“The mothers of all ages are those who have suffered because others suffered; for each of them, self is less sensitive than the sense of her child. Self is not locked up in the maternal heart, there to be cherished, as it is by the egoist, or to be crushed and silenced, as it is by the Saint. In the mother, self is not lost, but loses all its evil by the passionate personal love that distributes it among sons and daughters. Perfect self-less love would perhaps be distributed through the multitude, but a mother is not perfect: nature has so much use for her—separate, family use—that she cannot let her go free from irrational, indispensable partialities and limitings, even injustices, all serving the turn of the race.”
Source: Mary, the Mother of Jesus: An Essay (1912), Ch. IV. "The Mother", p. 40
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Alice Meynell 13
English publisher, editor, writer, poet, activist 1847–1922Related quotes
Matthew 16:25
Source: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Heaven … But Never Dreamed of Asking (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1990), p. 74
Mūlamadhyamakakārikā 14.8–9
trans. Jay Garfield, The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way (1995), ISBN 0195093364
Source: Intercourse (1987), Chapter 7
Source: Think and Grow Rich: The Landmark Bestseller - Now Revised and Updated for the 21st Century
Section 35
The Passionate State Of Mind, and Other Aphorisms (1955)
Context: Pride is a sense of worth derived from something that is not organically part of us, while self-esteem derives from the potentialities and achievements of the self. We are proud when we identify ourselves with an imaginary self, a leader, a holy cause, a collective body or possessions. There is fear and intolerance in pride; it is sensitive and uncompromising. The less promise and potency in the self, the more imperative is the need for pride. The core of pride is self-rejection.
It is true that when pride releases energies and serves as a spur to achievement, it can lead to a reconciliation with the self and the attainment of genuine self-esteem.
“Self-love is the source of all our other loves.”
L'amour-propre est la source en nous de tous les autres.
Albin, act I, scene iii.
Tite et Bérénice (Titus and Berenice) (1670)