We must think of human progress, not as of something going on in the race in general, but as something read more

We must think of human progress, not as of something going on in the race in general, but as something going on in a small minority, perpetually beleaguered in a few walled towns. Now and then the horde of barbarians outside breaks through, and we have an armed effort to halt the process. That is, we have a Reformation, a French Revolution, a war for democracy, a Great Awakening. The minority is decimated and driven to cover. But a few survive- and a few are enough to carry on.

Barbarian invasions would be superfluous: we are our own Huns.

Barbarian invasions would be superfluous: we are our own Huns.

The tapestry of history has no point at which you can cut it and leave the design intelligible.

The tapestry of history has no point at which you can cut it and leave the design intelligible.

Mere facts are for children only. As they begin to point towards conclusions they become food for men.

Mere facts are for children only. As they begin to point towards conclusions they become food for men.

The pen is the tongue of the mind.

The pen is the tongue of the mind.

The acquiring of culture is the development of an avid hunger for knowledge and beauty.

The acquiring of culture is the development of an avid hunger for knowledge and beauty.

Take your work seriously, but never yourself.

Take your work seriously, but never yourself.

The rung of a ladder was never meant to rest upon, but only to hold a man's foot long enough read more

The rung of a ladder was never meant to rest upon, but only to hold a man's foot long enough to enable him to put the other somewhat higher. - Life and Letters of Thomas Huxley.

It is only because the majority opinion will always be opposed by some that our knowledge and understanding progress. In read more

It is only because the majority opinion will always be opposed by some that our knowledge and understanding progress. In the process by which opinion is formed, it is very probable that, by the time any view becomes a majority view, it is no longer the best view: somebody will already have advanced beyond the point which the majority have reached. It is because we do not yet which of the many competing new opinions will prove itself the best that we wait until it has gained sufficient support.