Endurance is nobler than strength, and patience than beauty.
John RuskinRead
That country is the richest which nourishes the greatest number of noble and happy human beings.
Interpretation
True wealth of a nation is found in the well-being of its citizens.
John Ruskin's quote emphasizes that the true measure of a nation's richness is not just in its material wealth, but in the number of happy and noble individuals it nurtures. It suggests that the quality of life and the ethical and emotional well-being of the population are fundamental to the prosperity and true richness of a society.
In practice
This quote can inspire a community service organization to focus on the well-being of individuals rather than just economic metrics.
Endurance is nobler than strength, and patience than beauty.
In health of mind and body, men should see with their own eyes, hear and speak without trumpets, walk on their feet, not on wheels, and work and war with their arms, not with engine-beams, nor rifles warranted to kill twenty men at a shot before you can see them.
You talk of the scythe of Time, and the tooth of Time: I tell you, Time is scytheless and toothless; it is we who gnaw like the worm - we who smite like the scythe. It is ourselves who abolish - ourselves who consume: we are the mildew, and the flame.
To be able to ask a question clearly is two-thirds of the way to getting it answered.
See that your children be taught, not only the labors of the earth, but the loveliness of it.
A little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money.
There are souls in this world which have the gift of finding joy everywhere and of leaving it behind them when they go.
Living a good life leads to enduring happiness. Goodness in and of itself is the practice AND the reward.
I'm no Buddhist monk, and I can't say I'm in love with renunciation in itself, or traveling an hour or more to print out an article I've written, or missing out on the N.B.A. Finals. But at some point, I decided that, for me at least, happiness arose out of all I didn't want or need, not all I did.
Happiness is an imaginary condition, formerly attributed by the living to the dead, now usually attributed by adults to children, and by children to adults.
It is possible to live happily in the here and the now. So many conditions of happiness are available - more than enough for you to be happy right now. You don't have to run into the future in order to get more.
The greatest wealth is to live content with little.
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