God capable of continuously monitoring and controlling the individual status of every particle in the universe cannot be simple. His existence is going to need a mammoth explanation in its own right.
Some tell me Preach the pure gospel! This reminds me that the Communist secret police also told me to preach Christ, but not to mention communism. Is it really so, that those who are for what is called a pure gospel are inspired by the same spirit as those of the Communist secret police?
Hatred is the vice of narrow souls; they feed it with all their littleness, and make it the pretext of base tyrannies.
This evolution towards a real responsibility for others is sometimes blocked by fear. It is easier to stay on the level of a pleasant way of life in which we keep our freedom and our distance. But that means that we stop growing and shut ourselves up in our own small concerns and pleasures.
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