We believe at once in evil, we only believe in good upon reflection. Is this not sad?.

We believe at once in evil, we only believe in good upon reflection. Is this not sad?.

One great society alone on earth: the noble living and the noble dead.

One great society alone on earth: the noble living and the noble dead.

The biggest mischief in the past century has been perpetrated by Rousseau with his doctrine of the goodness of human read more

The biggest mischief in the past century has been perpetrated by Rousseau with his doctrine of the goodness of human nature. The mob and the intellectuals derived from it the vision of a Golden Age which would arrive without fail once the noble human race could act according to its whims.

We must beware of trying to build a society in which nobody counts for anything except a politician or an read more

We must beware of trying to build a society in which nobody counts for anything except a politician or an official, a society where enterprise gains no reward and thrift no privileges.

The more backwoodish a social group, juvenile or adult, the stricter its conception of the normal, and the readier it read more

The more backwoodish a social group, juvenile or adult, the stricter its conception of the normal, and the readier it will ridicule any departure from it.

That is the whole trouble with being a heretic. One usually must think out everything for oneself.

That is the whole trouble with being a heretic. One usually must think out everything for oneself.

It is the test of a good religion whether you can make a joke about it.

It is the test of a good religion whether you can make a joke about it.

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.

The human race, to which so many of my readers belong, has been playing at children's games from the beginning, read more

The human race, to which so many of my readers belong, has been playing at children's games from the beginning, and will probably do it till the end, which is a nuisance for the few people who grow up. And one of the games to which it is most attached is called, ''Keep tomorrow dark,'' and which is also named (by the rustics in Shropshire, I have no doubt) ''Cheat the Prophet.'' The players listen very carefully and respectfully to all that the clever men have to say about what is to happen in the next generation. The players then wait until all the clever men are dead, and bury them nicely. Then they go and do something else. That is all. For a race of simple tastes, however, it is great fun.