I have always been of the mind that in a democracy manners are the only effective weapons against the bowie-knife.
James Russell LowellRead
Solitude is as needful to the imagination as society is wholesome for the character.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Solitude fosters creativity, while social interactions build character.
James Russell Lowell emphasizes the dual importance of solitude and society in human life. He argues that solitude nurtures the imagination, allowing individuals to think deeply and creatively, while social engagement is essential for developing one's character and moral compass. Together, these experiences enrich an individual's life, suggesting a balance between personal reflection and community involvement.
Themes
SolitudeImaginationSocietyCharacterBalance
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared during a discussion on the importance of creativity and personal space.
More from James Russell Lowell
All quotes βThe foolish and the dead alone never change their opinions.
James Russell LowellRead
Not failure, but low aim, is crime.
James Russell LowellRead
Good luck is the willing handmaid of upright, energetic character, and conscientious observance of duty.
James Russell LowellRead
Puritanism, believing itself quick with the seed of religious liberty, laid, without knowing it, the egg of democracy.
James Russell LowellRead
Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind.
James Russell LowellRead
Similar quotes
Behind the hieroglyphic streets there would either be a transcendent meaning, or only the earth.
Thomas PynchonRead
What religion a man holds, to what race he belongs, these things are not important; the really important thing is this knowledge: the knowledge of God's plan for men. For God has a plan, and that plan is evolution.
Jiddu KrishnamurtiRead
As for freedom, it will soon cease to exist in any shape or form. Living will depend upon absolute obedience to a strict set of arrangements, which it will no longer be possible to transgress. The air traveler is not free. In the future, life's passengers will be even less so: they will travel through their lives fastened to their (corporate) seats.
Jean BaudrillardRead
The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity by contributing to the establishment of the kingdom of God, which can only be done by the recognition and profession of the truth by every man.
Leo TolstoyRead
Unless we place our religion and our treasure in the same thing, religion will always be sacrificed.
EpictetusRead
How do most people live without any thought? There are many people in the world,--you must have noticed them in the street,--how do they live? How do they get strength to put on their clothes in the morning?
Emily DickinsonRead