We usually see only the things we are looking for- so much so that we sometimes see them where they read more

We usually see only the things we are looking for- so much so that we sometimes see them where they are not.

The wise man doesn't give the right answers, he poses the right questions.

The wise man doesn't give the right answers, he poses the right questions.

He that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils; for time is the greatest innovator.

He that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils; for time is the greatest innovator.

A nail is driven out by another nail. Habit is overcome by habit.

A nail is driven out by another nail. Habit is overcome by habit.

Men have made an idol of luck as an excuse for their own thoughtlessness.

Men have made an idol of luck as an excuse for their own thoughtlessness.

Implicit in the activist conception of government is the assumption that you can take the good things in a complex read more

Implicit in the activist conception of government is the assumption that you can take the good things in a complex system for granted, and just improve the things that are not so good. What is lacking in this conception is any sense that a society, an institution, or even a single human being, is an intricate system of fragile inter-relationships, whose complexities are little understood and easily destabilized.

A line runs from the meditations of the heart to the words of the mouth. The meditations are not clear read more

A line runs from the meditations of the heart to the words of the mouth. The meditations are not clear to us until the mouth utters its words. If what the mouth utters is unclear or foolish or mendacious, it must be that the meditations are the same. But the line runs both ways. The words of the mouth will become the meditations of the heart, and the habit of loose talk loosens the fastenings of our understanding.

It may indeed prove to be far the most difficult and not the least important task for human reason rationally read more

It may indeed prove to be far the most difficult and not the least important task for human reason rationally to comprehend its own limitations. It is essential for the growth of reason that as individuals we should bow to forces and obey principles which we cannot hope fully to understand, yet on which the advance and even the preservation of civilization depend.

If you are all wrapped up in yourself, you are overdressed.

If you are all wrapped up in yourself, you are overdressed.