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.".
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There is nothing to be found in a beehive that is not submerged in a bee. And yet you can read more
There is nothing to be found in a beehive that is not submerged in a bee. And yet you can search a bee forever with cyclotron and fluoroscope, and you will never find the hive.
Deeds of violence in our society are performed largely by those trying to establish their self-esteem, to defend their self-image, read more
Deeds of violence in our society are performed largely by those trying to establish their self-esteem, to defend their self-image, and to demonstrate that they, too, are significant.
Every politician, clergyman, educator, or physician, in short, anyone dealing with human individuals, is bound to make grave mistakes if read more
Every politician, clergyman, educator, or physician, in short, anyone dealing with human individuals, is bound to make grave mistakes if he ignores these two great truths of population zoology: (1) no two individuals are alike, and (2) both environment and genetic endowment make a contribution to nearly every trait.
Facts do not "speak for themselves." They speak for or against competing theories. Facts divorced from theories or visions are read more
Facts do not "speak for themselves." They speak for or against competing theories. Facts divorced from theories or visions are mere isolated curiosities.
No matter how happily a woman may be married, it always pleases her to discover that there is a nice read more
No matter how happily a woman may be married, it always pleases her to discover that there is a nice man who wishes that she were not.
We run fastest and farthest when we run from ourselves.
We run fastest and farthest when we run from ourselves.
The common idea that success spoils people by making them vain, egotistic, and self-complacent is erroneous; on the contrary it read more
The common idea that success spoils people by making them vain, egotistic, and self-complacent is erroneous; on the contrary it makes them, for the most part, humble, tolerant, and kind. Failure makes people bitter and cruel.
A man is likely to mind his own business when it is worth minding. When it is not, he takes read more
A man is likely to mind his own business when it is worth minding. When it is not, he takes his mind off his own meaningless affairs by minding other people's business.This minding of other people's business expresses itself in gossip, snooping and meddling, and also in feverish interest in communal, national and racial affairs. In running away from ourselves we either fall on our neighbor's shoulder or fly at his throat.
Perhaps in time the so-called Dark Ages will be thought of as including our own.
Perhaps in time the so-called Dark Ages will be thought of as including our own.
