"A nickname is the heaviest stone that the devil can throw at a man. It is a bugbear to the imagination, and, though we do not believe in it, it still haunts our apprehensions."

Action

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Insight & Reflection

This reflection on action by William Hazlitt resonates across generations. It highlights a fundamental truth about human nature: our continuous search for meaning in action is what ultimately defines our character and our path forward.

About William Hazlitt

William Hazlitt was an English essayist, drama and literary critic, painter, social commentator, and philosopher. He is now considered one of the greatest critics and essayists in the history of the English language, placed in the company of Samuel Johnson and George Orwell. He is also acknowledged as the finest art critic of his age. Despite his high standing among historians of literature and art, his work is currently little read and mostly out of print.

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Editorial Note: This quote is curated and fact-checked by the Quotes Archive Editorial Team. Verified Literature Specialist.

More by William Hazlitt

"There is a secret pride in every human heart that revolts at tyranny. You may order and drive an individual, but you cannot make him respect you."

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More about Action

"The only freedom I care about is the freedom to do right the freedom to do wrong I am ready to part with on the cheapest terms to anyone who will take it of me."

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"There can be no great courage where there is no confidence or assurance, and half the battle is in the conviction that we can do what we undertake."

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"The most valuable of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it has to be done, whether you like it or not."

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"You can say I had a severe case of 'Roots' envy. I wanted to be like Alex Haley, and I wanted to be able to... do my family tree back to the slave ship and then reverse the Middle Passage, as I like to put it, and find the tribe or ethnic group that I was from in Africa."

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