Nature attains perfection, but man never does. There is a perfect ant, a perfect bee, but man is perpetually unfinished. He is both an unfinished animal and an unfinished man. It is this incurable unfinishedness which sets man apart from other living things. For, in the attempt to finish himself, man becomes a creator. Moreover, the incurable unfinishedness keeps man perpetually immature, perpetually capable of learning and growing.
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Rudeness luxuriates in the absence of self-respect.
Rudeness luxuriates in the absence of self-respect.
Again men have been kept back as by a kind of enchantment from progress in science by reverence for antiquity, read more
Again men have been kept back as by a kind of enchantment from progress in science by reverence for antiquity, by the authority of men counted great in philosophy, and then by general consent.
Just as some plants bear fruit only if they don't shoot up too high, so in practical arts the leaves read more
Just as some plants bear fruit only if they don't shoot up too high, so in practical arts the leaves and flowers of theory must be pruned and the plant kept close to its proper soil- experience.
All prayers and hopes are a reaching-out for coincidences.
All prayers and hopes are a reaching-out for coincidences.
It is the worst of all superstitions to assume that the epistemological characteristics of one branch of knowledge must necessarily read more
It is the worst of all superstitions to assume that the epistemological characteristics of one branch of knowledge must necessarily be applicable to any other branch.
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.
Do what thy manhood bids thee do, from none but self expect applause;He noblest lives and noblest dies who makes read more
Do what thy manhood bids thee do, from none but self expect applause;He noblest lives and noblest dies who makes and keeps his self-made laws.
Love, friendship, respect, do not unite people as much as a common hatred for something.
Love, friendship, respect, do not unite people as much as a common hatred for something.
Far more crucial than what we know or do not know is what we do not want to know. One read more
Far more crucial than what we know or do not know is what we do not want to know. One often obtains a clue to a person's nature by discovering the reasons for his or her imperviousness to certain impressions.
