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
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.
In practice
During a speech on philanthropy, one could use this quote to highlight the importance of contributing to noble causes despite uncertainties.
A recluse without books and ink is already in life a dead man.
Justice is to be found only in the imagination.
Second to agriculture, humbug is the biggest industry of our age.
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.
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.
A heart can no more be forced to love than a stomach can be forced to digest food by persuasion.
I, therefore, O Caesar, do not publish this work, merely prefixing my name to a treatise which of right belongs to others, nor think of acquiring reputation by finding fault with the works of any one.
There lies at the back of every creed something terrible and hard for which the worshipper may one day be required to suffer.
All things began in Order, so shall they end, and so shall they begin again, according to the Ordainer of Order, and the mystical mathematicks of the City of Heaven.
Let's be honest - tracking down, rounding up, and deporting millions of people isn't realistic. Anyone who suggests otherwise isn't being straight with you. It's also not who we are as Americans.
One time, I was given an essay topic: to describe a perfect horse, whom the mere sight of the rider's whip would make obedient. I depicted this perfect horse throwing his rider at the sight of the whip.
....it is of the very essence of Christianity to face suffering and death not because they are good, not because they have meaning, but because the resurrection of Jesus has robbed them of their meaning.
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