The true secret of giving advice is, after you have honestly given it, to be perfectly indifferent whether it is taken or not, and never persist in trying to set people right.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
Doctrine is nothing but the skin of truth set up and stuffed.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that doctrines can often be superficial, masking the deeper truths within.
Henry Ward Beecher's quote highlights the idea that doctrines, while they may appear to hold truth, can often be mere shells that lack the substance of genuine understanding. This statement invites us to critically examine the beliefs and systems we may take for granted, prompting a search for deeper meaning beyond established norms.
Themes
DoctrineTruthWisdomBeliefUnderstanding
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture about critical thinking, this quote can illustrate the importance of questioning accepted beliefs.
More from Henry Ward Beecher
All quotes βA man who cannot get angry is like a stream that cannot overflow, that is always turbid. Sometimes indignation is as good as a thunderstorm in summer, clearing and cooling the air.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
No one can deal with the hearts of men unless he has the sympathy which is given by love.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
We are always on the anvil; by trials God is shaping us for higher things.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
No man can tell if he is rich or poor by turning to his ledger. It is the heart that makes a man rich. He is rich according to what he is, not according to what he has.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
There are joys which long to be ours. God sends ten thousands truths, which come about us like birds seeking inlet; but we are shut up to them, and so they bring us nothing, but sit and sing awhile upon the roof, and then fly away.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
Similar quotes
The best antidote I know for worry is work. The best cure for weariness is the challenge of helping someone who is even more tired. One of the great ironies of life is this: He or she who serves almost always benefits more than he or she who is served.
Gordon B. HinckleyRead
Like a beautiful flower that is colorful but has no fragrance, even well spoken words bear no fruit in one who does not put them into practice.
Gautama BuddhaRead
I know of a charm by way of a prayer that will preserve a man from the violence of guns and all manner of fire-weapons and engines but it will do me no good because I do not believe it
Francois RabelaisRead
You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover is yourself.
Alan AldaRead
False thinking and false ideologies, dressed in the most pleasing forms, quietly - almost without our knowing it - seek to reduce our moral defenses and to captivate our minds. They entice with bright promises of security, cradle-to-grave guarantees of many kinds.
Ezra Taft BensonRead
It is becoming clear that the old platitudes can no longer be maintained, and that if we wish to improve our morals we must first improve our knowledge.
Havelock EllisRead