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.
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Sin makes its own hell, and goodness its own heaven.
Sin makes its own hell, and goodness its own heaven.
There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion.
There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion.
There couldn't be a society of people who didn't dream. They'd be dead in two weeks.
There couldn't be a society of people who didn't dream. They'd be dead in two weeks.
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.
Savage peoples are ruled by passion, civilized peoples by the mind. The difference lies not in the respective natures of read more
Savage peoples are ruled by passion, civilized peoples by the mind. The difference lies not in the respective natures of savagery and civilization, but in their attendant circumstances, institutions, and so forth. The difference, therefore, does not operate in every sense, but it does in most of them. Even the most civilized peoples, in short, can be fired with passionate hatred for each other.
...passionate intensity may serve as a substitute for confidence.
...passionate intensity may serve as a substitute for confidence.
Of all the judgments we pass in life, none is more important than the judgment we pass on ourselves.
Of all the judgments we pass in life, none is more important than the judgment we pass on ourselves.
A large part of the popularity and persuasiveness of psychology comes from its being a sublimated spiritualism: a secular, ostensibly read more
A large part of the popularity and persuasiveness of psychology comes from its being a sublimated spiritualism: a secular, ostensibly scientific way of affirming the primacy of "spirit" over matter.
Society cannot contribute anything to the breeding and growing of ingenious men. A creative genius cannot be trained. There are read more
Society cannot contribute anything to the breeding and growing of ingenious men. A creative genius cannot be trained. There are no schools for creativeness. A genius is precisely a man who defies all schools and rules, who deviates from the traditional roads of routine and opens up new paths through land inaccessible before. A genius is always a teacher, never a pupil; he is always self-made.
