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...ideas have a tendency to live lives of their own, and having become a part of tradition, they are very read more
...ideas have a tendency to live lives of their own, and having become a part of tradition, they are very difficult to root out. When summarized in a few neat words or phrases, these gems of wisdom become substitutes for thought, and gradually take on much of the status of revealed truth. Occasionally, some iconoclast sees fit to challenge one of them, and a brief flurry ensues, after which things go on about as before. It is easy to think of plenty of ideas that are passing, if they have not already passed, beyond the stage of effective discussion.
To ripen a person for self-sacrifice he must be stripped of his individual identity and distinctness. He must cease to read more
To ripen a person for self-sacrifice he must be stripped of his individual identity and distinctness. He must cease to be George, Hans, Ivan or Tadao- a human atom with an existence bounded by birth and death. The most drastic way to achieve this end is by complete assimilation of the individual into a collective body. The fully assimilated individual does not see himself and others as human beings. When asked who he is, his automatic response is that he is a German, a Russian, a Japanese, a Christian, a Moslem, a member of a certain tribe or family. He has no purpose, worth and destiny apart from his collective body; and as long as that body lives he cannot really die.
When the Greeks said, "Whom the gods love die young," they probably meant, as Lord Sankey suggested, that those favored read more
When the Greeks said, "Whom the gods love die young," they probably meant, as Lord Sankey suggested, that those favored by the gods stay young till the day they die; young and playful.
New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not already common.
New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not already common.
He that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils; for time is the greatest innovator.
He that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils; for time is the greatest innovator.
We fear things in proportion to our ignorance of them.
We fear things in proportion to our ignorance of them.
Beauty is not diminished by being shared.
Beauty is not diminished by being shared.
A man's soul is pierced as it were with holes, and as his longings flow through each they are transmuted read more
A man's soul is pierced as it were with holes, and as his longings flow through each they are transmuted into something specific.
The world's greatest thinkers have often been amateurs; for high thinking is the outcome of fine and independent living, and read more
The world's greatest thinkers have often been amateurs; for high thinking is the outcome of fine and independent living, and for that a professional chair offers no special opportunities.
