How seldom we weigh our neighbor in the same balance with ourselves.
Thomas A KempisRead
Oh, how swiftly the glory of the world passes away!
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the transient nature of worldly achievements and glory.
Thomas A Kempis's quote highlights the fleeting nature of fame, success, and worldly glory. It serves as a reminder that all material accomplishments and recognition are temporary, urging individuals to seek deeper, more enduring values rather than being overly attached to transient worldly success.
In practice
In a graduation speech, this quote can remind students that while they may achieve great things, it's important to stay humble and grounded.
How seldom we weigh our neighbor in the same balance with ourselves.
He will easily be content and at peace, whose conscience is pure.
Trust not to your feelings for whatever they might be now, they will quickly be changed towards some other thing.
Jesus has many who love the kingdom of God, but few who bear a cross. He has many who desire His comfort, but few who desire His suffering. All want to rejoice with him, but few are willing to suffer for Him. He writes; there are many who admire his miracles, but there are few who follow in the humiliation of the cross.
Anyone who thinks hard work will never hurt you has never had to pay to have it done. Jesus now has many lovers of his Heavenly Kingdom, but few bearers of his cross.
He has great tranquillity of heart who cares neither for the praises nor the fault-finding of men. He will easily be content and pacified, whose conscience is pure. You are not holier if you are praised, nor the more worthless if you are found fault with. What you are, that you are; neither by word can you be made greater than what you are in the sight of God.
We depend on our surroundings obliquely to embody the moods and ideas we respect and then to remind us of them. We look to our buildings to hold us, like a kind of psychological mould, to a helpful vision of ourselves. We arrange around us material forms which communicate to us what we need β but are at constant risk of forgetting what we need β within. We turn to wallpaper, benches, paintings and streets to staunch the disappearance of our true selves.
Our enmity toward God takes on many labels, such as rebellion, hard-heartedness, stiff-neckedness, unrepentant, puffed up, easily offended, and sign seekers. The proud wish God would agree with them. They aren't interested in changing their opinions to agree with God's.
The more we come out and do good to others, the more our hearts will be purified, and God will be in them.
Take away hatred from some people, and you have men without faith.
Women see better than men. Men see lazily, if they do not expect to act. Women see quite without any wish to act.
[I]t seems that the Cannibals of Europe are going to eat one another again. A war between Russia and Turkey is like the battle of the kite and snake; whichever destroys the other, leaves a destroyer the less for the world.
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