A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.

A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.

Any society that needs disclaimers has too many lawyers.

Any society that needs disclaimers has too many lawyers.

There is no such thing as truth.

There is no such thing as truth.

In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only read more

In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity.

There is no such thing as philosophy-free science; there is only science whose philosophical baggage is taken on board without read more

There is no such thing as philosophy-free science; there is only science whose philosophical baggage is taken on board without examination.

Most of the change we think we see in life Is due to truths being in and out of favor.

Most of the change we think we see in life Is due to truths being in and out of favor.

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.

We run fastest and farthest when we run from ourselves.

We run fastest and farthest when we run from ourselves.

But the development of human society does not go straight forward; and the epic process will therefore be a recurring read more

But the development of human society does not go straight forward; and the epic process will therefore be a recurring process, the series a recurring series - though not in exact repetition .