They don't ask much of you. They only want you to hate the things you love and to love the things you despise.
Boris PasternakRead
What for centuries raised man above the beast is not the cudgel but the irresistible power of unarmed truth.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Truth has a powerful influence on humanity that surpasses physical strength.
In this quote, Boris Pasternak emphasizes that what distinguishes humans from animals is not their physical prowess or weapons, but rather the compelling nature of honesty and truth. This statement highlights the moral and ethical superiority of truthfulness, suggesting that it has the capability to uplift and elevate humanity, shaping our culture and interactions more than brute force ever could.
Themes
TruthHumanityHonestyPowerEthics
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech advocating for justice, this quote could illustrate the strength of truth in driving change.
More from Boris Pasternak
All quotes βEven so, one step from my grave, I believe that cruelty, spite, The powers of darkness will in time, Be crushed by the spirit of light.
Boris PasternakRead
He is her glory. Any woman could say it. For every one of them, God is in her child. Mothers of great men must have been familiar with this feeling, but then, all women are mothers of great men -- it isn't their fault if life disappoints them later.
Boris PasternakRead
Our evenings are farewells. Our parties are testaments. So that the secret stream of suffering. May warm the cold of life.
Boris PasternakRead
The most extraordinary discoveries are made when the artist is overwhelmed by what he has to say.
Boris PasternakRead
Oh, how one wishes sometimes to escape from the meaningless dullness of human eloquence, from all those sublime phrases, to take refuge in nature, apparently so inarticulate, or in the wordlessness of long, grinding labor, of sound sleep, of true music, or of a human understanding rendered speechless by emotion!
Boris PasternakRead
Similar quotes
Grace finds us beggars but leaves us debtors.
Augustus TopladyRead
Victory is a fleeting thing in the gambling business. Today's winners are tomorrow's blinking toads, dumb beasts with no hope.
Hunter S. ThompsonRead
I know something about dread myself, and appreciate the elaborate systems with which some people fill the void, appreciate all the opiates of the people, whether they are as accessible as alcohol and heroin and promiscuity or as hard to come by as faith in God or History.
Joan DidionRead
My main point here is that if you are the child of God and God is a part of you, the in your imagination God suppose to look like you. And when you accept a picture of the deity assigned to you by another people, you become the spiritual prisoners of that other people.
John Henrik ClarkeRead
We are dominated by the relatively small number of persons who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind.
Edward BernaysRead
The will of God is always a bigger thing than we bargain for.
Jim ElliotRead