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Barbarian invasions would be superfluous: we are our own Huns.
Barbarian invasions would be superfluous: we are our own Huns.
Scientific progress consists in the development of new concepts.
Scientific progress consists in the development of new concepts.
All rising to great place is by winding stair.
All rising to great place is by winding stair.
There is apparently no surer way of turning a thing into its opposite than by exaggerating it.
There is apparently no surer way of turning a thing into its opposite than by exaggerating it.
The wise man sometimes flees from society from fear of being
bored.
The wise man sometimes flees from society from fear of being
bored.
It is common to assume that human progress affects everyone- that even the dullest man, in these bright days, knows read more
It is common to assume that human progress affects everyone- that even the dullest man, in these bright days, knows more than any man of, say, the Eighteenth Century, and is far more civilized. This assumption is quite erroneous...The great masses of men, even in this inspired republic, are precisely where the mob was at the dawn of history. They are ignorant, they are dishonest, they are cowardly, they are ignoble. They know little if anything that is worth knowing, and there is not the slightest sign of a natural desire among them to increase their knowledge.
Man is a luxury loving animal. Take away play, fancies, and luxuries, and you will turn man into a dull, read more
Man is a luxury loving animal. Take away play, fancies, and luxuries, and you will turn man into a dull, sluggish creature, barely energetic enough to obtain a bare subsistence. A society becomes stagnant when its people are too rational or too serious to be tempted by baubles.
