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The nation is burdened with the heavy curse on those who come afterwards. The generation before us was inspired by an activism and a naive enthusiasm, which we cannot rekindle, because we confront tasks of a different kind from those which our fathers faced.

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More quotes by Max Weber

The more a religion is aware of its opposition in principle to economic rationalization as such, the more apt are the religion’s virtuosi to reject the world, especially its economic activities.

Sociology of Religion (1922)

Mysticism intends a state of "possession," not action, and the individual is not a tool but a "vessel" of the divine.

What interests us here is the assimilative power of the Hindu life order due to its legitimation of social rank.

Religion of India (1916)

The ultimately possible attitudes toward life are irreconcilable, and hence their struggle can never be brought to a final conclusion.

For the true mystic the principle continues to hold: the creature must be silent so that God may speak.

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From now on, everything in life will appear blurry to me. What’s the point of wiping my glasses when my vision has already left me?"

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You can never plan the future by the past.

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If we don’t care about our past we can’t have very much hope for our future.

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Max Weber (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.