Quote by William James

To give up pretensions is as blessed a relief as to get them ratified.

To give up pretensions is as blessed a relief as to get them

Summary

This quote suggests that letting go of our pretensions or false appearances can be just as liberating and satisfying as having our genuine selves recognized and accepted by others. It implies that shedding the need to impress or deceive others can bring a sense of relief and freedom, allowing us to be authentic and true to ourselves. Ultimately, it highlights the importance of embracing authenticity over the pursuit of validation through pretense.

Topics

Deception/lying

By William James

Liked the quote? Share it with your friends.

Random Quotations

If you can make people understand why freedom is so importan

If you can make people understand why freedom is so important through the arts, that would be a big help.

Aung San Suu Kyi

Freedom

A primary function of art and thought is to liberate the ind

A primary function of art and thought is to liberate the individual from the tyranny of his culture in the environmental sense and to permit him to stand beyond it in an autonomy of perception and judgment.

Lionel Trilling

Art

I think money in general hurts all sports.

I think money in general hurts all sports.

Sports

If life must not be taken too seriously, then so neither mus

If life must not be taken too seriously, then so neither must death.

Death

Better a little which is well done, than a great deal imperf

Better a little which is well done, than a great deal imperfectly.

Great

Growth is painful. Change is painful. But, nothing is as pai

Growth is painful. Change is painful. But, nothing is as painful as staying stuck where you do not belong.

N. R. Narayana Murthy

I didn't become leader to transform the Liberal Democrats in

I didn't become leader to transform the Liberal Democrats into an enlarged form of the Electoral Reform Society. It's not the be all and end all for us. There are other very, very key ambitions in politics, not least social mobility and life chances, that I care about as passionately if not more.

Some people think I'm a total moron and I would hope most pe

Some people think I'm a total moron and I would hope most people think I'm very good at what I do.

Hope

Wisdom lies neither in fixity nor in change, but in the dial

Wisdom lies neither in fixity nor in change, but in the dialectic between the two.

Change

The day Dick Cheney is going to run for president, I'll kill

The day Dick Cheney is going to run for president, I'll kill myself. All we need is another liar... I think he'd like to run, but it would be a sad day for the country if he does.

Sad

I work on words, mostly, toward them being poetry or short s

I work on words, mostly, toward them being poetry or short stories, and then some of those become songs. They all find their place in the world, but they all start off in the same place. I'm always painting and drawing as well, and it's an ongoing creative assignment.

Poetry

So few people think. When we find one who really does, we ca

So few people think. When we find one who really does, we call him a genius

Genius