Some great men owe most of their greatness to the ability of detecting in those they destine for their tools the exact quality of strength that matters for their work.

Joseph Conrad
About This Quote

The above quote is about the great men who used their talents to the utmost, and the great men who used their talents to their full potential. Sometimes, however, people will use their talents for another purpose than what they were intended to do. For example, some people will use their intelligence to create something of great value but will not use it for the good of others. They may instead use it only for their own purposes.

Such people are said to have used their abilities for evil. The author is saying that some great men are too selfish to use the talents that they were given with the intention of using them for something else. Instead, they make use of the tools only for the sake of self-aggrandizement.

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  1. Droll thing life is -- that mysterious arrangement of merciless logic for a futile purpose. The most you can hope from it is some knowledge of yourself -- that comes too late -- a crop of inextinguishable regrets.
  2. Few men realize that their life, the very essence of their character, their capabilities and their audacities, are only the expression of their belief in the safety of their surroundings.
  3. My task, which I am trying to achieve is, by the power of the written word, to make you hear, to make you feel--it is, before all, to make you see.
  4. Facing it, always facing it, that’s the way to get through. Face it.
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