It was impossible that less than a week should be given up to the enjoyment of her company, or suffice to say half that was to be said of the past, the present, and the future;—for though a very few hours spent in the hard labor of incessant talking will despatch more subjects than can really be in common between any two rational creatures, yet with lovers it is different. Between them no subject is finished, no communication is even made, till it has been made at least twenty times over.
—Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility
Pride and Prejudice
"My good qualities are under your protection, and you are to exaggerate them as much as possible; and, in return, it belongs to me to find occasions for teasing and quarrelling with you as often as may be."
—Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
—Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice
How little of permanent happiness could belong to a couple who were only brought together because their passions were stronger than their virtue, she could easily conjecture.
—Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
—Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
The Shaping of Middle Earth
The heart that is pitiless counts not the power that pity hath; nor foresees that of gentle ruth for anguish and valor overthrown stern anger may be forged, and a lightening kindled before which mountains fall.
—J.R.R. Tolkien, The History of Middle-Earth IV (The Shaping of Middle Earth), p188.
—J.R.R. Tolkien, The History of Middle-Earth IV (The Shaping of Middle Earth), p188.
Winter Notes on Summer Impressions
Pose for yourself this task: not to think of a white bear, and you will see that the cursed thing will come to mind every minute.
—Fyodor Dostoevsky, Winter Notes on Summer Impressions
—Fyodor Dostoevsky, Winter Notes on Summer Impressions
Luke 2:8-14
Sure Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about.
Lights please.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.
Lights please.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.
Isaiah 25:7-9
And he will swallow up on this mountain
the covering that is cast over all peoples,
the veil that is spread over all nations.
He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces,
and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the LORD has spoken.
It will be said on that day,
"Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
This is the LORD; we have waited for him;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation."
—Isaiah 25:7-9 ESV
the covering that is cast over all peoples,
the veil that is spread over all nations.
He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces,
and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the LORD has spoken.
It will be said on that day,
"Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
This is the LORD; we have waited for him;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation."
—Isaiah 25:7-9 ESV
Thornton Wilder
Jane Crofut; The Crofut Farm; Grover's Corners; Sutton County; New Hampshire; United States of America; Continent of North America; Western Hemisphere; the Earth; the Solar System; the Universe; the Mind of God.
—Thornton Wilder, Our Town Act 1
—Thornton Wilder, Our Town Act 1
Charles Spurgeon
Worldly conformity, in any degree, is a snare to the soul. Things doubtful we need not doubt about; they are wrong to us. Things tempting we must not dally with, but flee from them with speed. He who yields even a point or two to the world is in fearful peril.
—Charles Spurgeon, Evening, August 29.
—Charles Spurgeon, Evening, August 29.
All-girls schools
All-girls schools below the Mason-Dixon line produce southern belles; above it they bring forth liberal feminists.
—Kristen Boe, 9/9/2008.
—Kristen Boe, 9/9/2008.
LHC
Nothing will happen for at least four years. Then someone will spot a light ray coming out of the Indian Ocean during the night and no one will be able to explain it. A few weeks later, we will see a similar beam of particles coming out of the soil on the other side of the planet. Then we will know there is a little quasar inside the planet. As the spinning-top-like quasar devours the world from within, the two jets emanating from it will grow and catastrophes such as earthquakes and tsunamis will occur at the points they emerged from the Earth. The weather will change completely, wiping out life, and very soon the whole planet will be eaten in a magnificent scenario – if you could watch it from the moon. A Biblical Armageddon. Even cloud and fire will form, as it says in the Bible.
—Professor Otto Rossler, afraid of the Large Hadron Collider 9/10/2008.
—Professor Otto Rossler, afraid of the Large Hadron Collider 9/10/2008.
Seeing the Future
What is the world coming to? When an anxious generation that has managed to survive the worst of wars, but is not too sure of escaping another war still more awful, asks this question of the scientists, what is the answer?
—Christabel Pankhurst, LL.B., Seeing the Future ©1929, ch3 p22.
—Christabel Pankhurst, LL.B., Seeing the Future ©1929, ch3 p22.
Elton Trueblood
A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit.
—Elton Trueblood, in a plaque on the wall of the S.E. Belcher Jr. Chapel and Performance Center at LeTourneau University.
—Elton Trueblood, in a plaque on the wall of the S.E. Belcher Jr. Chapel and Performance Center at LeTourneau University.
The Lord of the Rings
"I will tell you the tale of Tinúviel," said Strider, "in brief — for it is a long tale of which the end is not known; and there are none now, except Elrond, that remember it aright as it was told of old."
—J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings Book 1.
—J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings Book 1.
The Lays of Beleriand
Only the mighty of soul ... their doom can conquer, and in death only.
—J.R.R. Tolkien, The History of Middle-Earth III (The Lays of Beleriand), p121 (Christopher reports his father struck out these lines at the time of writing the Lay of the Children of Húrin).
—J.R.R. Tolkien, The History of Middle-Earth III (The Lays of Beleriand), p121 (Christopher reports his father struck out these lines at the time of writing the Lay of the Children of Húrin).
The Lay of Leithian
And thus in anguish Beren paid
For the great doom upon him laid,
And in his weird was Luthien snared,
The deathless in his dying shared;
And Fate them forged a binding chain
Of living love and mortal pain.
—from J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lay of Leithian.
For the great doom upon him laid,
And in his weird was Luthien snared,
The deathless in his dying shared;
And Fate them forged a binding chain
Of living love and mortal pain.
—from J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lay of Leithian.
Epistle to Cangrande I della Scala
The purpose of the whole as well as the part is to remove those living in this life from the state of misery and to lead them to the state of bliss.
—Dante Alighieri, Epistle to Cangrande I della Scala, §15.
—Dante Alighieri, Epistle to Cangrande I della Scala, §15.
Donita K. Paul
The knights took great care in giving importance to sleep and sustenance. Sleep represented resting in God's care. Slumber served as a tribute to Him who cared for them. And sustenance signified the nourishment received not only in the food and drink, but in the study of the Bible.
—Donita K. Paul, DragonFire, p 227.
—Donita K. Paul, DragonFire, p 227.
University Finals
But beyond this, my son, be warned: of the writing of books there is no end, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.
—Ecclesiastes 12:12
—Ecclesiastes 12:12
University Politics
A wise man's heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish man's heart directs him toward the left.
—Ecclesiastes 10:2
—Ecclesiastes 10:2
University Bias
I have more insight than all my teachers,
for I meditate on your statutes.
—Psalm 119:99
for I meditate on your statutes.
—Psalm 119:99
University Parties
"Come," each one cries, "let me get wine!
Let us drink our fill of beer!
And tomorrow will be like today,
or even far better."
—Isaiah 56:12
Let us drink our fill of beer!
And tomorrow will be like today,
or even far better."
—Isaiah 56:12
University Recklessness
Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things.
—Ecclesiastes 11:9
—Ecclesiastes 11:9
University Dining
It is as when a hungry man dreams—
And behold, he is eating;
But when he awakens, his hunger is not satisfied,
Or as when a thirsty man dreams—
And behold, he is drinking,
But when he awakens, behold, he is faint
And his thirst is not quenched.
—Isaiah 29:8
And behold, he is eating;
But when he awakens, his hunger is not satisfied,
Or as when a thirsty man dreams—
And behold, he is drinking,
But when he awakens, behold, he is faint
And his thirst is not quenched.
—Isaiah 29:8
University Housing
The bed is too short to stretch out on,
the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.
—Isaiah 28:20
the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.
—Isaiah 28:20
Matthew 27:54
When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!"
—Matthew 27:54 ESV
—Matthew 27:54 ESV
Matthew 26:13
Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.
—Matthew 26:13 ESV
—Matthew 26:13 ESV
Paradiso XVII
If to truth I am a timid friend, I fear that I shall not live on amongst those who shall call this age ancient.
—Dante Alighieri, Paradiso XVII: 118-120
—Dante Alighieri, Paradiso XVII: 118-120
Paradiso XII
He is right low down amongst the fools who maketh affirmation or negation without distinction between case and case.
—Dante Alighieri, Paradiso XII
—Dante Alighieri, Paradiso XII
The Brothers Karamazov
Lise looked at him joyfully. "Alyosha," she murmured again, "look at the door. Isn't mamma listening?"
"Very well, Lise, I'll look; but wouldn't it be better not to look? Why suspect your mother of such meanness?"
"What meanness? As for her spying on her daughter, it's her right, it's not meanness!" cried Lise, firing up. "You may be sure, Alexey Fyodorovitch, that when I am a mother, if I have a daughter like myself I shall certainly spy on her!"
"Really, Lise? That's not right."
"Oh, my goodness! What has meanness to do with it? If she were listening to some ordinary worldly conversation, it would be meanness, but when her own daughter is shut up with a young man ... Listen, Alyosha, do you know I shall spy upon you as soon as we are married, and let me tell you I shall open all your letters and read them, so you may as well be prepared."
"Yes, of course, if so—" muttered Alyosha, "only it's not right."
"Ah, how contemptuous! Alyosha, dear, we won't quarrel the very first day. I'd better tell you the whole truth. Of course, it's very wrong to spy on people, and, of course, I am not right and you are, only I shall spy on you all the same."
"Do, then; you won't find out anything," laughed Alyosha.
"And Alyosha, will you give in to me? We must decide that too."
"I shall be delighted to, Lise, and certain to, only not in the most important things. Even if you don't agree with me, I shall do my duty in the most important things."
"That's right; but let me tell you I am ready to give in to you not only in the most important matters, but in everything. And I am ready to vow to do so now—in everything, and for all my life!" cried Lise fervently, "and I'll do it gladly, gladly! What's more, I'll swear never to spy on you, never once, never to read one of your letters. For you are right and I am not. And though I shall be awfully tempted to spy, I know that I won't do it since you consider it dishonourable. You are my conscience now....
—Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov, translated by Constance Garnett, p 201-202.
"Very well, Lise, I'll look; but wouldn't it be better not to look? Why suspect your mother of such meanness?"
"What meanness? As for her spying on her daughter, it's her right, it's not meanness!" cried Lise, firing up. "You may be sure, Alexey Fyodorovitch, that when I am a mother, if I have a daughter like myself I shall certainly spy on her!"
"Really, Lise? That's not right."
"Oh, my goodness! What has meanness to do with it? If she were listening to some ordinary worldly conversation, it would be meanness, but when her own daughter is shut up with a young man ... Listen, Alyosha, do you know I shall spy upon you as soon as we are married, and let me tell you I shall open all your letters and read them, so you may as well be prepared."
"Yes, of course, if so—" muttered Alyosha, "only it's not right."
"Ah, how contemptuous! Alyosha, dear, we won't quarrel the very first day. I'd better tell you the whole truth. Of course, it's very wrong to spy on people, and, of course, I am not right and you are, only I shall spy on you all the same."
"Do, then; you won't find out anything," laughed Alyosha.
"And Alyosha, will you give in to me? We must decide that too."
"I shall be delighted to, Lise, and certain to, only not in the most important things. Even if you don't agree with me, I shall do my duty in the most important things."
"That's right; but let me tell you I am ready to give in to you not only in the most important matters, but in everything. And I am ready to vow to do so now—in everything, and for all my life!" cried Lise fervently, "and I'll do it gladly, gladly! What's more, I'll swear never to spy on you, never once, never to read one of your letters. For you are right and I am not. And though I shall be awfully tempted to spy, I know that I won't do it since you consider it dishonourable. You are my conscience now....
—Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov, translated by Constance Garnett, p 201-202.
A. K. Dewdney
To some people is given the ability to shrug off the illusion of the bowl [the celestial sphere]. My son is such a one. Sometimes when he looks up, he sees not the bowl, but into the depths of space. The perception is terrifying beyond measure.
—A. K. Dewdney, A Mathematical Mystery Tour, p 104.
—A. K. Dewdney, A Mathematical Mystery Tour, p 104.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
On the next page she came to a spell "for the refreshment of the spirit". The pictures were fewer here but very beautiful. And what Lucy found herself reading was more like a story than a spell. It went on for three pages and before she had read to the bottom of the page she had forgotten that she was reading at all. She was living in the story as if it were real, and all the pictures were real too.
When she had got to the third page and come to the end, she said, "That is the loveliest story I've ever read or ever shall read in my whole life. Oh, I wish I could have gone on reading it for ten years. At least I'll read it over again."
But here part of the magic of the Book came into play. You couldn't turn back. The right-hand pages, the ones ahead, could be turned; the left-hand pages could not.
"Oh, what a shame!" said Lucy. "I did so want to read it again. Well, at least I must remember it. Let's see ... it was about ... about ... oh dear, it's all fading away again.... And even this last page is going blank. This is a very queer book. How can I have forgotten? It was about a cup and a sword and a tree and a green hill, I know that much. But I can't remember and what shall I do?"
Ever since that day what Lucy means by a good story is a story which reminds her of the forgotten story in the Magician's Book.
...
"Shall I ever be able to read that story again; the one I couldn't remember? Will you tell it to me, Aslan? Oh do, do, do."
"Indeed, yes, I will tell it to you for years and years. But now, come. We must meet the master of this house."
— C.S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
When she had got to the third page and come to the end, she said, "That is the loveliest story I've ever read or ever shall read in my whole life. Oh, I wish I could have gone on reading it for ten years. At least I'll read it over again."
But here part of the magic of the Book came into play. You couldn't turn back. The right-hand pages, the ones ahead, could be turned; the left-hand pages could not.
"Oh, what a shame!" said Lucy. "I did so want to read it again. Well, at least I must remember it. Let's see ... it was about ... about ... oh dear, it's all fading away again.... And even this last page is going blank. This is a very queer book. How can I have forgotten? It was about a cup and a sword and a tree and a green hill, I know that much. But I can't remember and what shall I do?"
Ever since that day what Lucy means by a good story is a story which reminds her of the forgotten story in the Magician's Book.
...
"Shall I ever be able to read that story again; the one I couldn't remember? Will you tell it to me, Aslan? Oh do, do, do."
"Indeed, yes, I will tell it to you for years and years. But now, come. We must meet the master of this house."
— C.S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Richard Dawkins
The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.
—Richard Dawkins
—Richard Dawkins
The Soul of Man under Socialism
What is there behind the leading article but prejudice, stupidity, cant, and twaddle?
—Oscar Wilde, The Soul of Man under Socialism, The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde p 1094.
—Oscar Wilde, The Soul of Man under Socialism, The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde p 1094.
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The suspense became unbearable. Time seemed to him to be crawling with feet of lead, while he by monstrous winds was being swept towards the jagged edge of some black cleft of precipice. He knew what was waiting for him there; saw it, indeed, and, shuddering, crushed with dank hands his burning lids as though he would have robbed the very brain of sight and driven the eyeballs back into their cave. It was useless. The brain had its own food on which it battened, and the imagination, made grotesque by terror, twisted and distorted as a living thing by pain, danced like some foul puppet on a stand and grinned through moving masks. Then, suddenly, time stopped for him. Yes: that blind, slow-breathing thing crawled no more, and horrible thoughts, time being dead, raced nimbly on in front, and dragged a hideous future from its grave, and showed it to him. He stared at it. Its very horror made him stone.
—Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, c 14 p 128.
—Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, c 14 p 128.
Facebook has brought to the forefront of my social life a necessity I seldom considered before selling my soul and signing up two months ago: friend quantity. Sure, we knew that the cool girls reigned in high school, but never before has such an unquestionably accurate popularity meter indicated down to the last individual your worth as a human being (or, at least the precise number of people who thought you were worth the two seconds it takes to 'friend' someone).... I occasionally scold myself for buying into the superficiality of online social networking. But to delete my profile would be to admit defeat, and what would my friends—real and otherwise—think if I gave in? Still, nothing can belie the masochism of logging in daily. A few mouse clicks reveal photos of parties to which I was not invited and wall-to-wall conversations regarding outings that no one bothered to tell me about. Somehow, though, addicted and dead set on avoiding crippling uncoolness, I struggle on with Gatsby-like tenacity. A thousand "friends" is the new American Dream.
—Jennifer DeBerardinis, Not Clicking With the Facebook Crowd. The Washington Post, Monday, July 30, 2007; Page A15
—Jennifer DeBerardinis, Not Clicking With the Facebook Crowd. The Washington Post, Monday, July 30, 2007; Page A15
George MacDonald
She had in the storehouse of her heart a whole harvest of agonies, reaped from the dun fields of the night.
Although the body she now showed might grow up straight and well-shaped and comely to behold, the new body that was growing inside of it, and would come out of it when she died, would be ugly, and crooked this way and that, like an aged hawthorn that has lived hundreds of years exposed upon all sides to salt sea-winds.
Something had to be done, else she would be one of those who kneel to their own shadows till feet grow on their knees; then go down on their hands till their hands grow into feet; then lay their faces on the ground till they grow into snouts; until at last they are a hideous sort of lizards.... And so they run about forever looking for their own shadows, that they may worship them, and miserable because they cannot find them, being themselves too near the ground to have any shadows; and what becomes of them at last there is but one who knows.
Sometimes she would be seized with such delight of heart that she would spread out her arms to the wind, and go rushing up the hill till her breath left her, when she would tumble down in the heather, and lie there till it came back again.
—George MacDonald, The Lost Princess: A Double Story
Although the body she now showed might grow up straight and well-shaped and comely to behold, the new body that was growing inside of it, and would come out of it when she died, would be ugly, and crooked this way and that, like an aged hawthorn that has lived hundreds of years exposed upon all sides to salt sea-winds.
Something had to be done, else she would be one of those who kneel to their own shadows till feet grow on their knees; then go down on their hands till their hands grow into feet; then lay their faces on the ground till they grow into snouts; until at last they are a hideous sort of lizards.... And so they run about forever looking for their own shadows, that they may worship them, and miserable because they cannot find them, being themselves too near the ground to have any shadows; and what becomes of them at last there is but one who knows.
Sometimes she would be seized with such delight of heart that she would spread out her arms to the wind, and go rushing up the hill till her breath left her, when she would tumble down in the heather, and lie there till it came back again.
—George MacDonald, The Lost Princess: A Double Story
Walter C. Smith
All laud we would render; O help us to see
’Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee,
And so let Thy glory, Almighty, impart,
Through Christ in His story, Thy Christ to the heart.
—Walter C. Smith
’Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee,
And so let Thy glory, Almighty, impart,
Through Christ in His story, Thy Christ to the heart.
—Walter C. Smith
P. G. Wodehouse
Bertie: Jeeves, I'm sure that nothing is further from your mind, but you know you have a way of saying "Indeed, sir" which gives the impression that it's only a feudal sense of what is fitting which prevents you from substituting the words "Says you."
Jeeves: I'm distressed to hear it, sir.
Bertie: Well, so you should be, Jeeves. Correct it.
Jeeves: Very good, sir.
Bertie: You'll be glad to hear that I have taken steps in the matter of Tuppy and Angela...
Jeeves: Indeed, sir.
Bertie (peevishly): Jeeves.
Jeeves: Sorry, sir.
–P. G. Wodehouse
Jeeves: I'm distressed to hear it, sir.
Bertie: Well, so you should be, Jeeves. Correct it.
Jeeves: Very good, sir.
Bertie: You'll be glad to hear that I have taken steps in the matter of Tuppy and Angela...
Jeeves: Indeed, sir.
Bertie (peevishly): Jeeves.
Jeeves: Sorry, sir.
–P. G. Wodehouse
A Woman of No Importance
We are trying to build up life, Lady Hunstanton, on a better, truer, purer basis than life rests on here. This sounds strange to you all, no doubt. How could it sound other than strange? You rich people in England, you don't know how you are living. How could you know? You shut out from your society the gentle and the good. You laugh at the simple and the pure. Living, as you all do, on others and by them, you sneer at self-sacrifice, and if you throw bread to the poor, it is merely to keep them quiet for a season. With all your pomp and wealth and art you don't know how to live - you don't even know that. You love the beauty that you can see and touch and handle, the beauty that you can destroy, and do destroy, but of the unseen beauty of life, of the unseen beauty of a higher life, you know nothing. You have lost life's secret. Oh, your English society seems to me shallow, selfish, foolish. It has blinded its eyes, and stopped its ears. It lies like a leper in purple. It sits like a dead thing smeared with gold. It is all wrong, all wrong.
—Oscar Wilde, A Woman of No Importance, Act 2, p 449.
—Oscar Wilde, A Woman of No Importance, Act 2, p 449.
John Bunyan
O world of wonders, (I can say no less,)
That I should be preserved in that distress
That I have met with here! O blessed be
That hand that from it hath delivered me!
Dangers in darkness, devils, hell, and sin,
Did compass me, while I this vale was in;
Yea, snares, and pits, and traps, and nets did lie
My path about, that worthless, silly I
Might have been catch'd, entangled, and cast down;
But since I live, let Jesus wear the crown.
–John Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress
That I should be preserved in that distress
That I have met with here! O blessed be
That hand that from it hath delivered me!
Dangers in darkness, devils, hell, and sin,
Did compass me, while I this vale was in;
Yea, snares, and pits, and traps, and nets did lie
My path about, that worthless, silly I
Might have been catch'd, entangled, and cast down;
But since I live, let Jesus wear the crown.
–John Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress
John Newton
I fear that many have had their prejudices strengthened against our holy religion by such compliances in the manner of customs and amusements, and have thought, that, if there was such joy and comfort to be found in the ways of God as they hear from our pulpits, professors would not, in such numbers, and so often, run amongst them to beg relief from the burden of time hanging upon their hands....I advise you, if you can, to do your business in the world as you do it in the rain.
–John Newton, Letters to a Nobleman
–John Newton, Letters to a Nobleman
Etienne De Grellet
I expect to pass through this world but once; any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.
–Etienne De Grellet
–Etienne De Grellet
Alan D. Sokal
The truth claims of science are inherently theory-laden and self-referential; and consequently the discourse of the scientific community, for all its undeniable value, cannot assert a privileged epistemological status with respect to counter-hegemonic narratives emanating from dissident or marginalized communities. These themes can be traced, despite some differences of emphasis, in Aronowitz's analysis of the cultural fabric that produced quantum mechanics; in Ross' discussion of oppositional discourses in post-quantum science; in Irigaray's and Hayles' exegeses of gender encoding in fluid mechanics; and in Harding's comprehensive critique of the gender ideology underlying the natural sciences in general and physics in particular.
–Alan D. Sokal, Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity
–Alan D. Sokal, Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity
J. D. Jones
I do not disparage the work that Parliament can do in the way of bettering human conditions, but the ultimate healing of the world's hurt is not to be effected by legislation but by the redeeming grace of God.
–J. D. Jones
–J. D. Jones
Laughter
Having mentioned laughing, I must particularly warn you against it; and I would heartily wish that you may often be seen to smile, but never heard to laugh while you live. Frequent and loud laughter is the characteristic of folly and ill manners; it is the manner in which the mob express their silly joy at silly things; and they call it being merry. In my mind, there is nothing so illiberal, and so ill-bred, as audible laughter. True wit, or sense, never yet made anybody laugh; they are above it, they please the mind, and give a cheerfulness to the countenance. But it is low buffoonery, or silly accidents, that always excite laughter; and that is what people of sense and breeding should show themselves above. I am neither of a melancholy nor a cynical disposition, and am as willing and apt to be pleased as anybody; but I am sure that since I had full use of my reason, nobody has ever heard me laugh. Many people, at first, from awkwardness and mauvaise honte, have got a very disagreeable and silly trick of laughing whenever they speak.
—Lord Chesterfield, from a letter to his son on March 9th, 1748.
—Lord Chesterfield, from a letter to his son on March 9th, 1748.
The Soul of Man under Socialism
In America the President reigns for four years, and Journalism governs for ever and ever. Fortunately, in America, Journalism has carried its authority to the grossest and most brutal extreme. As a natural consequence it has begun to create a spirit of revolt. People are amused by it, or disgusted by it, according to their temperaments. But it is no longer the real force it was. It is not seriously treated. In England, Journalism, except in a few well-known instances, not having been carried to such excess of brutality, is still a great factor, a really remarkable power. The tyranny that it proposes to exercise over people's private lives seems to me to be quite extraordinary. The fact is that the public have an insatiable curiosity to know everything, except what is worth knowing.
—Oscar Wilde, The Soul of Man under Socialism, The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde p 1094.
—Oscar Wilde, The Soul of Man under Socialism, The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde p 1094.
Introduction
Each of these quotes is interesting in its own right; however, I will try to provide enough of a reference for you to look up the context. Some are compelling, some humorous, some moving, some ridiculous, some persuasive, and some intellectual. "They are not half so good as many others I have known," as George MacDonald said, "but what comes nearest to our needs we like the best." (Phantastes, p 262) However, I won't try to describe why each one struck me, unless you insist. People have different emotions and temperaments, and it's not necessary to feel a particular way about them.
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