Nature never said to me: Do not be poor. Still less did she say: Be rich. Her cry to me was always: Be independent. -Nicolas de Chamfort, writer (1741-1794)
I don't think it was nature he heard but rather the spirit of his age, the early days of modernity. By nature we are never independent, but always and necessarily part of various social networks, starting of course with the family.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Napoleon Bonaparte
Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever. ~ Napoleon Bonaparte
Clever, and true in terms of this world, but in the eternal perspective true glory is forever and worldly obscurity doesn't matter.
Clever, and true in terms of this world, but in the eternal perspective true glory is forever and worldly obscurity doesn't matter.
Freya Stark, explorer and writer (1893-1993)
Few are the giants of the soul who actually feel that the human race is their family circle. -Freya Stark, explorer and writer (1893-1993)
I would say that we shouldn't regret not being one of these giants. Only God should rightly consider the entire human race the family circle. For the rest of us, it is right to make distinctions. We have a greater responsibility to our actual family than for others, and beyond them other circles that we owe some sort of care beyond what we owe to anonymous humanity.
I would say that we shouldn't regret not being one of these giants. Only God should rightly consider the entire human race the family circle. For the rest of us, it is right to make distinctions. We have a greater responsibility to our actual family than for others, and beyond them other circles that we owe some sort of care beyond what we owe to anonymous humanity.
Bernard Berenson, art historian (1865-1959)
Between truth and the search for truth, I opt for the second. -Bernard Berenson, art historian (1865-1959)
That is stupid! The possession of truth is necessary for action. Of course, modernity says that there is no such thing as truth about the really important matters, only individual private opinion, but this is not true, and it does not reflect the way we actually live.
That is stupid! The possession of truth is necessary for action. Of course, modernity says that there is no such thing as truth about the really important matters, only individual private opinion, but this is not true, and it does not reflect the way we actually live.
T.S. Eliot, poet (1888-1965)
In a world of fugitives, the person taking the opposite direction will appear to run away. -T.S. Eliot, poet (1888-1965)
Applying this to our present culture, most people seem to be fugitives from reality, that is, from the world that comprises more than mere sense data, so the one who is moving toward reality appears to running away, unable to face "things as they are."
Applying this to our present culture, most people seem to be fugitives from reality, that is, from the world that comprises more than mere sense data, so the one who is moving toward reality appears to running away, unable to face "things as they are."
Anatole France, novelist, essayist, Nobel laureate (1844-1924)
The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread. -Anatole France, novelist, essayist, Nobel laureate (1844-1924)
Perhaps an illustration of the limitations of the abstract principle of complete equality basic to advanced liberalism. The rich and the poor should not always be treated equally. Sometimes there should be be preference for the poor.
Perhaps an illustration of the limitations of the abstract principle of complete equality basic to advanced liberalism. The rich and the poor should not always be treated equally. Sometimes there should be be preference for the poor.
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