Quotes by Philosophers - Page 31

The most detestable wickedness, the most horrid cruelties, and the greatest miseries, that have afflicted the human race have had their origin in this thing called revelation, or revealed religion. It has been the most dishonourable belief against the character of the divinity, the most destructive to morality, and the peace and happiness of man, that ever was propagated since man began to exist. It is better, far better, that we admitted, if it were possible, a thousand devils to roam at large, and to preach publicly the doctrine of devils, if there were any such, than that we permitted one such impostor and monster as Moses, Joshua, Samuel, and the Bible prophets, to come with the pretended word of God in his mouth, and have credit among us.Whence arose all the horrid assassinations of whole nations of men, women, and infants, with which the Bible is filled; and the bloody persecutions, and tortures unto death and religious wars, that since that time have laid Europe in blood and ashes; whence arose they, but from this impious thing called revealed religion, and this monstrous belief that God has spoken to man? The lies of the Bible have been the cause of the one, and the lies of the Testament of the other.
Thomas Paine
The crowning fortune of a man is to be born to some pursuit which finds him employment and happiness, whether it be to make baskets, or broadswords, or canals, or statues, or songs.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
For what prevents us from saying that the happy life is to have a mind that is free, lofty, fearless and steadfast - a mind that is placed beyond the reach of fear, beyond the reach of desire, that counts virtue the only good, baseness the only evil, and all else but a worthless mass of things, which come and go without increasing or diminishing the highest good, and neither subtract any part from the happy life nor add any part to it?A man thus grounded must, whether he wills or not, necessarily be attended by constant cheerfulness and a joy that is deep and issues from deep within, since he finds delight in his own resources, and desires no joys greater than his inner joys.
Seneca
The foundation of irreligious criticism is: Man makes religion, religion does not make man. Religion is, indeed, the self-consciousness and self-esteem of man who has either not yet won through to himself, or has already lost himself again. But man is no abstract being squatting outside the world. Man is the world of man – state, society. This state and this society produce religion, which is an inverted consciousness of the world, because they are an inverted world...Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness. To call on them to give up their illusions about their condition is to call on them to give up a condition that requires illusions. The criticism of religion is, therefore, in embryo, the criticism of that vale of tears of which religion is the halo.Criticism has plucked the imaginary flowers on the chain not in order that man shall continue to bear that chain without fantasy or consolation, but so that he shall throw off the chain and pluck the living flower. The criticism of religion disillusions man, so that he will think, act, and fashion his reality like a man who has discarded his illusions and regained his senses, so that he will move around himself as his own true Sun. Religion is only the illusory Sun which revolves around man as long as he does not revolve around himself.
Karl Marx
A day in a storm strengthens you more than a thousand in sunshine.
Matshona Dhliwayo
It is in vain to hide a fruitful seed in fertile soil.
Matshona Dhliwayo
A single star shines brighter than a thousand moons.
Matshona Dhliwayo
The poor can dream. The weak can hope. The helpless can strive. The powerless can rise.
Matshona Dhliwayo
To encourage people, walk beside them. To inspire people, walk in front of them. To drive people, walk behind them. To lead people, walk with them.
Matshona Dhliwayo
The struggles of the past are the gateway to the blessings of the future.
Matshona Dhliwayo
The storm is the optimist’s friend, but the pessimist’s nightmare.
Matshona Dhliwayo
Be the calm in someone else’s storm.
Matshona Dhliwayo
The darkest storms color the brightest rainbows.
Matshona Dhliwayo
Learn from the ocean; not fearing turbulence, it uses the wind against it to rise instead.
Matshona Dhliwayo
Bless the world with your mind, heal the world with your heart, lift the world with your soul; elevate the world with your life.
Matshona Dhliwayo
The only way to survive such shitty times, if you ask me, is to write and read big, fat books, you know? And I’m writing now another book on Hegelian dialectics, subjectivity, ontology, quantum physics and so on. That’s the only way to survive. Like Lenin. I will use his example. You know what Lenin did, in 1915, when World War I exploded? He went to Switzerland and started to read Hegel.
Slavoj Žižek
No matter how low the sun sets, the time is coming when it will surely rise.
Matshona Dhliwayo
Planting a flower in the desert takes greater skill than growing a garden in a rain forest.
Matshona Dhliwayo
Joy gives you strength.Hope gives you fortitude.Faith gives you courage.Love gives you power.
Matshona Dhliwayo
Use your mind’s talents diligently, your heart’s powers incredibly, and your soul’s genius profitably.
Matshona Dhliwayo
Worry soils, even the purest mind.Envy poisons, even the purest heart.Greed sullies, even the purest soul.
Matshona Dhliwayo
Use fear to become braver, pain to become stronger, trials to become wiser, and misfortune to become better.
Matshona Dhliwayo
Trees generously share their fruit.Bees generously share their honey.Flowers generously share their perfume. Do likewise.
Matshona Dhliwayo
If your thoughts are higher than your problems, you can fly above them.
Matshona Dhliwayo
Dream while others are sleeping. Dare while others are wishing. Do while others are talking. Deliver while others are quitting.
Matshona Dhliwayo
If you want to know how fortunate you are, visit three places: the slum, the hospital, and the cemetery.
Matshona Dhliwayo
Rain is just God weeping for Earth’s troubles.
Matshona Dhliwayo
You are strong because of what you overcame, brave because of what you defeated, fierce because of what you mastered, and powerful because of what you conquered.
Matshona Dhliwayo
You are not honored for the fruit you pick, but for the trees you plant.
Matshona Dhliwayo
It is impossible for a star to shine and not get noticed, even in the dark.
Matshona Dhliwayo
It is not the size of a seed, but the size of what rises from it.
Matshona Dhliwayo
The richest person in the cemetery is the one who left behind the most happy memories.
Matshona Dhliwayo
You don’t have to swim when you know how to walk on water.
Matshona Dhliwayo
A diamond only truly appreciates pressure the day it begins to shine.
Matshona Dhliwayo
Anger has great strength, but no brains. Greed has a great appetite, but no heart.Pride has a great spirit, but no soul.
Matshona Dhliwayo
The uglier the storm the lovelier the rainbow.
Matshona Dhliwayo
You were given the problems you have because you can solve them; the burdens, because you can carry them; the trials, because you can overcome them; the opponents, because you can beat them; and the enemies, because you can conquer them.
Matshona Dhliwayo
If the wind brushes against you, do not complain; it brushes against everyone.
Matshona Dhliwayo
You were not born to impress the world, but to impress the universe.
Matshona Dhliwayo
Stars give so much to the world without demanding payment. Be likewise.
Matshona Dhliwayo
When I was poor, I was rich because I was happy; when I was wealthy, I was poor because I was sad.
Matshona Dhliwayo
We are all born stars, but some refuse to shine and others make it their life’s mission to glow.
Matshona Dhliwayo
Love will always be blind, but will never be deaf.
Matshona Dhliwayo
Each time a flower blooms, the world is reminded that there is beauty in new beginnings.
Matshona Dhliwayo
If God charged us for every tear He shed for us, the world would be bankrupt.
Matshona Dhliwayo
A caterpillar knows it's a butterfly, even if the whole world tries to convince it that it's just a worm.
Matshona Dhliwayo
Stars cannot achieve their highest potential without the dark.
Matshona Dhliwayo
Calm skies don't make skillful eagles.
Matshona Dhliwayo
If you cry in the rain, only the sky will see your tears.
Matshona Dhliwayo
I understand why King Solomon asked for wisdom from God. For wisdom is like oil to a lamp, what would be the essence of having a lamp without oil in darkness?.
Gift Gugu Mona
From the sadness, learn something; from the happiness, learn something. From the setback, learn something and even from the success learn something. Never stop learning from any situation in life, for that is where the wisdom lies.
Gift Gugu Mona
Being rich or famous is the only profound thing that some people have ever said.
Mokokoma Mokhonoana
Among other possibilities, money was invented to make it possible for a foolish man to control wise men; a weak man, strong men; a child, old men; an ignorant man, knowledgeable men; and for a dwarf to control giants.
Mokokoma Mokhonoana
It's simple, it's not that simple; or life is simple, but the things in it are not. When a man does not understand it, he tends to inflate it. When he does, he tends to deflate it. In the end, neither images are fully accurate.
Criss Jami
There is only one thing which is generally safe from plagiarism -- self-denial.
G.K. Chesterton
Huius (sapientis) opus unum est de divinis humanisque verum invenire; ab hac numquam recedit religio, pietas, iustitia ...
Seneca
From the cradle to the grave, joy and pain is the fertilizer for wisdom.
T.F. Hodge
Love begets wisdom, thus it is, as often misconceived, more than vain layers of tenderness; it is inherently rational and comprehensive of the problem within the problem: for instance, envy is one of the most excused sins in the media of political correctness. Those you find most attractive, or seem to have it all, are often some of the most insecure at heart, and that is because people assume that they do not need anything but defamation.
Criss Jami
It goes without saying that even those of us who are going to hell will get eternal life—if that territory really exists outside religious books and the minds of believers, that is. Having said that, given the choice, instead of being grilled until hell freezes over, the average sane human being would, needless to say, rather spend forever idling in an extremely fertile garden, next to a lamb or a chicken or a parrot, which they do not secretly want to eat, and a lion or a tiger or a crocodile, which does not secretly want to eat them.
Mokokoma Mokhonoana
To some believers, being on the pill or using a condom is a nonverbal way of telling God to go to hell.
Mokokoma Mokhonoana