“There is a universal element in man which he can assert by so acting as if the purpose of the Universe were also his purpose.”
Section 9 : Ethical Outlook
Founding Address (1876), Life and Destiny (1913)
Context: There is a universal element in man which he can assert by so acting as if the purpose of the Universe were also his purpose. It is the function of the supreme ordeals of life to develop in men this power, to give to their life this distinction, this height of dignity, these vast horizons.
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
Felix Adler 99
German American professor of political and social ethics, r… 1851–1933Related quotes
“The universe was made on purpose, the circle said.”
Source: Contact (1985), Chapter 24 (p. 431)
Context: The universe was made on purpose, the circle said. In whatever galaxy you happen to find yourself, you take the circumference of a circle, divide it by its diameter, measure closely enough, and uncover a miracle — another circle, drawn kilometers downstream of the decimal point. There would be richer messages farther in. It doesn't matter what you look like, or what you're made of, or where you come from. As long as you live in this universe, and have a modest talent for mathematics, sooner or later you'll find it. It's already here. It's inside everything. You don't have to leave your planet to find it. In the fabric of space and in the nature of matter, as in a great work of art, there is, written small, the artist’s signature. Standing over humans, gods, and demons, subsuming Caretakers and Tunnel builders, there is an intelligence that antedates the universe.
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Philosophy of Right translated by SW Dyde Queen’s University Canada 1896 p. 114-115
Elements of the Philosophy of Right (1820/1821)
“The sole purpose of man on earth is to manifest his Creator. He has no other purpose.”
Source: A New Concept of the Universe (1953), p. 139
“The University's Part in Political Life” (13 March 1909) in PWW (The Papers of Woodrow Wilson) 19:99
1900s
Zeno, 72.
The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers (c. 200 A.D.), Book 7: The Stoics
On being a writer, actress, and producer http://reelladies.wordpress.com/2008/09/01/reel-lady-masiela-lusha/
“The old man was sad as he sat on his porch. He knew so little of the Great Purpose.”
"The Big Hunger" (1952)
Context: The old man was sad as he sat on his porch. He knew so little of the Great Purpose. Why must his seed fling itself starward? He knew that it must — but he lacked a reason. His grandchildren played in the twilight, played space-games, although there was not yet a starship on the planet.
“You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.”
Source: The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for?
Source: Guide for the Perplexed (c. 1190), Part III, Ch.12
Context: Those who observe the nature of the Universe and the commandments of the Law, and know their purpose, see clearly God's mercy and truth in everything; they seek, therefore, that which the Creator intended to be the aim of man, viz., comprehension. Forced also by claims of the body, they seek that which is necessary for the preservation of the body, "bread to eat and garment to clothe," and this is very little; but they seek nothing superfluous; with very slight exertion man can obtain it, so long as he is contented with that which is indispensable.