To the person who believes this- as the western world did up until a few centuries ago- this physical, sensible world is good because it proceeds from a divine source. The artist usually knows this by instinct; his senses, which are used to penetrating the concrete, tell him so. When Conrad said that his aim as an artist was to render the highest possible justice to the visible universe, he was speaking with the novelist's surest instinct. The artist penetrates the concrete world in order to find at its depths the image of its source, the image of ultimate reality. This in no way hinders his perception of evil but rather sharpens it, for only when the natural world is seen as good does evil become intelligible as a destructive force and a necessary result of our freedom. Flannery OConnor
About This Quote

When Nelson Mandela said, “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall,” he was speaking about the power of persistence. More specifically, the power to get up day after day and fight all over again. That’s what brings the greatest glory.

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