E.E. Cummings

To be nobody but myself -- in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else -- means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting. -E.E. Cummings, poet (1894-1962)

This deserves some pondering. I would agree that the world around us is indeed doing its best to form us into a shape that suits its purposes, and that we should resist, and that resistance requires diligent effort. But I wonder about the implications of the stated ideal, "to be nobody but myself"? In a superficial sense, of course, I can't really be anyone but myself, but Cummings is aiming at something deeper. Do I really want to be merely myself? Isn't there anything higher to strive for?

John Milton, poet

Who overcomes by force hath overcome but half his foe. -John Milton, poet (1608-1674)

Would that it were always so, but I think that in fact it is only true if the one conquered by force is of a certain strong character. I am afraid, though, that in our time at least many men do not have it within them to remain unconquered in their minds, hearts, and spirits once they have been subdued by external force. For example, in Nazi Europe the Resistance grew up in many places, but there were also many collaborators.

Robert Blatchford, author

Religions are not revealed: they are evolved. If a religion were revealed by God, that religion would be perfect in whole and in part, and would be as perfect at the first moment of its revelation as after ten thousand years of practice. There has never been a religion that which fulfills those conditions. -Robert Blatchford, author (1851-1943)

There are several logical problems in this statement. One problem is that it assumes that the revelation must be complete all at once. Some religions may claim such revelation, but Christianity at least does not. Another difficulty is that only way to determine whether a given religion is "perfect in whole and in part" is see it expressed in some human way, and human expressions are always faulty, in word or deed.

Francois, duc de La Rochefoucauld, moralist (1613-1680)

Some people with great virtues are disagreeable, while others with great vices are delightful. -Francois, duc de La Rochefoucauld, moralist (1613-1680)

Some people with great vices may be delightful on a superficial level, but if you have to relate to them on any level of depth, or have to depend on them in any significant matter, I think you will find them anything but delightful.

Adam Smith, economist

What can be added to the happiness of a man who is in health, out of debt, and has a clear conscience? -Adam Smith, economist (1723-1790)

As long as Smith includes right relationship with God as part of a clear conscience, which he certainly should, I would agree with him.

Marvin Kitman, author and media critic

A coward is a hero with a wife, kids, and a mortgage. -Marvin Kitman, author and media critic (b. 1929)

Really, a hero is a man with a wife, kids, and mortgage who nevertheless does the right thing in difficult circumstances.

A. A. Milne

"The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority. The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking." -- A. A. Milne

I like what he says about the third-rate mind and the second-rate mind. Perhaps I'm not subtle enough, but I don't understand the point about the first-rate mind. It would make more sense to me if it said something like, "The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking independently." Or maybe "The first-rate mind is happy whenever it is thinking."

Maury Maverick, attorney and congressman

Democracy, to me, is liberty plus economic security. -Maury Maverick, attorney and congressman (1895-1954)

This seems to me a very odd formulation. Economic security is a good thing no doubt, and severe economic insecurity has historically been a danger to democracy, but to include it in the definition of democracy can confuse discussion of policy. It is possible to have democracy without economic security and it is possible to have economic security without democracy. The latter choice is sometimes a serious temptation, which should be resisted.