Quote#Politics & Power
Of the systems above us, angelic and seraphic, we know little; but we…
Quote byMark Hopkins · 1802–1887
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), P. 393..
English (original)
Of the systems above us, angelic and seraphic, we know little; but we see one law, simple, efficient, and comprehensive as that of gravitation,— the law of love,— extending its sway over the whole of God's dominions, living where He lives, embracing every moral movement in its universal authority, and producing the same harmony, where it is obeyed as we observe in the movements of nature.
— Mark Hopkins
More from Mark Hopkins
Man can have strength of character only as he is capable of controlling his faculties; of choosing a rational end; and, in its pursuit, of holding fast to his integrity against al! the might of external nature.
Whatever capacities there may be for enjoyment or for suffering in this strange being of ours, and God only knows what they are, they will be drawn out wholly in accordance with character.
Language is the picture and counterpart of thought.
All mental discipline and symmetrical growth are from activity of the mind under the yoke of the will or personal power.
The essential elements of giving are power and love — activity and affection — and the consciousness of the race testifies that in the high and appropriate exercise of these is a blessedness greater than any other.
But for us there are moments, O, how solemn, when destiny trembles in the balance, and the preponderance of either scale is by our own choice.