"For every moment of joy in our lives we have ten thousand others that are unspoken; such as the pains taken to obtain food or money, the indignities which we swallow, the kind thoughts we withhold."
This quote by George A. Moore highlights the idea that life is a complex interplay of joyous moments and countless, often unnoticed, struggles. The joys we experience are only a small fraction of the many efforts, hardships, and compromises required to reach those moments. These 'unspoken' moments include daily challenges such as securing food or income, enduring inconveniences, and suppressing negative thoughts or emotions for the sake of others. It serves as a reminder that appreciating life's joys requires recognizing the unseen struggles behind them.
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."
This quote by George A. Moore suggests that life isn't merely a collection of ordinary moments or experiences, but rather it's defined by extraordinary instances that leave us in awe or amazement, moments that are so impactful they momentarily take our breath away. Essentially, the quality and richness of our lives are not quantified by the number of instances we live through, but by the depth and intensity of these memorable moments.
"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."
This quote emphasizes that despite our individual circumstances or situations (being "in the gutter"), there is a difference in outlook among people. Some focus on their hardships and dwell in their current state ("looking at the gutter"), while others maintain hope and aspire for something greater, looking towards lofty goals and aspirations symbolized by the stars. It suggests resilience, optimism, and the human capacity to rise above adversity and strive for personal growth and enlightenment.
"It is in vain to dream of happiness and freedom, if they do not include the freedom to be unhappy."
This quote by George A. Moore suggests that genuine happiness and freedom should encompass the liberty to experience negative emotions like unhappiness. It implies that true self-expression and personal growth may involve moments of distress, and suppressing these emotions can hinder our ability to fully understand ourselves or pursue authentic happiness. Essentially, it underscores the importance of emotional honesty in our pursuit of freedom and happiness.
"A man's life is nothing but this slow, daily approach to his own death, which he doesn't see, though he can feel it."
George A. Moore suggests that life for an individual is a gradual, day-by-day journey towards one's eventual death, although the end itself may not be directly perceived, only its sense or approach can be felt. It emphasizes the continual, imperceptible progression of time, and our mortality as an underlying subtext throughout life.
Some men spend their lives watching bees and ants, noting down the habits of these insects; my pleasure is to watch the human mind, noting how unselfish instincts rise to the surface and sink back again, making way for selfish instincts, each equally necessary, for the world would perish were it to become entirely selfish or entirely unselfish.
- George A. Moore
I do not believe in a universal religion any more than I believe in a universal language. My feeling is that people have to make their own religion as they have to make their arts and their parishes, and that they must find their own salvation; the salvation mongers are of not much avail.
- George A. Moore
Isn't it strange that religious prejudices - beliefs none possess, not even the saints, so they have lamented - divide brothers and sons from their fathers. You see, I except mothers and sisters; the female is not a religious animal. If she were, the world would have ceased long ago.
- George A. Moore
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