“Our choice is apparently most free, and we are least obviously driven to determine our course, in those cases where the future is most obscure, that is, when the balance of advantage appears most doubtful.”
Choice
The Note-Books of Samuel Butler (1912), Part XX - First Principles
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Samuel Butler 232
novelist 1835–1902Related quotes
Charles Eisenstein, Oral presentation in Baltimore, MD March 2012

Source: Father and Child Reunion (2001), p. 136.
The Personality of Jesus (1932)
Context: If we acquiesce in the presence of injustice and misery, we not only fail to remove exploitation and poverty, but we abdicate in favor of those who seek deliverance by violence. On the other hand, if we offer effective non-violent resistance, we may bring suffering upon both evildoers and victims. If we are able to keep ourselves free from bitterness and vindictiveness, our procedure in every situation will be determined by our judgement as to which type of persuasiveness and which method of non-violent restraint are under the circumstances most ethical and most effective. We will than go forward, even if the journey leads to the cross. Without suffering, there can be no redemption.

Designing the Future (2007)

Source: The Conflict of the Individual and the Mass in the Modern World (1932), p. 29

Source: Discourse on Method

Hard Heads, Soft Hearts: Tough-Minded Economics for a Just Society (1987)