Book II, xxi, 9
The Advancement of Learning (1605)
“We do not what we ought,
What we ought not, we do,
And lean upon the thought
That chance will bring us through.”
—
Matthew Arnold
,
book
Empedocles on Etna
Act I, sc. ii
Empedocles on Etna (1852)
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Do you have more details about the quote "We do not what we ought,
What we ought not, we do,
And lean upon the thought
That chance will bring us through." by Matthew Arnold?
Matthew Arnold 166
English poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector… 1822–1888Related quotes
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George Saintsbury
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Cosimo de' Medici
(1389–1464) First ruler of the Medici political dynasty
Attributed to Cosimo de' Medici, Duke of Florence, in Apothegms by Francis Bacon, (1624) No. 206
Henry Clay Trumbull
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Source: Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), p. 197.
Source: An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789; 1823), Ch. 1 : Of the Principle of Utility
Context: Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do, as well as to determine what we shall do. On the one hand the standard of right and wrong, on the other the chain of causes and effects, are fastened to their throne. They govern us in all we do, in all we say, in all we think: every effort we can make to throw off our subjection, will serve but to demonstrate and confirm it. In words a man may pretend to abjure their empire: but in reality he will remain subject to it all the while. The principle of utility recognizes this subjection, and assumes it for the foundation of that system, the object of which is to rear the fabric of felicity by the hands of reason and of law. Systems which attempt to question it, deal in sounds instead of sense, in caprice instead of reason, in darkness instead of light.
Miguel de Unamuno
(1864–1936) 19th-20th century Spanish writer and philosopher
The Tragic Sense of Life (1913), VI : In the Depths of the Abyss
Context: To all this, someone is sure to object that life ought to subject itself to reason, to which we will reply that nobody ought to do what he is unable to do, and life cannot subject itself to reason. "Ought, therefore can," some Kantian will retort. To which we shall demur: "Cannot, therefore ought not." And life cannot submit itself to reason, because the end of life is living and not understanding.
Francis Bacon
(1561–1626) English philosopher, statesman, scientist, jurist, and author
No. 206
Apophthegms (1624)