. . . the weal of the race, and the cause of humanity, here and now, are enough To give life meaning and death as well.
Edgar Lee MastersRead
To this generation I would say: Memorize some bit of verse of truth or beauty.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote encourages young people to internalize memorable lines of truth or beauty.
Edgar Lee Masters emphasizes the importance of memorizing words that convey beauty or truth, suggesting that doing so enriches the mind and provides a source of inspiration and reflection. This practice not only cultivates a deeper appreciation for language and art but also serves as a guiding principle for life, reminding the individual of essential values and aesthetic pleasures.
Themes
MemorializeBeautyTruthEducationVerse
In practice
Example use cases
A teacher might use this quote during a poetry reading to inspire students to appreciate literature.
More from Edgar Lee Masters
All quotes βThe tongue may be an unruly member-- But silence poisons the soul.
Edgar Lee MastersRead
Genius is a bend in the creek where bright water has gathered, and which mirrors the trees, the sky and the banks. It just does that because it is there and the scenery is there. Talent is a fine mirror with a silver frame, with the name of the owner engraved on the back.
Edgar Lee MastersRead
To love is to find your own soul Through the soul of the beloved one.
Edgar Lee MastersRead
To put meaning in one's life may end in madness, But life without meaning is the torture Of restlessness and vague desire-It is a boat longing for the sea and yet afraid.
Edgar Lee MastersRead
And I never started to plow in my life That some one did not stop in the road And take me away to a dance or picnic. I ended up with forty acres; I ended up with a broken fiddleβ And a broken laugh, and a thousand memories, And not a single regret.
Edgar Lee MastersRead
Similar quotes
We teachers can only help the work going on, as servants wait upon a master.
Maria MontessoriRead
In the universities, cheap, vulnerable labor means adjuncts and graduate students.
Noam ChomskyRead
I read because one life isn't enough and in the pages of a book, I can be anybody.
Richard PeckRead
There is less flogging in our great schools than formerly-but then less is learned there; so what the boys get at one end they lose at the other.
Samuel JohnsonRead
I wrote the first draft of my first novel at Michigan, and then I wrote the first draft of 'Salvage the Bones' at Stanford. So I workshopped the entire thing.
Jesmyn WardRead
It is important that we discover an educational method where people learn to learn and go on learning their whole lives
Rudolf SteinerRead