Quotes About Meaning

The prophets clearly said that Israel would always be beloved of God and that the law would be everlasting, and they also said that none would understand their meaning, but that it was veiled. How highly then should we esteem those who break the cipher for us and teach us to understand the hidden meaning

A good portrait can only be made by reconciling all our contradictory features, and it is not enough to follow through a series of mutually compatible qualities without reconciling their opposites; to understand an author's meaning all contradictory passages must be reconciled.

I do not know whether God exists, but I know that I have nothing to gain from being an atheist if he does not exist, whereas I have plenty to lose if he does. Hence, this justifies my belief in God.

The word 'enemy' is therefore ambiguous, but if he says elsewhere, as he does, that he will deliver his people from their sins,1 as do Isaiah2 and others, the ambiguity is removed, and the double meaning of enemies reduced to the single meaning of iniquities.

Everything which does not lead to charity is figurative. The sole object of Scripture is charity. Everything that does not lead to this sole good is figurative. For, since there is only one goal, everything that does not lead to it explicitly is figurative.

The present is never our end. The past and the present are our means, the future alone our end. Thus, we never actually live, but hope to live.

Words differently arranged have a different meaning, and meanings differently arranged have different effects.

that the closed mem6 signified 600 years. But the time was foretold clearly, while the manner was figurative.

When the word of God, which is true, is false in the letter it is true in the spirit. Sit thou at my right hand is false literally, so it is true spiritually.

But what is nature? For is custom not natural? I am much afraid that nature is itself only a first custom, as custom is a second nature.

Porque, finalmente, ¿qué es el hombre en la naturaleza? Una nada frente al infinito, un todo frente a la nada, un medio entre nada y todo. Infinitamente alejado de comprender los extremos, el fin de las cosas y su principio le están invenciblemente ocultos en un secreto impenetrable, igualmente incapaz de ver la nada de dónde ha sido sacado y el infinito en que se halla sumido

Language was a code, like numbers, he said, and depended just as much on rhythm for its power

Picasso said that art is a lie, but a lie that tells the truth ... Calder wondered what Picasso had meant. Was it that art wasn't exactly the real world, but it said something real?

It's east to see without lookin' too far that not much is really sacred.

I find C major to be the key of strength, but also the key of regret. E major is the key of confidence. A-flat major is the key of renunciation.

Anything worth thinking about is worth singing about.

your problem is that you wanna better word for world

abe said where d'you want this killin done / God said out on highway 61

Sometimes people ask songwriters what a song means, not realizing if they had more words to explain it they would've used them in the song.

Why am I walking, where am I running What am I saying, what am I knowing On this guitar I'm playing, on this banjo I'm frailin' On this mandolin I'm strummin', in the song I'm singin' In the tune I'm hummin', in the words I'm writin' In the words that I'm thinkin' In this ocean of hours I'm all the time drinkin' Who am I helping, what am I breaking What am I giving, what am I taking

Semantics and labels could drive you crazy.

The purpose of art is to stop time.

The world don't need any more songs... As a matter of fact, if nobody wrote any songs from this day on, the world ain't gonna suffer for it... There's enough songs for people to listen to, if they want to listen to songs. For every man, woman and child on earth, they could be sent, probably, each of them, a hundred songs, and never be repeated... Unless someone's gonna come along with a pure heart and has something to say. That's a different story.

Sometimes the things that you liked the best and that have meant the most to you are the things that meant nothing at all to you when you first heard or saw them.