Was it always my nature to take a bad time and block out the good times, until any success became an accident and failure seemed the only truth?
Lillian HellmanRead
Belief is a moral act for which the believer is to be held responsible.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Belief requires accountability and ethical responsibility from those who hold it.
This quote highlights the idea that belief is not just a passive state of mind; it is an active moral commitment. When individuals choose to believe in certain principles or ideologies, they must also accept the consequences and responsibilities that come with those beliefs, thus reinforcing the ethical implications of personal conviction.
Themes
BeliefResponsibilityMoralityConvictionEthics
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about personal accountability, one might use this quote to emphasize the impact of one's beliefs.
More from Lillian Hellman
All quotes βIf I had to give young writers advice, I would say don't listen to writers talking about writing or themselves.
Lillian HellmanRead
It is best to act with confidence, no matter how little right you have to it.
Lillian HellmanRead
If you believe, as the Greeks did, that man is at the mercy of the gods, then you write tragedy. The end is inevitable from the beginning. But if you believe that man can solve his own problems and is at nobody's mercy, then you will probably write melodrama.
Lillian HellmanRead
Nobody knows what you want except you. And nobody will be as sorry as you if you don't get it. Wanting some other way to live is proof enough of deserving it. Having it is hard work, but not having it is sheer hell.
Lillian HellmanRead
Failure in the theater is more dramatic and uglier than any other form of writing. It costs so much, you feel so guilty.
Lillian HellmanRead
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Remember how often you have postponed minding your interest, and let slip those opportunities the gods have given you. It is now high time to consider what sort of world you are part of, and from what kind of governor of it you are descended; that you have a set period assigned you to act in, and unless you improve it to brighten and compose your thoughts, it will quickly run off with you, and be lost beyond recovery.
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