Gethsemane, strengthening Him. We all see this angel when we say truly, "Thy will, not mine, be done."" - Meaning and context.">
22 August 1875.
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"We can teach no virtues we do not practice," occurred to me this afternoon; for without learning by experience how a virtue is acquired, how can we teach any one to acquire it? I thought of this in connection with the experience of undutiful children. By the working of this natural cause, they will not make their own children dutiful. Read in Luke of the angel which appeared to Christ in Gethsemane, strengthening Him. We all see this angel when we say truly, "Thy will, not mine, be done."

— Julia Ward Howe

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets ""We can teach no virtues we do not practice," occurred to me this afternoon; for without learning by experience how a virtue is acquired, how can we teach any one to acquire it? I thought of this in connection with the experience of undutiful children. By the working of this natural cause, they will not make their own children dutiful. Read in Luke of the angel which appeared to Christ in Gethsemane, strengthening Him. We all see this angel when we say truly, "Thy will, not mine, be done."" in the context of "22 August 1875." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Julia Ward Howe" (Quotes, The Walk With God (1919): Extracts from Ward's journals, edited by her daughter Laura E. Richards ) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Julia Ward Howe

About Julia Ward Howe

Julia Ward Howe (27 May 1819 – 17 October 1910) was an American writer, poet, and social activist.