Bertrand Russell

Every advance in civilization has been denounced as unnatural while it was recent.

Every advance in civilization has been denounced as unnatural while it was recent.

Machines are worshipped because they are beautiful, and valued because they confer power; they are hated because they are hideous, read more

Machines are worshipped because they are beautiful, and valued because they confer power; they are hated because they are hideous, and loathed because they impose slavery

The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd; indeed, read more

The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd; indeed, in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind, a wide-spread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible

Envy consists in seeing things never in themselves, but only in their relations. If you desire glory, you may envy read more

Envy consists in seeing things never in themselves, but only in their relations. If you desire glory, you may envy Napoleon, but Napoleon envied Caesar, Caesar envied Alexander, and Alexander, I daresay, envied Hercules, who never existed.

The need for prostitution arises from the fact that many men are either unmarried or away from their wives on read more

The need for prostitution arises from the fact that many men are either unmarried or away from their wives on journeys, that such men are not content to remain continent, and that in a conventionally virtuous community they do not find respectable women.