Men would no longer be victims of nature or of their own largely irrational societies: reason would triumph; universal harmonious cooperation, true history, would at last begin. For if this was not so, do the ideas of progress, of history, have any meaning? Is there not a movement, however tortuous, from ignorance to knowledge, from mythical thought and childish fantasies to perception of reality face to face, to knowledge of true goals, true values as well as truths of fact? Can history be a mere purposeless succession of events, caused by a mixture of material factors and the play of random selection, a tale full of sound and fury signifying nothing? This was unthinkable. The day would dawn when men and women would take their lives in their own hands and not be self-seeking beings or the playthings of blind forces that they did not understand. It was, at the very least, not impossible to conceive that such an earthly paradise could be; and if conceivable we could, at any rate, try to march towards it. That has been at the centre of ethical thought from the Greeks to the Christian visionaries of the Middle Ages, from the Renaissance to progressive thought in the last century; and indeed, is believed by many to this day. Isaiah Berlin
About This Quote

This quote is so true. It describes our lives today. The word "selfish" has become a common word used to describe people who are not willing to do what is best for other people. Selfish people are those who are only concerned about themselves and are not willing to sacrifice their own happiness for the sake of others.

Through this quote, Shakespeare was saying that instead of being selfish people, we should try to be more selfless and take care of the other people in our lives. The quote also means that reason will triumph over all other forces. As long as we have reason, we can take control of our life and make it better.

The fact that there are so many things in this world that are irrational, which makes us feel like we are out of control, does not mean that reason does not exist. All that truly matters is that we believe in what is rational or correct, no matter how irrational or difficult it might be to achieve it at first glance.

Source: The Crooked Timber Of Humanity: Chapters In The History Of Ideas

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  1. Men would no longer be victims of nature or of their own largely irrational societies: reason would triumph; universal harmonious cooperation, true history, would at last begin. For if this was not so, do the ideas of progress, of history, have any meaning? Is there...
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