A man's real possession is his memory. In nothing else is he rich, in nothing else is he poor.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of memories as a person's true wealth.
The quote by Alexander Smith suggests that a person's memories and experiences are what define their richness in life. Unlike material possessions, which can be lost or taken away, the memories we hold remain with us, shaping our identity and perspective. Thus, true wealth lies in the richness of our experiences and the memories we cherish.
In practice
Use this quote in a graduation speech to emphasize the value of memories over material possessions.
Looking forward into an empty year strikes one with a certain awe, because one finds therein no recognition. The years behind have a friendly aspect, and they are warmed by the fires we have kindled, and all their echoes are the echoes of our own voices.
My garden, with its silence and pulses of fragrance that come and go on the airy undulations, affects me like sweet music. Care stops at the gates, and gazes at me wistfully through the bars.
Fame is but an inscription on a grave, and glory the melancholy blazon on a coffin lid.
Love is but the discovery of ourselves in others, and the delight in the recognition.
The world is not so much in need of new thoughts as that when thought grows old and worn with usage it should, like current coin, be called in, and, from the mint of genius, reissued fresh and new.
Books are a finer world within the world. (1863)
Our soul, like Mary's body, is to receive God Himself if only we, like her, believe, consent and receive; if only we speak her truly magic word fiat, "let it be." It is the creative word, the word God used to create the universe.
The Way is eternal. Until your last day, you are free from peril.
It is unacceptable that more than 1 billion people are hungry every day while another billion are obese.
My country right or wrong; when right, to keep her right; when wrong, to put her right.
People who study the way religions develop have shown that if you have a charismatic teacher, and you don't have an institution develop around that teacher within about a generation to transmit succession within the group, the movement just dies.
A great empire and little minds go ill together.
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