Whenever there is a conflict between human rights and property rights, human rights must prevail

Whenever there is a conflict between human rights and property rights, human rights must prevail

Glory is largely a theatrical concept. There is no striving for glory without a vivid awareness of an audience.

Glory is largely a theatrical concept. There is no striving for glory without a vivid awareness of an audience.

Morality, like other inputs into the social process, follows the law of diminishing returns- meaning ultimately, negative returns. People can read more

Morality, like other inputs into the social process, follows the law of diminishing returns- meaning ultimately, negative returns. People can be too moral.

Against stupidity the very gods fight in vain.

Against stupidity the very gods fight in vain.

It is common to assume that human progress affects everyone- that even the dullest man, in these bright days, knows read more

It is common to assume that human progress affects everyone- that even the dullest man, in these bright days, knows more than any man of, say, the Eighteenth Century, and is far more civilized. This assumption is quite erroneous...The great masses of men, even in this inspired republic, are precisely where the mob was at the dawn of history. They are ignorant, they are dishonest, they are cowardly, they are ignoble. They know little if anything that is worth knowing, and there is not the slightest sign of a natural desire among them to increase their knowledge.

The collective matrix of a science at a given time is determined by a kind of establishment, which includes universities, read more

The collective matrix of a science at a given time is determined by a kind of establishment, which includes universities, learned societies, and, more recently, the editorial offices of technical journals. Like other establishments, they are consciously or unconsciously bent on preserving the status quo- partly because unorthodox innovations are a threat to their authority, but also because of the deeper fear that their laboriously erected an intellectual edifice might collapse under the impact.

Every luxury must be paid for, and everything is a luxury, starting with being in this world.

Every luxury must be paid for, and everything is a luxury, starting with being in this world.

Every failure teaches a man something, to wit, that he will probably fail again.

Every failure teaches a man something, to wit, that he will probably fail again.

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.