"There is but one method of attaining to excellence, and that is hard labor;and a man who will not pay that price for distinction had better at once dedicate himself to the pursuits of the fox, or sport with the tangles of Neaera's hair, or talk of bullocks and the glory in the goad."
Sydney Smith
When I first ran across this quote it completely baffled me. The pursuits of the fox, tangles of Neaera's hair and glory in the goad went right over my head. But as I thought through it and looked up Neaera's hair I came to the conclusion he is saying; if we won't work we had better learn to be sly like the fox or find hiding behind others or learn to like being goaded all our life.
2 comments:
Hi Fred:)
Greetings and good wishes to you and your wonderful family for the New Year.
May you be blessed with an abundance of everything-HAPPINES, HEALTH, SUCCESS AND PROSPERITY.
I entirely agree with you on the quote. Most of us remain lesser mortals because we are not prepared to put in hard work, go the extra mile and remain satisfied with little achievents in our lives. Most of us are normal human beings. People who acieve greatness are people who have dedicated thier lives to the achievement of their ambitions be it Michael Jackson or Mother Teresa. They worked for it with an unwavering mind, dedication, determination, shrigged the failures, single minded devotion etc. They acheived greatness in the end.
Lovely and meaningful photo.
God bless you and your family Fred:)
Joseph
Hi Joseph,
and a Happy New Year to you, and with the recent marriage of your son I know you are filled with joy.
You are so right, we "remain lesser mortals because we are prepared to put in hard work." I pray your son's new marriage will reap the benefits of the hard work he will put in to it.
God bless them both,
Fred
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