The revolutions of thought which shape the basic outlook of an age are not disseminated through text-books- they spread like read more

The revolutions of thought which shape the basic outlook of an age are not disseminated through text-books- they spread like epidemics, through contamination by invisible agents and innocent germ carriers, by the most varied forms of contact, or simply by breathing the common air.

The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be...The nation and the read more

The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be...The nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.

Simplicity is the outward sign and symbol of depth of thought.

Simplicity is the outward sign and symbol of depth of thought.

There is no reason why humanity cannot be served equally by weighty and trivial motives.

There is no reason why humanity cannot be served equally by weighty and trivial motives.

Men who love wisdom should acquaint themselves with a great many particulars.

Men who love wisdom should acquaint themselves with a great many particulars.

Society cannot contribute anything to the breeding and growing of ingenious men. A creative genius cannot be trained. There are read more

Society cannot contribute anything to the breeding and growing of ingenious men. A creative genius cannot be trained. There are no schools for creativeness. A genius is precisely a man who defies all schools and rules, who deviates from the traditional roads of routine and opens up new paths through land inaccessible before. A genius is always a teacher, never a pupil; he is always self-made.

Sin makes its own hell, and goodness its own heaven.

Sin makes its own hell, and goodness its own heaven.

...ideas have a tendency to live lives of their own, and having become a part of tradition, they are very read more

...ideas have a tendency to live lives of their own, and having become a part of tradition, they are very difficult to root out. When summarized in a few neat words or phrases, these gems of wisdom become substitutes for thought, and gradually take on much of the status of revealed truth. Occasionally, some iconoclast sees fit to challenge one of them, and a brief flurry ensues, after which things go on about as before. It is easy to think of plenty of ideas that are passing, if they have not already passed, beyond the stage of effective discussion.

I think it is all a matter of love: the more you love a memory, the stronger and stranger it read more

I think it is all a matter of love: the more you love a memory, the stronger and stranger it is. - Strong Opinions.