The less justified a man is in claiming excellence for his own self, the more ready he is to claim read more

The less justified a man is in claiming excellence for his own self, the more ready he is to claim all excellence for his nation, his religion, his race or his holy cause.

To know truly is to know by causes.

To know truly is to know by causes.

Reason and action are congeneric and homogenous, two aspects of the same phenomenon.

Reason and action are congeneric and homogenous, two aspects of the same phenomenon.

Implicit in the activist conception of government is the assumption that you can take the good things in a complex read more

Implicit in the activist conception of government is the assumption that you can take the good things in a complex system for granted, and just improve the things that are not so good. What is lacking in this conception is any sense that a society, an institution, or even a single human being, is an intricate system of fragile inter-relationships, whose complexities are little understood and easily destabilized.

Laugh and the world laughs with you; snore and you sleep alone.

Laugh and the world laughs with you; snore and you sleep alone.

Self-righteousness is a loud din raised to drown the voice of guilt within us.

Self-righteousness is a loud din raised to drown the voice of guilt within us.

Passion holds up the botton of the world, while genius paints its roof.

Passion holds up the botton of the world, while genius paints its roof.

Commitment becomes hysterical when those who have nothing to give advocate generosity, and those who have nothing to give up read more

Commitment becomes hysterical when those who have nothing to give advocate generosity, and those who have nothing to give up preach renunciation.

Yield to temptation; it may not pass your way again.

Yield to temptation; it may not pass your way again.