Your thought sees power in armies, cannons, battleships, submarines, aeroplanes, and poison gas. But mine asserts that power lies in reason, resolution, and truth. No matter how long the tyrant endures, he will be the loser at the end. Your thought differentiates between pragmatist and idealist, between the part and the whole, between the mystic and materialist. Mine realizes that life is one and its weights, measures and tables do not coincide with your weights, measures and tables. He whom you suppose an idealist may be a practical man.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- True power lies in reason and truth, not military might, and life cannot be divided by rigid categories.
- In plain terms
- Power comes from truth and reason, not weapons, and life cannot be split into strict categories.
- What can you take from it?
- Choose truth over force and resist simple labels.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Where do you find true power?
- Do words like pragmatist and idealist limit us?
Another view
Some may argue that force is sometimes necessary to protect truth and freedom.
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