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About this quote

What does it mean?
True piety is characterized by intentional ceremony, not random or lukewarm actions.
In plain terms
Religious acts need care and structure, not just chance.
What can you take from it?
Approach sacred acts with intention rather than carelessness.

Where it applies

  • religious practice
  • moral conduct

Putting it to work

  • structure daily rituals
  • act with intention

Questions to consider

  • Do your meaningful acts have structure or are they random?

Another view

Spontaneity can also hold value in some spiritual traditions.

More from Ludwig Wittgenstein

  1. Burning in effigy. Kissing the picture of one's beloved... it aims at nothing at all; we just behave this way and then we feel satisfied. (p. 123)

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  2. His explanations of primitive practices are much cruder than the meaning of these practices themselves. (p. 131)

    Permalink to quote #98
  3. A religious symbol does not rest on any opinion. And error belongs only with opinion. One would like to say: This is what took place here; laugh, if you can. (…

    Permalink to quote #95

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