One can imagine the look the two lovers exchanged; it was like a flame, for virtuous lovers have not a shred of hypocrisy.
Honore De BalzacRead
The virtues we acquire, which develop slowly within us, are the invisible links that bind each one of our existences to the others - existences which the spirit alone remembers, for Matter has no memory for spiritual things.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The virtues we develop create deep connections between people, remembered spiritually rather than materially.
This quote by Honore De Balzac reflects on the importance of virtues in creating bonds between individuals over time. It suggests that while physical matter may not retain memories of our interactions, the virtues we cultivate contribute to a spiritual connection that links all human lives in a meaningful and lasting way.
Themes
VirtuesConnectionsExistenceSpiritualMemory
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of moral values in society.
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Marriage must incessantly contend with a monster that devours everything: familiarity.
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Who is to decide which is the grimmer sight: withered hearts, or empty skulls?
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However gross a man may be, the minute he expresses a strong and genuine affection, some inner secretion alters his features, animates his gestures, and colors his voice. The stupidest man will often, under the stress of passion, achieve heights of eloquence, in thought if not in language, and seem to move in some luminous sphere. Goriot's voice and gesture had at this moment the power of communication that characterizes the great actor. Are not our finer feelings the poems of the human will?
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Love is a religion, and its rituals cost more than those of other religions. It goes by quickly and, like a street urchin, it likes to mark its passage by a trail of devastation.
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