Quotes

“It makes no difference what men think of war…War endures. As well ask men what they think of stone. War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting the ultimate practitioner.”

“Blood Meridian” by Cormac McCarthy is often regarded as one of the greatest American novels of the 20th century. The book is set in the mid-19th century and follows a nameless protagonist, known only as “the Kid,” as he joins a group of Indian-hunters led by the ruthless Judge Holden. The novel is a brutal, unflinching portrayal of violence and the human condition.

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“Love is or it ain’t. Thin love ain’t love at all.”

— Toni Morrison, Beloved

When Toni Morrison wrote, “Love is or it ain’t. Thin love ain’t love at all,” she captured a profound truth about the nature of genuine love. This quote, from her powerful novel “Beloved,” speaks to the idea that real love is unwavering and unconditional. It’s not a fleeting emotion or a halfhearted commitment.

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This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

[Read more…] about Reading Between the Lines – Rumi

“If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.”

― Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince

Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince, written in the early 16th century, serves as a manual for new rulers on how to acquire and maintain political power. The work is renowned for its pragmatic, often ruthless advice, focusing on the realities of political leadership rather than moral or ethical considerations. Machiavelli’s insights stem from his observations of political affairs in Renaissance Italy, a time marked by frequent conflicts and power struggles.

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“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”

― Rumi

The quote by the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi is a profound meditation on the nature of love and the human condition. It suggests that the key to experiencing love lies not in pursuing it externally, but rather in confronting and dismantling the internal obstacles that prevent us from embracing it fully.

Rumi was a Sufi mystic whose writings often explored themes of love, spirituality, and the search for unity with the divine. In this quote, he challenges the notion that love is something to be sought or attained from outside oneself. Instead, he posits that love is an innate human capacity, a fundamental aspect of our being that is always present within us.

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“But although the cliche says that power always corrupts, what is seldom said … is that power always reveals. When a man is climbing, trying to persuade others to give him power, concealment is necessary. … But as a man obtains more power, camouflage becomes less necessary.”

― Robert A. Caro, The Passage of Power

Robert Caro, in his exploration of power dynamics in “The Passage of Power,” a volume of his extensive biography of Lyndon B. Johnson, offers a nuanced perspective on the nature of power and its effects on individuals. The quote encapsulates one of Caro’s central themes: the transformative and revelatory nature of power.

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“Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy—the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.”

― Brene Brown

This quote by Brené Brown, from her book “Daring Greatly,” explores the concept of vulnerability and its profound impact on our lives.

First, what does it mean to “own our story”? It means accepting and embracing all parts of ourselves – the good, the bad, and the ugly. It’s about being honest with ourselves and others about who we are, where we’ve been, and what we’ve experienced.

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“Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.”

― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea

This quote is from Ernest Hemingway’s novel “The Old Man and the Sea,” published in 1952. The story is about an aging Cuban fisherman named Santiago who struggles with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream.

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I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

– Percy Bysshe Shelley

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“Is it better for a man to have chosen evil than to have good imposed upon him?”

― Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange

The quote from Anthony Burgess’s novel A Clockwork Orange encapsulates a profound ethical dilemma about free will and morality. This question is central to the themes explored in the book, which delves into the nature of good and evil, and the importance of choice in defining one’s humanity.

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Creating a life that reflects your values and satisfies your soul is a rare achievement. In a culture that relentlessly promotes avarice and excess as the good life, a person happy doing his own work is usually considered an eccentric, if not a subversive. Ambition is only understood if it’s to rise to the top of some imaginary ladder of success. Someone who takes an undemanding job because it affords him the time to pursue other interests and activities is considered a flake. A person who abandons a career in order to stay home and raise children is considered not to be living up to his potential-as if a job title and salary are the sole measure of human worth. You’ll be told in a hundred ways, some subtle and some not, to keep climbing, and never be satisfied with where you are, who you are, and what you’re doing. There are a million ways to sell yourself out, and I guarantee you’ll hear about them.

– Bill Waterson

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“Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.”

― Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning

This quote comes from Viktor E. Frankl’s influential book, “Man’s Search for Meaning,” in which he reflects on his experiences as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps during World War II and the insights he gained about the human search for meaning and purpose.

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