Quote by Francois de La Rochefoucauld

There is a kind of elevation which does not depend on fortune; it is a certain air which distinguishes us, and seems to destine us for great things; it is a price which we imperceptibly set upon ourselves.

There is a kind of elevation which does not depend on fortun

Topics: Fortune By Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Liked the quote? Share it with your friends.

Random Quotations

If you feel rooted in your home and family, if you're active

If you feel rooted in your home and family, if you're active in your community, there's nothing more empowering. The best way to make a difference in the world is to start by making a difference in your own life.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

There is not one incident in the history of humanity in whic

There is not one incident in the history of humanity in which defeatism led to peace which was anything other than a complete fraud.

General Douglas MacArthur, In hi

The art of progress is to preserve order amid change, and to

The art of progress is to preserve order amid change, and to preserve change amid order. Life refuses to be embalmed alive. The more prolonged the halt in some unrelieved system of order, the greater the crash of the dead society.

Alfred North Whitehead, Process

The worth of men consists in their liability to persuasion.

The worth of men consists in their liability to persuasion. . . . Civilisation is the maintenance of social order, by its own inherent persuasiveness as embodying the nobler alternative. The recourse to force, however unavoidable, is a disclosure of the failure of civilisation, either in the general society or in a remnant of individuals. Thus in a live civilisation there is always an element of unrest. For sensitiveness to ideas means curiosity, adventure, change. Civilised order survives on its merits, and is transformed by its power of Recognizing its imperfections.

Alfred North Whitehead, Adventur

The vigour of civilised societies is preserved by the widesp

The vigour of civilised societies is preserved by the widespread sense that high aims are worth while. Vigorous societies harbour a certain extravagance of objectives, so that men wander beyond the safe provision of personal gratifications. All strong interests easily become impersonal, the love of a good job well done. There is a sense of harmony about such an accomplishment, the Peace brought by something worth while. Such personal gratification arises from aim beyond personality.

Alfred North Whitehead, Adventur

There are two principles inherent in the very nature of thin

There are two principles inherent in the very nature of things, recurring in some particular embodiments whatever field we explore - the spirit of change, and the spirit of conservation. There can be nothing real without both. Mere change without conservation is a passage from nothing to nothing. . . . Mere conservation without change cannot conserve. For after all, there is a flux of circumstance, and the freshness of being evaporates under mere repetition.

Alfred North Whitehead, Science

I'm jamming 'Black Sabbath Vol. 4' all the time. Zappa's 'Cr

I'm jamming 'Black Sabbath Vol. 4' all the time. Zappa's 'Cruising With Ruben & The Jets.' A lot of Gong lately. Some Hawkwind. The Residents' 'Duck Stab' is amazing. Some Fugs. Lots of stuff, man. I'm pretty schizophrenic with records.

It is the first step in sociological wisdom, to recognize th

It is the first step in sociological wisdom, to recognize that the major advances in civilisation are processes which all but wreck the societies in which they occur: like unto an arrow in the hand of a child. The art of free society consists first in the maintenance of the symbolic code; and secondly in fearlessness of revision, to secure that the code serves those purposes which satisfy an enlightened reason. Those societies which cannot combine reverence to their symbols with freedom of revision, must ultimately decay either from anarchy, or from the slow atrophy of a life stifled by useless shadows.

Alfred North Whitehead, Symbolis

Other nations of different habits are not enemies: they are

Other nations of different habits are not enemies: they are godsends. Men require of their neighbours something sufficiently akin to be understood, something sufficiently different to provoke attention, and something great enough to command admiration. We must not expect, however, all the virtues.

Alfred North Whitehead, Science

International Relations

On 'The Office,' so much of the show is about disguising you

On 'The Office,' so much of the show is about disguising your true feelings and your romantic feelings because it was a mock documentary.

http://members.aol.com/haleroots/nathanhale.html

http://members.aol.com/haleroots/nathanhale.html

Nathan Hale, the source for this

But Oh! The blessing it is to have a friend to whom one can

But Oh! The blessing it is to have a friend to whom one can speak fearless on any subject; with whom one's deepest as well as one's most foolish thoughts come out simply and safely. Oh, the comfort - the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person - having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.http://www.indiana.edu/%7Eletrs/vwwp/craik/craik-poem1866.html

Dinah Maria Mulock Craik, A Life

I've helped create over 400 jobs in the worst economy of my

I've helped create over 400 jobs in the worst economy of my lifetime. That's cool.

In view of all this, I have no doubt that Cambyses was compl

In view of all this, I have no doubt that Cambyses was completely out of his mind; it is the only possible explanation of his assault upon, and mockery of, everything which ancient law and custom have made sacred in Egypt. If anyone, no matter who, were given the opportunity of choosing from amongst all the nations in the world the set of beliefs which he thought best, he would inevitably, after careful consideration of their relative merits, choose that of his own country. Everyone without exception believes his own native customs, and the religion he was brought up in, to be the best; and that being so, it is unlikely that anyone but a madman would mock at such things. There is abundant evidence that this is the universal feeling about the ancient customs of one's country. One might recall, in particular, an anecdote of Darius. When he was king of Persia, he summoned the Greeks who happened to be present in his court, and asked them what they would take to eat the dead bodies of their fathers. They replied that they would not do it for any money in the world. Later, in the presence of the Greeks, and through an interpreter, so that they could understand what was said, he asked some Indians, of the tribe called the Callatiae, who do in fact eat their parents' dead bodies, what they would take to burn them. They uttered a cry of horror and forbade him to mention such a dreadful thing. One can see by this what custom can do, and Pindar, in my opinion, was right when he called it king of all.(Herodotus is expressing his own feelings about the story of the madness of Cambyses)

Herodotus, Custom Rules (from Th

The best way to inspire people to superior performance is to

The best way to inspire people to superior performance is to convince them by everything you do and by your everyday attitude that you are wholeheartedly supporting them.

Harold S. Geneen

What wreath for Lamia? What for Lycius?What for the sage, ol

What wreath for Lamia? What for Lycius?What for the sage, old Apollonius?Upon her aching forehead be there hungThe leaves of willow and of adder's tongue;And for the youth, quick, let us strip for himThe thyrsus, that his watching eyes may swimInto forgetfulness; and, for the sage,Let spear-grass and the spiteful thistle wageWar on his temples. Do not all charms flyAt the mere touch of cold philosophy?There was an awful rainbow once in heaven:We know her woof, her texture; she is givenIn the dull catalogue of common things.Philosophy will clip an Angel's wings,Conquer all mysteries by rule and line,Empty the haunted air, and gnomed mine -Unweave a rainbow, as it erewhile madeThe tender-person'd Lamia melt into a shade.http://www.classicreader.com/read.php/sid.4/bookid.1076/sec.2/

John Keats, Lamia (part ii), 181

Much have I travell'd in the realms of gold, And many go

Much have I travell'd in the realms of gold, And many goodly states and kingdoms seen; Round many western islands have I been Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold. Oft of one wide expanse had I been told That deep-brow'd Homer ruled as his demesne; Yet did I never breathe its pure serene Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold: Then felt I like some watcher of the skies When a new planet swims into his ken; Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes He star'd at the Pacific--and all his men Look'd at each other with a wild surmise-- Silent, upon a peak in Darien.

John Keats, On First Looking Int

Opinion is that exercise of the human will which helps us to

Opinion is that exercise of the human will which helps us to make a decision without information.

Now the standard cure for one who is sunk is to consider tho

Now the standard cure for one who is sunk is to consider those in actual destitution or physical sufferinghttp://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/obituaries.html

F. Scott Fitzgerald, from Pastin

Who dares deny that this is true: The whole is more than all

Who dares deny that this is true: The whole is more than all its parts?A whole love than divided love,Or than half love from fifty hearts?Yet who dare either this deny:The part is more than is the whole?That treasures halved with one dear loveAre more than double to the soul?

The war, therefore, if we judge it by the standards of previ

The war, therefore, if we judge it by the standards of previous wars, is merely an imposture. It is like the battles between certain ruminant animals whose horns are set at such an angle that they are incapable of hurting one another. But though it is unreal it is not meaningless. It eats up the surplus of consumable goods, and it helps to preserve the special mental atmosphere that a hierarchical society needs. War, it will be seen, is now a purely internal affair. In the past, the ruling groups of all countries, although they might recognize their common interest and therefore limit the destructiveness of war, did fight against one another, and the victor always plundered the vanquished. In our own day they are not fighting against one another at all. The war is waged by each ruling group against its own subjects, and the object of the war is not to make or prevent conquests of territory, but to keep the structure of society intact. The very word 'war', therefore, has become misleading. It would probably be accurate to say that by becoming continuous war has ceased to exist. The peculiar pressure that it exerted on human beings between the Neolithic Age and the early twentieth century has disappeared and been replaced by something quite different. The effect would be much the same if the three super-states, instead of fighting one another, should agree to live in perpetual peace, each inviolate within its own boundaries. For in that case each would still be a self-contained universe, freed for ever from the sobering influence of external danger. A peace that was truly permanent would be the same as a permanent war. This

George Orwell, 1984, Chapter 17

Derived from this celebrated society for propagating the fai

Derived from this celebrated society for propagating the faith, the name propaganda is applied in modern political language as a term of reproach to secret associations for the spread of opinions and principles which are viewed by most governments with horror and aversion.

W.T. Brande, from a dictionary o

Marriage has for women many equivalents of joining a mass mo

Marriage has for women many equivalents of joining a mass movement. It offers them a new purpose in life, a new future and a new identity (a new name). The boredom of spinsters and of women who can no longer find joy and fulfillment in marriage stems from an awareness of a barren, spoiled life. By embracing a holy cause and dedicating their energies and substance to its advancement, they find a new life full of purpose and meaning.

Eric Hoffer, The True Believer (

There is perhaps no more reliable indicator of a society's r

There is perhaps no more reliable indicator of a society's ripeness for a mass movement than the prevalence of unrelieved boredom. In most all the descriptions of the periods preceding the rise of mass movements there is reference to vast ennui; and in their earliest stages mass movements are more likely to find sympathizers and support among the bored than among the exploited and oppressed. To a deliberate fomenter of mass upheavals, the report that people are bored stiff should be at least as encouraging as that they are suffering from intolerable economic or political abuses.When people are bored, it is primarily with their own selves that they are bored. The consciousness of a barren, meaningless existence is the main fountainhead of boredom. People who are not conscious of their individual separatedness, as is the case with those who are members or a compact tribe, church, party, etcetera, are not accessible to boredom. The differentiated individual is free of boredom only when he is engaged either in creative work or some absorbing occupation or when he is wholly engrossed in the struggle for existence. Pleasure-chasing and dissipation are ineffective palliatives. Where people live autonomous lives and are not badly off, yet are without abilities or opportunities for creative work or useful action, there is no telling to what desperate and fantastic shifts they might resort in order to give meaning and purpose to their lives.

Eric Hoffer, The True Believer (

I'm a big kid, I'm a kid at heart, so I still love the class

I'm a big kid, I'm a kid at heart, so I still love the classic family films, such as the great Warner Bros film 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' - not the remake, but the original. It's still one of the best movies, hands down, ever made, and of course that goes back to the ingenuity of the characters and the storyline.

It is criminal to teach a man not to defend himself when he

It is criminal to teach a man not to defend himself when he is the constant victim of brutal attacks. It is legal and lawful to own a shotgun or a rifle. We believe in obeying the law.

Malcolm X, March 12, 1964

The hard-core intentionalist expresses only the most remote

The hard-core intentionalist expresses only the most remote concern for consequences - usually, some vague, distant utopia. But this is, in most cases, a rationalization. His real satisfaction comes from a sense of doing the right thing - even when right has, in his mind, no clear connection with reality.http://www.libertyhaven.com/theoreticalorphilosophicalissues/ethics/moralityofgood.html

Robert James Bidinotto, essay: T

I borrowed my friend's car the other day in an attempt to pe

I borrowed my friend's car the other day in an attempt to persuade my husband that we needed a car and literally this is true, in the first day of borrowing the car, I got three tickets and I rear-ended it.

The past is a foreign country; they do things differently th

The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.

L.P. Hartley, The GoBetween, 195

The past remains integral to us all, individually and collec

The past remains integral to us all, individually and collectively. We must concede the ancients their place... but their past is not simply back there, in a separate and foreign country, it is assimilated in ourselves and resurrected in an ever-changing present.

David Lowenthal, The Past is a F

When God created the first human beings, God led them around

When God created the first human beings, God led them around the garden of Eden and said: Look at my works! See how beautiful they are -- how excellent! For your sake I created them all. See to it you do not spoil and destroy My world; for if you do, there will be no one else to repair it.

I'm not certain, but I have a little gypsy blood in me. And

I'm not certain, but I have a little gypsy blood in me. And my mother always told me that her grandma could give someone the evil eye, and I'd better not cross her because she had some of that blood in her. Mother always believed that she could predict the future, and she had dreams that came true.

If society gives up the right to impose the death penalty, t

If society gives up the right to impose the death penalty, then self-help will appear again and personal vendettas will be around the corner.

Johann von Goethe, Wilhelm Meist

Self-help must precede help from others. Even for making cer

Self-help must precede help from others. Even for making certain of help from heaven, one has to help oneself.

Moraji R. Desai, conference of n

Science fiction, to me, has not only things that wouldn't ha

Science fiction, to me, has not only things that wouldn't happen, but other planets.

Margaret Atwood

Human beings are the only creatures on earth that allow thei

Human beings are the only creatures on earth that allow their children to come back home.

Boredom is like a pitiless zooming in on the epidermis of ti

Boredom is like a pitiless zooming in on the epidermis of time. Every instant is dilated and magnified like the pores of the face.

Jean Baudrillard

If knowledge and foresight are too penetrating and deep, uni

If knowledge and foresight are too penetrating and deep, unify them with ease and sincerity.

The very definition of the real has become: that of which it

The very definition of the real has become: that of which it is possible to give an equivalent reproduction. . . The real is not only what can be reproduced, but that which is always already reproduced: that is the hyperreal

Jean Baudrillard

Perhaps the world's second worst crime is boredom. The first

Perhaps the world's second worst crime is boredom. The first is being a bore.

Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton

Copyrighted © 2023 — Quotation.io. All rights reserved.