Our originality shows itself most strikingly not in what we wholly originate but in what we do with that which read more

Our originality shows itself most strikingly not in what we wholly originate but in what we do with that which we borrow from others.

The genuine creator creates something that has a life of its own, something that can exist and function without him. read more

The genuine creator creates something that has a life of its own, something that can exist and function without him. This is true not only of the writer, artist and scientist, but of creators in other fields...With the noncreative it is the other way around: in whatever they do, they arrange things so that they themselves become indispensable.

...the evils of mankind are caused, not by the primary aggressiveness of individuals, but by their self-transcending identification with groups read more

...the evils of mankind are caused, not by the primary aggressiveness of individuals, but by their self-transcending identification with groups whose common denominator is low intelligence and high emotionality.

Perhaps even these things, one day, will be pleasing to remember. - Aenid.

Perhaps even these things, one day, will be pleasing to remember. - Aenid.

A line runs from the meditations of the heart to the words of the mouth. The meditations are not clear read more

A line runs from the meditations of the heart to the words of the mouth. The meditations are not clear to us until the mouth utters its words. If what the mouth utters is unclear or foolish or mendacious, it must be that the meditations are the same. But the line runs both ways. The words of the mouth will become the meditations of the heart, and the habit of loose talk loosens the fastenings of our understanding.

Insanity -- a perfectly rational adjustment to an insane world.

Insanity -- a perfectly rational adjustment to an insane world.

As any action or posture long continued will distort and
disfigure the limbs; so the mind likewise is crippled read more

As any action or posture long continued will distort and
disfigure the limbs; so the mind likewise is crippled and
contracted by perpetual application to the same set of ideas.

The hardest part of gaining any new idea is sweeping out the false idea occupying that niche.

The hardest part of gaining any new idea is sweeping out the false idea occupying that niche.

It is by becoming increasingly complex that the self might be said to grow.

It is by becoming increasingly complex that the self might be said to grow.