Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame.
Alexander PopeRead
An honest man's the noblest work of God.
Interpretation
Integrity and honesty are the highest virtues one can possess.
This quote by Alexander Pope highlights the idea that being an honest person is a divine and admirable trait. It suggests that the essence of true nobility and worth lies in one's character and honesty, which aligns with the moral expectations that society holds sacred.
In practice
During a speech on ethics, one might refer to this quote to emphasize the importance of honesty in personal and professional life.
Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame.
What dire offence from am'rous causes springs, What mighty contests rise from trivial things.
Fair tresses man's imperial race ensnare; And beauty draws us with a single hair.
One thought of thee puts all the pomp to flight;_x000D_ _x000D_ Priests, tapers, temples, swim before my sight.
Who breaks a butterfly on a wheel?
New, distant Scenes of endless Science rise: So pleas'd at first, the towring Alps we try.
Let but the public mind become once thoroughly corrupt, and all attempts to secure property, liberty or life, by mere force of laws written on parchment, will be as vain as to put up printed notices in an orchard to keep off the canker-worms.
Be clearly aware of the stars and infinity on high. Then life seems almost enchanted after all.
For me there are no answers, only questions, and I am grateful that the questions go on and on. I don't look for an answer, because I don't think there is one. I'm very glad to be the bearer of a question.
Let us not envy some men their accumulated riches; their burden would be too heavy for us; we could not sacrifice, as they do, health, quiet, honor and conscience, to obtain them: It is to pay so dear from them that the bargain is a loss.
Our entire lives, we're inundated with media and messaging that tells us that to be incarcerated is to be criminal and to be criminal is to be a bad person.
Thus we build on the ice, thus we write on the waves of the sea; the waves roaring pass away, the ice melts, and away goes our palace, like our thoughts.
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