However human, envy is certainly not one of the sources of discontent that a free society can eliminate. It is read more

However human, envy is certainly not one of the sources of discontent that a free society can eliminate. It is probably one of the essential conditions for the preservation of such a society that we do not countenance envy, not sanction its demands by camouflaging it as social justice, but treat it, in the words of John Stuart Mill, as "the most anti-social and evil of all passions.

Sex lies at the root of life, and we can never learn to reverence life until we know how to read more

Sex lies at the root of life, and we can never learn to reverence life until we know how to understand sex.

I don't use drugs, my dreams are frightening enough.

I don't use drugs, my dreams are frightening enough.

Seek ye first the good things of the mind, and the rest will either be supplied or its loss will read more

Seek ye first the good things of the mind, and the rest will either be supplied or its loss will not be felt.

But it is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.

But it is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.

The natural inclination of a child is to take pleasure in the use of the mind no less than of read more

The natural inclination of a child is to take pleasure in the use of the mind no less than of the body. The child's primary business is learning. It is also the primary entertainment. To retain that orientation into adulthood, so that consciousness is not a burden but a joy, is the mark of the successfully developed human being.

My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income.

My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income.

Impartial observers from other planets would consider ours an utterly bizarre enclave if it were populated by birds, defined as read more

Impartial observers from other planets would consider ours an utterly bizarre enclave if it were populated by birds, defined as flying animals, that nevertheless rarely or never actually flew. They would also be perplexed if they encountered in our seas, lakes, rivers, and ponds, creatures defined as swimmers that never did any swimming. But they would be even more surprised to encounter a species defined as a thinking animal if, in fact, the creature very rarely indulged in actual thinking.

Intelligence is not all that important in the exercise of power, and is often, in point of fact, useless.

Intelligence is not all that important in the exercise of power, and is often, in point of fact, useless.