Laughter to begin with was probably glee at the misfortunes of others. The baring of the teeth in laughter hints at its savage ancestry. Animals have no malice, hence also no laughter. They never savor the sudden glory of Schadenfreude. It was its infectious quality that made of laughter a medium of mutuality.
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The honest man must be a perpetual renegade, the life of an honest man a perpetual infidelity. For the man read more
The honest man must be a perpetual renegade, the life of an honest man a perpetual infidelity. For the man who wishes to remain faithful to truth must make himself perpetually unfaithful to all the continual, successive, indefatigable renascent errors.
Children sweeten labours; but they make misfortunes more bitter. They increase the care of life; but they mitigate the remembrance read more
Children sweeten labours; but they make misfortunes more bitter. They increase the care of life; but they mitigate the remembrance of death. The perpetuity of generation is common to beasts; but memory, merit, and noble works, are proper to men. And surely a man shall see the noblest works and foundations have proceeded from childless men; which have sought to express the images of their minds, where those of their bodies have failed.
The monuments of wit survive the monuments of power.
The monuments of wit survive the monuments of power.
The opposite of the religious fanatic is not the fanatical atheist but the gentle cynic who cares not whether there read more
The opposite of the religious fanatic is not the fanatical atheist but the gentle cynic who cares not whether there is a god or not.
The only sure weapon against bad ideas is better ideas.
The only sure weapon against bad ideas is better ideas.
We have no assurance that half-truth will make us free.
We have no assurance that half-truth will make us free.
Unity and self-sacrifice, of themselves, even when fostered by the most noble means, produce a facility for hating. Even when read more
Unity and self-sacrifice, of themselves, even when fostered by the most noble means, produce a facility for hating. Even when men league themselves mightily together to promote tolerance and peace on earth, they are likely to be violently intolerant toward those not of a like mind.
The seeds of great discoveries are constantly floating around, but they only take root in minds well prepared to receive read more
The seeds of great discoveries are constantly floating around, but they only take root in minds well prepared to receive them.
A mind that is fast is sick. A mind that is slow is sound. A mind that is still is read more
A mind that is fast is sick. A mind that is slow is sound. A mind that is still is divine.
