A recluse without books and ink is already in life a dead man.
Alfred NobelRead
I intend to leave after my death a large fund for the promotion of the peace idea, but I am skeptical as to its results.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Alfred Nobel expresses his intention to support peace initiatives, while simultaneously questioning their effectiveness.
In this quote, Alfred Nobel reflects on his desire to contribute to the promotion of peace even after his death through a financial legacy. However, he conveys a sense of skepticism regarding the actual impact that such efforts will have, highlighting a common ambivalence about the effectiveness of philanthropic endeavors in addressing complex social issues.
Themes
PeaceLegacySkepticismPhilanthropyIntention
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on philanthropy, one could use this quote to highlight the importance of contributing to noble causes despite uncertainties.
More from Alfred Nobel
All quotes βJustice is to be found only in the imagination.
Alfred NobelRead
Second to agriculture, humbug is the biggest industry of our age.
Alfred NobelRead
The savants will write excellent volumes. There will be laureates. But wars will continue just the same until the forces of the circumstances render them impossible.
Alfred NobelRead
I regard large inherited wealth as a misfortune, which merely serves to dull men's faculties. A man who possesses great wealth should, therefore, allow only a small portion to descend to his relatives. Even if he has children, I consider it a mistake to hand over to them considerable sums of money beyond what is necessary for their education. To do so merely encourages laziness and impedes the healthy development of the individual's capacity to make an independent position for himself.
Alfred NobelRead
A heart can no more be forced to love than a stomach can be forced to digest food by persuasion.
Alfred NobelRead
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No man ever freely surrendered a portion of his own liberty for the sake of the public good; such a chimera appears only in fiction. If it were possible, we would each prefer that the pacts binding others did not bind us; every man sees himself as the centre of all the world's affairs.
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Killing a man in defense of an idea is not defending an idea; it is killing a man.
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Humanity, you never had it from the beginning." That was my motto.
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The indefinite combination of human fallibility and nuclear weapons will lead to the destruction of nations.
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What would tomorrow bring? I wondered. Both hands on the wheel, I closed my eyes. I didnβt feel like I was in my own body; my body was just a lonely, temporary container I happened to be borrowing. What would become of me tomorrow I did not know.
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I look at anything in nature and how things work - the stars, the pyramids - and I can't imagine that there's not some kind of design to it all. There's got to be something big that we don't understand. I do believe in Jesus. I believe in being good to one another. Life is about spending our time here contributing and not taking away. That's my faith.
Ellen DegeneresRead