The poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.

The poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.

The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him
absolutely no good.

The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him
absolutely no good.

Society is only possible on these terms, that the individual finds therein a strengthening of his own ego and his read more

Society is only possible on these terms, that the individual finds therein a strengthening of his own ego and his own will.

You think that a wall as solid as the earth separates civilization from barbarism. I tell you the division is read more

You think that a wall as solid as the earth separates civilization from barbarism. I tell you the division is a thread, a sheet of glass. A touch here, a push there, and you bring back the reign of Saturn.

It is only because the majority opinion will always be opposed by some that our knowledge and understanding progress. In read more

It is only because the majority opinion will always be opposed by some that our knowledge and understanding progress. In the process by which opinion is formed, it is very probable that, by the time any view becomes a majority view, it is no longer the best view: somebody will already have advanced beyond the point which the majority have reached. It is because we do not yet which of the many competing new opinions will prove itself the best that we wait until it has gained sufficient support.

The instinct of nearly all societies is to lock up anybody who is
truly free. First, society begins by read more

The instinct of nearly all societies is to lock up anybody who is
truly free. First, society begins by trying to beat you up. If
this fails, they try to poison you. If this fails too, the
finish by loading honors on your head.

The world is governed more by appearance than realities so that it is fully as necessary to seem to know read more

The world is governed more by appearance than realities so that it is fully as necessary to seem to know something as to know it.

Religion is not a matter of God, church, holy cause, etc. These are but accessories. The source of religious preoccupation read more

Religion is not a matter of God, church, holy cause, etc. These are but accessories. The source of religious preoccupation is in the self, or rather the rejection of the self. Dedication is the obverse side of self-rejection. Man alone is a religious animal because, as Montaigne points out, "it is a malady confined to man, and not seen in any other creature, to hate and despise ourselves.".

Never do today what you can put off till tomorrow. Delay may give clearer light as to what is best read more

Never do today what you can put off till tomorrow. Delay may give clearer light as to what is best to be done.