Our species is the only creative species, and it has only one creative instrument, the individual mind and spirit of a man. Nothing was ever created by two men. There are no good collaborations, whether in music, in art, in poetry, in mathematics, in philosophy. Once the miracle of creation has taken place, the group can build and extend it, but the group never invents anything. The preciousness lies in the lonely mind of a man.
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Who so regardeth dreams is like him that catcheth at a shadow, and followeth after the wind. [Ecclesiasti!4:2].
Who so regardeth dreams is like him that catcheth at a shadow, and followeth after the wind. [Ecclesiasti!4:2].
We probably have a greater love for those we support than for those who support us. Our vanity carries greater read more
We probably have a greater love for those we support than for those who support us. Our vanity carries greater weight than our self-interest.
We shall assume that what each man does is based not on direct and certain knowledge, but by pictures made read more
We shall assume that what each man does is based not on direct and certain knowledge, but by pictures made by himself or given to him. If his atlas tells him the world is flat he will not sail near what he believes to be the edge of our planet for fear of falling off. If his maps include a fountain of eternal youth, a Ponce de Leon will go off in quest of it. If someone digs up yellow dirt that looks like gold, he will for a time act exactly as if he has found gold. The way in which the world is imagined determines at any particular moment what men will do. It does not determine what they will achieve. It determines their effort, their feelings, their hopes, not their accomplishments and results.
Human reason can neither predict nor deliberately shape its own future. Its advances consist in finding out where it has read more
Human reason can neither predict nor deliberately shape its own future. Its advances consist in finding out where it has been wrong.
Nothing defines the quality of life in a community more clearly than people who regard themselves, or whom the consensus read more
Nothing defines the quality of life in a community more clearly than people who regard themselves, or whom the consensus chooses to regard, as mentally unwell.
The untalented are more at ease in a society that gives them valid alibis for not achieving than in one read more
The untalented are more at ease in a society that gives them valid alibis for not achieving than in one where opportunities are abundant. In an affluent society, the alienated who clamor for power are largely untalented people who cannot make use of the unprecedented opportunities for self-realization, and cannot escape the confrontation with an ineffectual self.
Talk to a man about himself and he will listen for hours.
Talk to a man about himself and he will listen for hours.
Chaos often breeds life when order breeds habit.
Chaos often breeds life when order breeds habit.
Facts per se can neither prove nor refute anything. Everything is decided by the interpretation and explanation of the facts, read more
Facts per se can neither prove nor refute anything. Everything is decided by the interpretation and explanation of the facts, by the ideas and the theories.
