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.
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The poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.
The poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.
There is nothing to be found in a beehive that is not submerged in a bee. And yet you can read more
There is nothing to be found in a beehive that is not submerged in a bee. And yet you can search a bee forever with cyclotron and fluoroscope, and you will never find the hive.
Never soar aloft on an enemy's pinions.
Never soar aloft on an enemy's pinions.
Modern man lives isolated in his artificial environment, not because the artificial is evil as such, but because of his read more
Modern man lives isolated in his artificial environment, not because the artificial is evil as such, but because of his lack of comprehension of the forces which make it work- of the principles which relate his gadgets to the forces of nature, to the universal order. It is not central heating which makes his existence 'unnatural,' but his refusal to take an interest in the principles behind it. By being entirely dependent on science, yet closing his mind to it, he leads the life of an urban barbarian.
The vigor of a mass movement stems from the propensity of its followers for united action and self-sacrifice. When we read more
The vigor of a mass movement stems from the propensity of its followers for united action and self-sacrifice. When we ascribe the success of a movement to its faith, doctrine, propaganda, leadership, ruthlessness and so on, we are but referring to instruments of unification and to means used to inculcate a readiness for self-sacrifice. It is perhaps impossible to understand the nature of a mass movement unless it is recognized that their chief preoccupation is to foster, perfect and perpetuate a facility for united action and self-sacrifice.
I am now quite cured of seeking pleasure in society, be it country or town. A sensible man ought to read more
I am now quite cured of seeking pleasure in society, be it country or town. A sensible man ought to find sufficient company in himself.
The integrative tendencies of the individual operate through the mechanisms of empathy, sympathy, projection, introjection, identification, worship- all of which read more
The integrative tendencies of the individual operate through the mechanisms of empathy, sympathy, projection, introjection, identification, worship- all of which make him feel that he is a part of some larger entity which transcends the boundaries of the individual self. This psychological urge to belong, to participate, to commune is as primary and real as its opposite. The all-important question is the nature of that higher entity of which the individual feels himself a part.
Scientists often have a naive faith that if only they could discover enough facts about a problem, these facts would read more
Scientists often have a naive faith that if only they could discover enough facts about a problem, these facts would somehow arrange themselves in a compelling and true solution.
Our understanding of the world is achieved more effectively by conceptual improvements than by discovery of new facts...
Our understanding of the world is achieved more effectively by conceptual improvements than by discovery of new facts...
