Glimpses of Bengal: letters 1885 to 1895 (tr. Surendranath Tagore, 1921)

The book opens with

What beauty and peace human societies have comes from the daily performance of small duties, not big deeds and fine talk

Their wordsAnd, indeed, what little of beauty and peace is to be found in the societies of men is owing to the daily performance of small duties, not to big doings and fine talk.

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Rabindranath Tagore did not write this page.

Every claim below was made in this book, quoted word for word and numbered in the order the piece makes them, so you can read it there rather than take our word for it. The book prints chapter headings its extracted text does not preserve, so the claims below are in the book's order but not grouped. The sentence above each quote is our reading of the claim, not their wording. Each quote was checked against a stored copy of the page at build time; where the two differ, the quote is the fact.

Our reading
What beauty and peace human societies have comes from the daily performance of small duties, not big deeds and fine talk

Their wordsAnd, indeed, what little of beauty and peace is to be found in the societies of men is owing to the daily performance of small duties, not to big doings and fine talk.
Our reading
Whether a more equal distribution of wealth is attainable is uncertain; if it is not, Providence is cruel

Their wordsI know not whether the socialistic ideal of a more equal distribution of wealth is attainable, but if not, the dispensation of Providence is indeed cruel, and man a truly unfortunate creature.
Our reading
Metre gives verse a power to move people that vague and indefinite prose lacks

Their wordsMetre is born as all beauty is born the universe through. The current set up within well-defined bounds gives metrical verse power to move the minds of men as vague and indefinite prose cannot.
Our reading
The highest commandment is sympathy for all sentient beings; love is the foundation of all religion

Their wordsI feel that the highest commandment is that of sympathy for all sentient beings. Love is the foundation of all religion.
Our reading
Once our pity is aroused, joining others in preying on life insults all that is good in us

Their wordsSo long as we are unconscious of our cruelty we may not be to blame. But if, after our pity is aroused, we persist in throttling our feelings simply in order to join others in their preying upon life, we insult all that is good in us.
Our reading
Town society is cruelly callous to the happiness and misery of other creatures compared with its own

Their wordsIn town, human society is to the fore and looms large; it is cruelly callous to the happiness and misery of other creatures as compared with its own.
Our reading
There is no reason to suppose an idea less true than reality, since we never know for certain what underlies the senses

Their wordsBut why should we suppose the idea to be less true than the reality? We can never know for certain the truth of the substance underlying what we get through the senses.

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