I have always been of the mind that in a democracy manners are the only effective weapons against the bowie-knife.
James Russell LowellRead
What a sense of security in an old book which Time has criticized for us!
Interpretation
Old books offer a sense of security as they have withstood the test of time.
In this quote, James Russell Lowell emphasizes the value of classic literature, suggesting that books which have been scrutinized and critiqued over the years provide a reliable source of wisdom and security. These works have endured, indicating their significance and the lessons they impart to readers across generations.
In practice
In a book club meeting discussing the importance of literature.
I have always been of the mind that in a democracy manners are the only effective weapons against the bowie-knife.
The foolish and the dead alone never change their opinions.
Not failure, but low aim, is crime.
Good luck is the willing handmaid of upright, energetic character, and conscientious observance of duty.
Puritanism, believing itself quick with the seed of religious liberty, laid, without knowing it, the egg of democracy.
Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind.
That is where my dearest and brightest dreams have ranged β to hear for the duration of a heartbeat the universe and the totality of life in its mysterious, innate harmony.
We have to take the first step as though there were no God. It is no use to wait for God to help us, He will not: but immediately we arise we find He is there.
true humility is when you can surprise yourself more than others; the rest is either shyness or good marketing
It is only in sorrow bad weather masters us; in joy we face the storm and defy it.
My chief study all my life has been to lighten misfortunes and multiply pleasures, as far as human nature can.
Never once in my life did I ask God for success or wisdom or power or fame. I asked for wonder, and he gave it to me.
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