Barbarian invasions would be superfluous: we are our own Huns.

Barbarian invasions would be superfluous: we are our own Huns.

The human race, to which so many of my readers belong, has been playing at children's games from the beginning, read more

The human race, to which so many of my readers belong, has been playing at children's games from the beginning, and will probably do it till the end, which is a nuisance for the few people who grow up. And one of the games to which it is most attached is called, ''Keep tomorrow dark,'' and which is also named (by the rustics in Shropshire, I have no doubt) ''Cheat the Prophet.'' The players listen very carefully and respectfully to all that the clever men have to say about what is to happen in the next generation. The players then wait until all the clever men are dead, and bury them nicely. Then they go and do something else. That is all. For a race of simple tastes, however, it is great fun.

The acquiring of culture is the development of an avid hunger for knowledge and beauty.

The acquiring of culture is the development of an avid hunger for knowledge and beauty.

Every man...should periodically be compelled to listen to opinions which are infuriating to him. To hear nothing but what is read more

Every man...should periodically be compelled to listen to opinions which are infuriating to him. To hear nothing but what is pleasing to one is to make a pillow of the mind.

It is not only fine feathers that make fine birds.

It is not only fine feathers that make fine birds.

The philosophy called individualism is a philosophy of social cooperation and the progressive intensification of the social nexus.

The philosophy called individualism is a philosophy of social cooperation and the progressive intensification of the social nexus.

Eagles soar, but weasels never get sucked into jet engines.

Eagles soar, but weasels never get sucked into jet engines.

Cultures contain many cues and inducements to dissuade the individual from approaching ultimate limits, in much the same way that read more

Cultures contain many cues and inducements to dissuade the individual from approaching ultimate limits, in much the same way that a special warning strip of land around the edge of a baseball field lets a player know that he is about to run into a concrete wall when he is preoccupied with catching the ball. The wider that strip of land and the more sensitive the player is to the changing composition of the ground under his feet as he pursues the ball, the more effective the warning. Romanticizing or lionizing as "individualistic" those people who disregard social cues and inducements increases the danger of head-on collisions with inherent social limits. Decrying various forms of social disapproval is in effect narrowing the warning strip.

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.