Our virtues and our failings are inseparable, like force and matter. When they separate, man is no more.
Interpretation
Our strengths and weaknesses are interconnected and define our existence.
Nikola Tesla suggests that virtues and failings are two sides of the same coin, integral to our human experience. Just as force and matter are inherently linked in the universe, the qualities we possess ultimately shape who we are, signifying that to separate them is to lose our very essence.
In practice
During a motivational speech about personal growth.
Even matter called inorganic, believed to be dead, responds to irritants and gives unmistakable evidence of a living principle within. Everything that exists, organic or inorganic, animated or inert, is susceptible to stimulus from the outside.
Our senses enable us to perceive only a minute portion of the outside world.
Every living being is an engine geared to the wheelwork of the universe. Though seemingly affected only by its immediate surrounding, the sphere of external influence extends to infinite distance.
The history of science shows that theories are perishable. With every new truth that is revealed we get a better understanding of Nature and our conceptions and views are modified.
The Secretary of Hygiene or Physical Culture will be far more important in the cabinet of the President of the United States who holds office in the year 2035 than the Secretary of War.
I am unwilling to accord to some small−minded and jealous individuals the satisfaction of having thwarted my efforts. These men are to me nothing more than microbes of a nasty disease. My project was retarded by laws of nature. The world was not prepared for it. It was too far ahead of time, but the same laws will prevail in the end and make it a triumphal success.
Respect for the dignity of others includes treating them as rational creatures capable of being persuadad by rational argument, even in the face of frequent evidence to the contrary.
Our loyalties are to the species and the planet. We speak for Earth.
To become a philosopher, start by walking very slowly.
People can have the Model T in any color – so long as it’s black.
Abba Moses asked Abba Sylvanus, Can a person lay a new foundation every day? The old man replied, If you work hard, you can lay a new foundation every moment. Abba Pimen said, To throw yourself before God, not to measure your progress, to leave behind all self-will; these are the instruments for the work of the soul. The desire to rule is the mother of heresies.
Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground.
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