“What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.”

—  Albert Pike

"1860. In Lodge of Sorrow at Washington: March 30.", p. 11 <!-- [books.google.com/books?id=PTpRwZ1yEWwC&pg=PA11&dq=What+we+have+done+for+ourselves+Albert+Pike&hl=en&sa=X&ei=akWkT_3QCqLA6AHG_7G6CQ&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=remains immortal&f=false page 11] -->
In sentiment this is similar to the expression made much earlier by Giordano Bruno in On the Infinite Universe and Worlds (1584) : "What you receive from others is a testimony to their virtue; but all that you do for others is the sign and clear indication of your own."
Ex Corde Locutiones: Words from the Heart Spoken of His Dead Brethren
Variant: What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.

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Albert Pike photo
Albert Pike 88
Confederate States Army general and Freemason 1809–1891

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