Aharon Barak, law professor, former President of the Supreme Court of Israel

Although a democracy must often fight with one hand tied behind its back, it nonetheless has the upper hand. -Aharon Barak, law professor, former President of the Supreme Court of Israel (b.1936)

A comforting thought, but is it true? On the face of it autocratic forces, not constrained by their own public's opinion, would seem to have a great advantage. The historical record of democracy is, I think, too thin to render a verdict.

Omar Khayyam, poet, mathematician, philosopher, astronomer, and physician (1048-1131)

One thing is certain, and the rest is lies;
The flower that once has blown forever dies.
Omar Khayyam, poet, mathematician, philosopher, astronomer, and physician (1048-1131)

Khayyam is credited with many roles, but he was wrong nevertheless in this case, assuming, that is, that the flower is a metaphor for the human life.

Aldous Huxley

There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self. -- Aldous Huxley

Typical of his era I think, Huxley is too optimistic. There is in human nature, marked by sin, very little certainty about being able to improve yourself. But God's grace makes the difference.

Oscar Wilde

Truth, in matters of religion, is simply the opinion that has survived. -Oscar Wilde, writer (1854-1900)

Wrong! (If Wilde can make such assertions without any justification, so can I.)

Samuel Butler, writer

Morality is the custom of one's country and the current feeling of one's peers. Cannibalism is moral in a cannibal country. -Samuel Butler, writer (1835-1902)

One can use the words this way, but then one must insist that some "moralities" are false, such as a morality that considers cannibalism as good.

Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)

We are all of us more or less echoes, repeating involuntarily the virtues, the defects, the movements, and the characters of those among whom we live. -Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)

I think that this is true, more or less, and it underscores the importance of our daily associations.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. Absolve you to yourself, and you shall have the suffrage of the world. -Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882)

Such navel-gazing may bring "the suffrage of the world," but that would merely reveal the sad state of the world. Fortunately, the world isn't as bad off as it might be. After all, the world condemned Hitler, though I am sure he absolved himself to the very end.