It needs some intelligence to be truly selfish. The unintelligent can only be self-righteous.

It needs some intelligence to be truly selfish. The unintelligent can only be self-righteous.

Now as of old the gods give men all good things, excepting only those that are baneful and injurious and read more

Now as of old the gods give men all good things, excepting only those that are baneful and injurious and useless. These, now as of old, are not gifts of the gods: men stumble into them themselves because of their own blindness and folly.

Instinct is untaught ability.

Instinct is untaught ability.

We can never really be prepared for that which is wholly new. We have to adjust ourselves, and every radical read more

We can never really be prepared for that which is wholly new. We have to adjust ourselves, and every radical adjustment is a crisis in self-esteem: we undergo a test, we have to prove ourselves. It needs inordinate self-confidence to face drastic change without inner trembling.

Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.

Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.

The rational individualist is not the enemy of benevolence or civility, but their truest exemplar.

The rational individualist is not the enemy of benevolence or civility, but their truest exemplar.

When you learn not to want things so badly, life comes to you.

When you learn not to want things so badly, life comes to you.

The impression somehow prevails that the true believer, particularly the religious individual, is a humble person. The truth is that read more

The impression somehow prevails that the true believer, particularly the religious individual, is a humble person. The truth is that the surrendering and humbling of the self breeds pride and arrogance.

Reading furnishes the mind only with materials for knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours.

Reading furnishes the mind only with materials for knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours.