The power of habit and the charm of novelty are the two adverse forces which explain the follies of mankind.

The power of habit and the charm of novelty are the two adverse forces which explain the follies of mankind.

Only a mediocre person is always at his best.

Only a mediocre person is always at his best.

An inventor is simply a fellow who doesn't take his education too seriously.

An inventor is simply a fellow who doesn't take his education too seriously.

...the conviction persists - though history has shown it to be a hallucination - that all the questions that the read more

...the conviction persists - though history has shown it to be a hallucination - that all the questions that the human mind has asked are questions that can be answered in terms of the alternatives that the questions themselves present. But in fact intellectual progress usually occurs through sheer abandonment of questions together with both of the alternatives they assume - an abandonment that results from their decreasing vitality and change of urgent interest. We do not solve them: we get over them. Old questions are solved by disappearing, evaporating, while new questions corresponding to the changed attitude of endeavor and preference take their place.

The burning conviction that we have a holy duty towards others is often a way of attaching our drowning selves read more

The burning conviction that we have a holy duty towards others is often a way of attaching our drowning selves to a passing raft. What looks like a giving hand is often a holding on for dear life. Take away our holy duties and you leave our lives puny and meaningless. There is no doubt that in exchanging a self-centered for a selfless life we gain enormously in self-esteem. The vanity of the selfless, even those who practice utmost humility, is boundless.

Unlike the pattern which seems to prevail in the rest of life, in the human species the weak not only read more

Unlike the pattern which seems to prevail in the rest of life, in the human species the weak not only survive but often triumph over the strong. The self-hatred inherent in the weak unlocks energies far more formidable then those mobilized by an ordinary struggle for existence.

The sexual regions constitute a particularly vulnerable spot, and remain so even in man, and the need for their protection read more

The sexual regions constitute a particularly vulnerable spot, and remain so even in man, and the need for their protection which thus exists conflicts with the prominent display required for sexual allurement. This end is far more effectively attained, with greater advantage and less disadvantage, by concentrating the chief ensigns of sexual attractiveness on the upper and more conspicuous parts of the body. This method is well-nigh universal among animals as well as in man.

The compulsion to take ourselves seriously is in inverse proportion to our creative capacity. When the creative flow dries up, read more

The compulsion to take ourselves seriously is in inverse proportion to our creative capacity. When the creative flow dries up, all we have left is our importance.

Progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things.

Progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things.