Endurance is nobler than strength, and patience than beauty.
John RuskinRead
Without seeking, truth cannot be known at all. It can neither be declared from pulpits, nor set down in articles, nor in any wise prepared and sold in packages ready for use. Truth must be ground for every man by itself out of it such, with such help as he can get, indeed, but not without stern labor of his own.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Truth cannot be easily given; it requires personal effort and diligence to discover.
This quote by John Ruskin emphasizes that truth is not something that can be handed down or packaged for easy consumption; instead, it must be actively sought and worked for by each individual. The process of seeking truth involves personal effort, introspection, and sometimes struggle, suggesting that the journey to understanding is as important as the knowledge itself.
Themes
TruthKnowledgeStruggleEffortUnderstanding
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about morality, one could use this quote to emphasize the necessity of personal reflection in understanding ethical truths.
More from John Ruskin
All quotes →In health of mind and body, men should see with their own eyes, hear and speak without trumpets, walk on their feet, not on wheels, and work and war with their arms, not with engine-beams, nor rifles warranted to kill twenty men at a shot before you can see them.
John RuskinRead
You talk of the scythe of Time, and the tooth of Time: I tell you, Time is scytheless and toothless; it is we who gnaw like the worm - we who smite like the scythe. It is ourselves who abolish - ourselves who consume: we are the mildew, and the flame.
John RuskinRead
To be able to ask a question clearly is two-thirds of the way to getting it answered.
John RuskinRead
See that your children be taught, not only the labors of the earth, but the loveliness of it.
John RuskinRead
A little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money.
John RuskinRead
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