A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right.
Thomas PaineRead
The abilities of man must fall short on one side or the other, like too scanty a blanket when you are abed. If you pull it upon your shoulders, your feet are left bare; if you thrust it down to your feet, your shoulders are uncovered.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote illustrates the limits of human abilities and resources in addressing challenges.
Thomas Paine uses the metaphor of a scanty blanket to convey that human abilities are inherently limited; no one is completely equipped to address all aspects of a situation at once. In life, we often face choices where addressing one need may leave another need unmet, highlighting the need for balance in our efforts and resources.
Themes
LimitationsChoicesBalanceResourcesHumanity
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about the importance of setting priorities.
More from Thomas Paine
All quotes →That God cannot lie, is no advantage to your argument, because it is no proof that priests can not, or that the Bible does not.
Thomas PaineRead
I consider the war of America against Britain as the country's war, the public's war, or the war of the people in their own behalf, for the security of their natural rights, and the protection of their own property.
Thomas PaineRead
Had the news of salvation by Jesus Christ been inscribed on the face of the sun and the moon, in characters that all nations would have understood, the whole earth had known it in twenty-four hours, and all nations would have believed it; whereas, though it is now almost two thousand years since, as they tell us, Christ came upon earth, not a twentieth part of the people of the earth know anything of it, and among those who do, the wiser part do not believe it.
Thomas PaineRead
The end of all political associations is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man; and these rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance of oppression.
Thomas PaineRead
To reason with goverments, as they have existed for ages, is to argue with brutes. It is only from the nations themselves that reforms can be expected
Thomas PaineRead
Similar quotes
Coffee makes us severe, and grave and philosophical.
Jonathan SwiftRead
There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval. The dark background which death supplies brings out the tender colours of life in all their purity.
George SantayanaRead
Perhaps my whisper was already born before my lips.
Osip MandelstamRead
Things are not to be judged good or bad merely because the public think so.
TacitusRead
The universe has a body and soul and evolves through cosmic time. As microcosms of stardust, we do the same.
Deepak ChopraRead
Since I do not believe that there should be different recommendations for people living in the Bronx and people living in Manhattan, I am uncomfortable making different recommendations for my patients in Boston and in Haiti.
Paul FarmerRead