A world full of happiness is not beyond human power to create; the obstacles imposed by inanimate nature are not insuperable. The real obstacles lie in the heart of man, and the cure for these is a firm hope, informed and fortified by thought.
Interpretation
True obstacles to happiness come from within us rather than external circumstances.
In this quote, Bertrand Russell suggests that while the world presents challenges, the greatest barriers to our happiness stem from our own hearts and minds. He emphasizes that it is within human capability to create a happier world through hope and reflective thought, arguing that personal and internal struggles can be overcome to achieve a fulfilling life.
In practice
During a motivational speech about overcoming personal struggles, one could use this quote to emphasize the importance of inner strength.
St. Paul introduced an entirely novel view of marriage, that it existed primarily to prevent the sin of fornication. It is just as if one were to maintain that the sole reason for baking bread is to prevent people from stealing cake.
Freedom comes only to those who no longer ask of life that it shall yield them any of those personal goods that are subject to the mutations of time.
Of these austerer virtues the love of truth is the chief, and in mathematics, more than elsewhere, the love of truth may find encouragement for waning faith. Every great study is not only an end in itself, but also a means of creating and sustaining a lofty habit of mind; and this purpose should be kept always in view throughout the teaching and learning of mathematics.
At all times, except when a monarch could enforce his will, war has been facilitated by the fact that vigorous males, confident of victory, enjoyed it, while their females admired them for their prowess.
Moreover, the attitude that one ought to believe such and such a proposition, independently of the question whether there is evidence in its favor, is an attitude which produces hostility to evidence and causes us to close our minds to every fact that does not suit our prejudices.
Extreme hopes are born from extreme misery.
Imagine that the universe is a great spinning engine. You want to stay near the core of the thing - right in the hub of the wheel - not out at the edges where all the wild whirling takes place, where you can get frayed and crazy. The hub of calmness - that's your heart. That's where God lives within you. So stop looking for answers in the world. Just keep coming back to that center and you'll always find peace.
Sometimes one must try anything, it is no disgrace. On the contrary, it is a sign of wisdom.
Barking dogs occasionally bite, but laughing men hardly ever shoot.
Caesar was a man of great common sense and good taste, meaning thereby a man without originality or moral courage.
We learned about gratitude and humility - that so many people had a hand in our success, from the teachers who inspired us to the janitors who kept our school clean... and we were taught to value everyone's contribution and treat everyone with respect.
My best advice for writers is: Have your adventures, make your mistakes, and choose your friends poorly - all these make for great stories.
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