quote · Legacy record
As to equality and inequality, all the beauty and glory of life come from inequalities. If we were all Beethovens or Shakespeares or marvelous in any one direction, life would be unbearable. Who shall tell me if an Easter lily is the equal of a rose, or if either is equal to an oak or a pine? The question of equality is out of the court. The one thing we need to do is to cultivate the finest and sweetest things in us; and then, whether we are one of the California big trees or the violet in a valley, we shall help on the beauty and glory of the earth.
As to equality and inequality, all the beauty and glory of life come from inequalities. If we were all Beethovens or Shakespeares or marvelous in any one direction, life would be unbearable. Who shall tell me if an Easter lily is the equal of a rose, or if either is equal to an oak or a pine? The question of equality is out of the court. The one thing we need to do is to cultivate the finest and sweetest things in us; and then, whether we are one of the California big trees or the violet in a valley, we shall help on the beauty and glory of the earth.
In print by 1911 AD · modern
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Meaning not yet available
An individual explanation has not yet been added. We do not substitute a generic description for an interpretation of these particular words.
Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Robert Collyer
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1911 AD · modern
In print by 1911: recorded in The Optimist’s Good Morning (1911). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- The Optimist’s Good Morning (1911) (1911 AD)
Complete signed selection 84; printed byline: Robert Collyer; Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1911; printed copyright 1907
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.