The weak are not a noble breed. Their sublime deeds of faith, daring, and self-sacrifice usually spring from questionable motives. The weak hate not wickedness but weakness; and one instance of their hatred of weakness is hatred of self. All the passionate pursuits of the weak are in some degree a striving to escape, blur, or disguise an unwanted self. It is a striving shot through with malice, envy, self-deception, and a host of petty impulses; yet it often culminates in superb achievements.
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Don't be afraid to take a big step when one is indicated. You can't cross a chasm in two small read more
Don't be afraid to take a big step when one is indicated. You can't cross a chasm in two small steps.
Always behave like a duck- keep calm and unruffled on the surface but paddle like the devil underneath.
Always behave like a duck- keep calm and unruffled on the surface but paddle like the devil underneath.
Every man is as Heaven made him, and sometimes a great deal worse.
Every man is as Heaven made him, and sometimes a great deal worse.
I have taken all knowledge to be my province.
I have taken all knowledge to be my province.
In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped read more
In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.
In the alchemy of man's soul almost all noble attributes- courage, honor, love, hope, faith, duty, loyalty, and so on- read more
In the alchemy of man's soul almost all noble attributes- courage, honor, love, hope, faith, duty, loyalty, and so on- can be transmuted into ruthlessness. Compassion alone stands apart from the continuous traffic between good and evil proceeding within us. Compassion is the antitoxin of the soul: where there is compassion, even the most poisonous impulses remain relatively harmless.
Reason's biological function is to preserve and promote life and to postpone its extinction as long as possible. Thinking and read more
Reason's biological function is to preserve and promote life and to postpone its extinction as long as possible. Thinking and acting are not contrary to nature; they are, rather, the foremost features of man's nature. The most appropriate description of man as differentiated from nonhuman beings is: a being purposively struggling against the forces adverse to his life.
Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.
Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.
Men never do evil so fully and so happily as when they do it for conscience's sake.
Men never do evil so fully and so happily as when they do it for conscience's sake.
