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The fanatic is not really a stickler to principle. He embraces a cause not primarily because of its justness or read more
The fanatic is not really a stickler to principle. He embraces a cause not primarily because of its justness or holiness but because of his desperate need for something to hold onto.
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.
The rout is Folly's circle, which she draws
With magic wand. So potent is the spell,
That read more
The rout is Folly's circle, which she draws
With magic wand. So potent is the spell,
That none decoy'd into that fatal ring,
Unless by Heaven's peculiar grace, escape.
There we grow early gray, but never wise.
The bourgeoisie and the petty bourgeoisie have armed themselves against the rising proletariat with, among other things, "culture." It's an read more
The bourgeoisie and the petty bourgeoisie have armed themselves against the rising proletariat with, among other things, "culture." It's an old ploy of the bourgeoisie. They keep a standing "art" to defend their collapsing culture.
The smashing of idols is in itself such a preoccupation that it is almost impossible for the iconoclast to look read more
The smashing of idols is in itself such a preoccupation that it is almost impossible for the iconoclast to look clearly into a future when there will not be many idols left to smash.
In history the way of annihilation is invariably prepared by inward degeneration, by decrease of life. Only then can a read more
In history the way of annihilation is invariably prepared by inward degeneration, by decrease of life. Only then can a shock from outside put an end to the whole.
A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.
A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.
No matter how happily a woman may be married, it always pleases her to discover that there is a nice read more
No matter how happily a woman may be married, it always pleases her to discover that there is a nice man who wishes that she were not.