Man you can define; but the true essence of any man, say, for instance, of Abraham Lincoln, remains the endlessly elusive and mysterious object of the biographer's interest, of the historian's comments, of popular legend, and of patriotic devotion. Josiah Royce More Quotes by Josiah Royce More Quotes From Josiah Royce No consensus of men can make an error erroneous. We can only find or commit an error, not create it. When we commit an error, we say what was an error already. Josiah Royce commit errors men God too longs; and because the Absolute Life itself, which dwells in our life, and inspires these very longings, possesses the true world, and is that world. Josiah Royce longing inspire world This preparatory sort of idealism is the one that, as I just suggested, Berkeley made prominent, and, after a fashion familiar. I must state it in my own way, although one in vain seeks to attain novelty in illustrating so frequently described a view. Josiah Royce swag fashion views And just because God attains and wins and finds this uniqueness all our lives win in our union with him the individuality which is essential to their true meaning. Josiah Royce individuality essentials winning But you are alone. Yet I never tell what you are. And if your face lights up my world as no other can - well, this feeling too, when viewed as the mere psychologist has to view it, appears to be simply what all the other friends report about their friends. Josiah Royce light views feelings Our will makes constantly a sort of agreement with the world, whereby, if the world will continually show some respect to the will, the will shall consent to be strenuous in its industry. Josiah Royce respect agreement world Life involves passions, faiths, doubts, and courage. Josiah Royce passion doubt inspirational For the Absolute, as we now know, all life is individual, but is individual as expressing a meaning. Josiah Royce individual life-is knows Religious faith, indeed, relates to that which is above us, but it must arise from that which is within us. Josiah Royce religious-faith arise religious Philosophers have actually devoted themselves, in the main, neither to perceiving the world, nor to spinning webs of conceptual theory, but to interpreting the meaning of the civilizations which they have represented, and to attempting the interpretation of whatever minds in the universe, human or divine, they believed to be real. Josiah Royce philosophical real civilization Men accept without questioning that this world is real and important and worthwhile. This is faith. Philosophy is the ongoing questioning of this faith. Josiah Royce real men philosophy Only the more uncompromising of the mystics still seek for knowledge in a silent land of absolute intuition, where the intellect finally lays down its conceptual tools, and rests from its pragmatic labors, while its works do not follow it, but are simply forgotten, and are as if they never had been. Josiah Royce intuition land tools The other aspect of idealism is the one which gives us our notion of the absolute Self. To it the first is only preparatory. This second aspect is the one which from Kant, until the present time, has formed the deeper problem of thought. Josiah Royce self giving firsts That this individual life of all of us is not something limited in its temporal expression to the life that now we experience, follows from the very fact that here nothing final or individual is found expressed. Josiah Royce finals expression facts So far as we live and strive at all, our lives are various, are needed for the whole, and are unique. Josiah Royce strive unique needed So, as one sees, I by no means deprive my world of stubborn reality, if I merely call it a world of ideas. Josiah Royce mean reality ideas The world, as transformed by this creative deed, is better than it would have been had all else remained the same, but had that deed of treason not been done at all. Josiah Royce better creative done world No baseness or cruelty of treason so deep or so tragic shall enter our human world, but that loyal love shall be able in due time to oppose to just that deed of treason its fitting deed of atonement. Josiah Royce deep time love world As for you, my beloved friend, I loyally believe in your uniqueness; but whenever I try to tell to you wherein it consists, I helplessly describe only a type. Josiah Royce your friend you believe Ideas any one can mould as he wishes. Josiah Royce wishes any he ideas
