skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Page Forty-Six
"Transport of the mails, transport of the human voice, transport of flickering pictures -- in this century, as in others, our highest accomplishments still have the single aim of bringing men together." -- Antoine De Saint-ExuperyA lovely thought, but someone with a different disposition might see it differently. A militarist, for example, might say that our highest accomplishments have the single purpose of perfecting the art of war, and could cite any number of notable twentieth century achievements. Perhaps we have to say that human accomplishment, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.
A politician is a man who thinks of the next election, while the statesman thinks of the next generation. -James Freeman Clarke, preacher and author (1810-1888)Guess which we have most of these days?
"On the whole, human beings want to be good, but not too good, and not quite all the time." -- George Orwell Poignant wry humor, poignant because it seems to be very true. But why is this so? The truth is that the Good is attractive, and so human beings want to be good. But why not too good, and not all the time? Evil, the Un-good, is ugly in itself, so human beings never, in their right minds anyway, desire it directly. The explanation is that the Evil One insinuates the lie that seeking the Good is hard or tedious or uncool, or odious in some other way, and that a little vacation would be pleasant. Unfortunately, the tendency of sin is to increase, and so the common course of things is for one who gives in to sin to become more and more sinful, less and less good. And indeed we see that this is very often the case. It is a sign of God's grace that humanity did not destroy itself long ago.
"It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers." -- James ThurberI can't say whether it really is better or not, but at least it is possible!
To be able to destroy with good conscience, to be able to behave badly and call your bad behavior "righteous indignation" -- this is the height of psychological luxury, the most delicious of moral treats. -Aldous Huxley, novelist (1894-1963)A typical muddled usage. What do the words mean when an action is done with "good conscience" and yet is named "bad behavior"? (This "most delicious of moral treats" makes me think of the witch's magic candy in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.) There are two possible scenarios. Society calls my destructive action "bad behavior," but I know it is actually good, so I do it in good conscience. This cannot be what Huxley has in mind, or he wouldn't have called it "the most delicious of moral treats." The other scenario is that the action really is bad behavior, but I excuse myself by calling it "righteous indignation."
That some good can be derived from every event is a better proposition than that everything happens for the best, which it assuredly does not. –James Kern Feibleman, philosopher and psychiatrist (1904-1987) I agree. To say that everything happens for the best seems to deny the reality of sin. One must say that a hug is better than a knife in the back, for the giver if not for the receiver, even though, in the view from eternity, God can bring good out of both.
"Look wise, say nothing, and grunt. Speech was given to conceal thought." -- Sir William Osler I'm a bit puzzled by this epigram. The first sentence is advice that says "Be silent." The second sentence, however, seems to imply that one should rather speak in order to obscure your views. I have seen the first applied in numerous meetings, where one or more participants are attentive and give the appearance of being quite sagacious by not putting their thoughts out where others can criticize them. As I think about it, I remember other meetings in which the second was, no doubt, in play. Perhaps the great physician's intent is to give guidance for participating in meetings where the greatest need is to be on guard: Keep your own counsel, and don't be deceived by the contributions of others.
"We cannot fail to win unless we fail to try."-- Tom Clancy Clancy must have a different definition of "win" than most people, especially most sports writers. I am sure the Colorado Rockies tried to win the World Series, but everything I read said they failed.
Friendship, like credit, is highest where it is not used. -Elbert Hubbard, author, editor, printer (1856-1915) This reflects a rather cynical view of friendship, a view that considers friendship as simply what someone is willing to do for me; the less I call on a friend's help, the stronger the friendship. Here is a richer perspective: Friendship is a living thing that lasts only as long as it is nourished with kindness, empathy and understanding. (Author unknown)
