Quote by William James
I am against bigness and greatness in all their forms, and with the invisible molecular moral forces that work from individual to individual, stealing in through the crannies of the world like so many soft rootlets, or like the capillary oozing of water, and yet rending the hardest monuments of mans pride, if you give them time. The bigger the unit you deal with, the hollower, the more brutal, the more mendacious is the life displayed. So I am against all big organizations as such, national ones first and foremost; against all big successes and big results; and in favor of the eternal forces of truth which always work in the individual and immediately unsuccessful way, under-dogs always, till history comes, after they are long dead, and puts them on top. You need take no notice of these ebullitions of spleen, which are probably quite unintelligible to anyone but myself.
Summary
The quote expresses the speaker's opposition to large-scale institutions and accomplishments. They believe that greatness and bigness often lead to emptiness, brutality, and deception. Instead, they advocate for the power of individual actions driven by moral forces that work unseen and have the potential to slowly dismantle even the most formidable structures of human pride. The speaker favors the enduring and transformative influence of truth that operates within individuals who may not achieve immediate success but eventually emerge victorious in the eyes of history. The speaker acknowledges that these sentiments may appear as venting or frustration, possibly incomprehensible to others.
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