By vulgarity I mean that vice of civilization which makes man ashamed of himself and his next of kin, and read more

By vulgarity I mean that vice of civilization which makes man ashamed of himself and his next of kin, and pretend to be somebody else

What think you, if he were conveyed to bed,
Wrapped in sweet clothes, rings put upon his fingers,
read more

What think you, if he were conveyed to bed,
Wrapped in sweet clothes, rings put upon his fingers,
A most delicious banquet by his bed,
And brave attendants near him when he wakes,
Would not the beggar then forget himself?

Then there is that glorious Epicurean paradox, uttered by my
friend, the Historian in one of his flashing moments: read more

Then there is that glorious Epicurean paradox, uttered by my
friend, the Historian in one of his flashing moments: "Give us
the luxuries of life, and we will dispense with its necessaries."

Luxury and dissipation, soft and gentle as their approaches are,
and silently as they throw their silken chains about read more

Luxury and dissipation, soft and gentle as their approaches are,
and silently as they throw their silken chains about the heart,
enslave it more than the most active and turbulent vices.

Luxury ruins republics; poverty, monarchies.

Luxury ruins republics; poverty, monarchies.

As always, the British especially shudder at the latest American vulgarity, and then they embrace it with enthusiasm two years read more

As always, the British especially shudder at the latest American vulgarity, and then they embrace it with enthusiasm two years later.

Vulgarity begins when imagination succumbs to the explicit.

Vulgarity begins when imagination succumbs to the explicit.

We live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities.

We live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities.

Think with the wise, but talk with the vulgar.

Think with the wise, but talk with the vulgar.