However human, envy is certainly not one of the sources of discontent that a free society can eliminate. It is probably one of the essential conditions for the preservation of such a society that we do not countenance envy, not sanction its demands by camouflaging it as social justice, but treat it, in the words of John Stuart Mill, as "the most anti-social and evil of all passions.
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There are many who find the burdens, the anxiety, and the isolation of an individual existence unbearable. This is particularly read more
There are many who find the burdens, the anxiety, and the isolation of an individual existence unbearable. This is particularly true when the opportunities for self-advancement are relatively meager, and one's individual interests and prospects do not seem worth living for. Such persons sooner or later turn their backs on an individual existence and strive to acquire a sense of worth and a purpose by an identification with a holy cause, a leader, or a movement. The faith and pride they derive from such an identification serve them as substitutes for the unattainable self-confidence and self-respect.
The well-adjusted make poor prophets.
The well-adjusted make poor prophets.
The greatest people will be those who possess the best capacities, cultivated with the best habits.
The greatest people will be those who possess the best capacities, cultivated with the best habits.
When an elephant is in trouble even a frog will kick him.
When an elephant is in trouble even a frog will kick him.
Facts per se can neither prove nor refute anything. Everything is decided by the interpretation and explanation of the facts, read more
Facts per se can neither prove nor refute anything. Everything is decided by the interpretation and explanation of the facts, by the ideas and the theories.
It seems, in fact, as though the second half of a man's life is made up of nothing, but the read more
It seems, in fact, as though the second half of a man's life is made up of nothing, but the habits he has accumulated during the first half.
As memory may be a paradise from which we cannot be driven, it may also be a hell from which read more
As memory may be a paradise from which we cannot be driven, it may also be a hell from which we cannot escape. - Aphorisms and Reflections.
It is nobler to convert souls, than to conquer kingdoms.
It is nobler to convert souls, than to conquer kingdoms.
Civilization is an enormous device for economizing knowledge,.
Civilization is an enormous device for economizing knowledge,.
