Piet Hein, poet and scientist (1905-1996)

It ought to be plain
how little you gain
by getting excited and vexed.
You'll always be late
for the previous train,
and always in time for the next. –
Piet Hein, poet and scientist (1905-1996)

I think I will try to cultivate this attitude.

P.J. O'Rourke, writer (b. 1947)

You can't shame or humiliate modern celebrities. What used to be called shame and humiliation is now called publicity. -P.J. O'Rourke, writer (b. 1947)

So sad but so true.

Sydney J. Harris, journalist (1917-1986)

Elitism is the slur directed at merit by mediocrity. -Sydney J. Harris, journalist (1917-1986)

This is no doubt sometimes true, but anyone who thinks it is always the case is clearly an elitist!

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr - poet, novelist, essayist, and physician (1809-1894)

We are all tattooed in our cradles with the beliefs of our tribe; the record may seem superficial, but it is indelible. You cannot educate a man wholly out of the superstitious fears which were implanted in his imagination, no matter how utterly his reason may reject them. -Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr, poet, novelist, essayist, and physician (1809-1894)

Perhaps not all the beliefs of our tribe that Dr. Holmes would like to eradicate from our minds are superstitious fears. Some of them may in fact be part of our nature as human beings. Holmes, however, likely did not believe in such a thing as a human nature innate in all men. I think he was inclined toward the tabula rasa view of epistemology.

Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher

One will rarely err if extreme actions be ascribed to vanity, ordinary actions to habit, and mean actions to fear. -Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher (1844-1900)

Is Nietzsche talking about ascribing one's own actions or the actions of others? Since the ascriptions are rather unflattering, I would guess he means the latter.

Henry Miller, playwright

Confusion is a word we have invented for an order which is not understood. -Henry Miller, writer (1891-1980)

Is Miller saying that there isn't any such thing as disorder? If so, that is real confusion! It is true that my confusion may sometimes be because I don't understand something that is inherently understandable, but sometimes the confusion may result from a situation that is so disordered that it is simply incomprehensible.

George Bernard Shaw

Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all others because you were born in it. -George Bernard Shaw, writer, Nobel laureate (1856-1950)

This is a cynic's definition, but not true. Patriotism is a species of loyalty, which doesn't require blindness to the object's faults.

Aldous Huxley

"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." --Aldous Huxley

The concept "fact" is surprisingly elusive. Reality is what it is, and our thought about it conforms more or less well to it. I suppose that is what is meant by a "fact," that is, what our mind judges this bit if reality to be. But intellectual honesty requires us to recognize that some time in the future we may learn more about this bit of reality and realize that we were wrong, and what we called a fact was in fact a mistake.

Carl Sagan, astronomer and writer

For all our conceits about being the center of the universe, we live in a routine planet of a humdrum star stuck away in an obscure corner ... on an unexceptional galaxy which is one of about 100 billion galaxies. ... That is the fundamental fact of the universe we inhabit, and it is very good for us to understand that. -Carl Sagan, astronomer and writer (1934-1996)

Another way of looking at this fundamental fact: Our planet orbits around an ordinary star, on the fringe of an ordinary galaxy which is one of about a hundred billion galaxies, but in all our searching it is the only planet we have found in all this vastness that can sustain life as we know it. This is quite a distinction!

E.L. Doctorow, writer (b. 1931)

Writing is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as the headlights, but you make the whole trip that way. -E.L. Doctorow, writer (b. 1931)

Life itself is very much the same. One's time horizon is very near. Without faith this would be very scary.

E.E. Cummings

The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful. -E.E. Cummings, poet (1894-1962)

True, but only part of the time, for which I am grateful.

John Kenneth Galbraith, economist

In all life one should comfort the afflicted, but verily, also, one should afflict the comfortable, and especially when they are comfortably, contentedly, even happily wrong. -John Kenneth Galbraith, economist (1908-2006)

I think that a truly humble person can follow this advice safely, but the arrogant should be very careful.

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.

J. K. Rowling, author

"Anything's possible if you've got enough nerve." --J. K. Rowling

This sounds good – very positive – but it simply isn't true. An abundance of nerve may lead one to try things that a more timid person wouldn't try, but just trying isn't the same as succeeding.

John Updike

The artist brings something into the world that didn't exist before, and he does it without destroying something else. -John Updike, writer (1932-2009)

In a moral sense, I think that some artists have destroyed by what they have created. At least, what some creators have considered their art has been evil, which is the destruction of something.

Richard Feynman

"I believe that a scientist looking at nonscientific problems is just as dumb as the next guy." -- Richard Feynman

That's a refreshing admission, and considering the source, pretty weighty.

Lewis H. Lapham, editor and writer

A society that presumes a norm of violence and celebrates aggression, whether in the subway, on the football field, or in the conduct of its business, cannot help making celebrities of the people who would destroy it. -Lewis H. Lapham, editor and writer (1935- )

Are we making celebrities of the people who would destroy our society? I think the answer is yes, but I don't think these celebrities are people of violence, but rather pop singers, movie stars, and basketball players. (These last are only a little bit violent.)

Yahia Lababidi, writer

Snakes and ladders: the game of organized religions. -Yahia Lababidi, writer (b. 1973)

The cynic speaks, a man without distinctions.

Henry Ford

"A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business." -- Henry Ford

A true saying, but probably the most striking thing about it is the author.

Stephen MacKenna

To have no set purpose in one's life is the harlotry of the will. -- Stephen MacKenna

This is true, but it is a mistake to think that one can simply decide for oneself what his or her purpose in life will be. To decide on the wrong purpose is the idolatry of the will.

Edith Wharton, novelist (1862-1937)

As the pain that can be told is but half a pain, so the pity that questions has little healing in its touch. -Edith Wharton, novelist (1862-1937)

I agree with both assertions.

Charles Darwin

The difference in mind between man and the higher animals, great as it is, certainly is one of degree and not of kind. -Charles Darwin, naturalist and author (1809-1882)

This can only be an expression of opinion, hinted at by the use of the word certainly, but because of the author's stature it is likely to taken as a statement of scientific fact.

Sydney J. Harris, journalist and author (1917-1986)

Patriotism is proud of a country's virtues and eager to correct its deficiencies; it also acknowledges the legitimate patriotism of other countries, with their own specific virtues. The pride of nationalism, however, trumpets its country's virtues and denies its deficiencies, while it is contemptuous toward the virtues of other countries. It wants to be, and proclaims itself to be, "the greatest", but greatness is not required of a country; only goodness is. -Sydney J. Harris, journalist and author (1917-1986)

This is very good, except that it unnecessarily, and incorrectly, disparages nationalism, which is not by definition proud.

Will Rogers

"An economist's guess is liable to be as good as anybody else's." - Will Rogers

At least if it is an economics question.

Michel de Montaigne, essayist (1533-1592)

The souls of emperors and cobblers are cast in the same mold. The same reason that makes us wrangle with a neighbor creates a war betwixt princes. -Michel de Montaigne, essayist (1533-1592)

Hopefully, in these days of republics and constitutional monarchies, wars are not launched on such a personal basis.

Friedrich Engels

"An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory." -- Freidrich Engels

Not exactly true. Effective action must be based on sound theory. But it is also true that the time comes to stop talking and start doing.

Samuel Johnson

"What we hope ever to do with ease we may learn first to do with diligence." -- Samuel Johnson

In more contemporary English would say in fact that we must first learn to do it with diligence.

Rebecca West, author and journalist

If there is a God, I don't think He would demand that anyone bow down or stand up to Him. -Rebecca West, author and journalist (1892-1983)

God doesn't demand that anyone bow down to him, but rather that is the natural response of someone who recognizes him for who he is and what he does. As far as standing up to him, I'm not sure whether she meant stand to show honor or to confront in opposition. If the former, showing reverence is proper; if the latter, that is surely not something God would demand, and would furthermore be a grave mistake on anyone's part, as Satan could testify.

Michel de Montaigne, essayist (1533-1592)

I speak the truth not so much as I would, but as much as I dare, and I dare a little more as I grow older. -Michel de Montaigne, essayist (1533-1592)

This quote reminds me that in western democracies it is much easier to be brave about speaking the truth than in many other times and places. May it remain so.

George Washington

"Speak not injurious Words neither in Jest nor Earnest. Scoff at none although they give Occasion." -- The Papers of George Washington, Rules of Civility & Decent Behaviour

Good advice I think, but not much followed these days of pervasive bantering.

Rita Mae Brown

"Language exerts hidden power, like a moon on the tides." -- Rita Mae Brown

True, which is why we must be very careful both when we write and when we read. The effectiveness of propaganda is rooted, for example, in the word choices that are made and the very order of sentences and paragraphs.

Joseph Wood Krutch, writer and naturalist (1893-1970)

How anyone can profess to find animal life interesting and yet take delight in reducing the wonder of any animal to a bloody mass of fur or feathers? -Joseph Wood Krutch, writer and naturalist (1893-1970)

I agree that taking delight in the bare act of killing an animal is probably a perversion, but nevertheless there are legitimate reasons for killing an animal.

Nikos Kazantzakis, poet and novelist (1883-1957)

True teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross; then, having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create their own. -Nikos Kazantzakis, poet and novelist (1883-1957)

I agree with the sentiment, but the expression is a bit grandiose.

Herman Melville, novelist and poet

All visible objects, man, are but as pasteboard masks. But in each event -- in the living act, the undoubted deed -- there, some unknown but still reasoning thing puts forth the mouldings of its features from behind the unreasoning mask. -Herman Melville, novelist and poet (1819-1891)

I wonder if this was written or spoken in connection with Moby Dick, and if it was, what reasoning thing did he intend to be putting forth its features in that great white whale?

Khalil Gibran, mystic, poet, and artist

Yesterday we obeyed kings and bent our necks before emperors. But today we kneel only to truth, follow only beauty, and obey only love. -Khalil Gibran, mystic, poet, and artist (1883-1931)

True, if today we bear in mind that God is truth, beauty, and love.

Helen Keller, author and lecturer

The highest result of education is tolerance. -Helen Keller, author and lecturer (1880-1968)

Unfortunately, one can have a lot of education, reach the highest level of achievement, and not reach this highest result. There are many intolerant doctors, lawyers, and PhDs. (It is worth noting, though, that tolerance is not the ultimate in virtue.)

Abba Agathon, monk (4th/5th century)

I have never gone to sleep with a grievance against anyone. And, as far as I could, I have never let anyone go to sleep with a grievance against me. -Abba Agathon, monk (4th/5th century)

Ref. Mt. 18:15, Mt. 5:23-24, , Eph. 4:26

Robert Green Ingersoll

In the presence of eternity, the mountains are as transient as the clouds. -Robert Green Ingersoll, lawyer and orator (1833-1899)

Robert A. Heinlein, science-fiction author

Men rarely (if ever) managed to dream up a god superior to themselves. Most gods have the manners and morals of a spoiled child. -Robert A. Heinlein, science-fiction author (1907-1988)

That's the trouble with dreaming up a god rather than acknowledging God. Very serious consequences follow from idolatry. History, both ancient and modern, is largely made up of the story of these consequences.

Joseph Addison, essayist and poet (1672-1719)

A man's first care should be to avoid the reproaches of his own heart, his next to escape the censures of the world. -Joseph Addison, essayist and poet (1672-1719)

In our day, this advice is a recipe for disaster. In Addison's time a man's heart, or at least an English gentleman's heart, had a good chance of being well formed and so often was a reasonable guide, and the society around him also more often than not condemned what was evil and promoted what was good. Not so today.

Mary Wollstonecraft, reformer and writer

The being cannot be termed rational or virtuous, who obeys any authority, but that of reason. -Mary Wollstonecraft, reformer and writer (1759-1797)

True, but it is often enough the case that the rational and virtuous course of action is to obey a proper authority when one's reason is unsure. In fact, sometimes it is the rational and virtuous course to obey a proper authority even when one's reason suggests another course is better. No one's reason is infallible, and the rational and virtuous person recognizes this and takes it into account.

Mohandas K. Gandhi

All humanity is one undivided and indivisible family, and each one of us is responsible for the misdeeds of all the others. I cannot detach myself from the wickedest soul. -Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948)

In what sense could this be true? God says each man ultimately must pay for his own sins, not those of his father or of his children. On the other hand, there is a real human solidarity that should call from each of us the desire to plead for mercy for us all. Christ demonstrated that decisively on the cross.

Will Durant, historian and philosopher

"Science gives us knowledge, but only philosophy can give us wisdom." -- Will Durant

Really, only God can give us wisdom.

Abigail Adams, U.S, second First Lady

"We have too many high sounding words, and too few actions that correspond with them." -- Abigail Adams

As true today as in Mrs. Adams' time, at least.

Albert Einstein, physicist, Nobel laureate

A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death. -Albert Einstein, physicist, Nobel laureate (1879-1955)

This statement reveals a rather impoverished understanding of religion and its relationship to ethics. True religion, at least as far as Christianity and Judaism, are concerned, is based on love of God and of God’s creatures. (Dt 6:5, Mt 22:37-40) In other words, a moral person’s actions are motivated by love, not fear of punishment and hope of reward. Moreover, sympathy, education, and social ties are rather weak foundations on which to build an ethical system.

William James

"The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook." -- William James

I agree that this is wisdom, but surely there is more to being wise than that.

George Matthew Adams

"People do not get tired out from working where work is intelligently handled. Work, if it is interesting, is a stimulant." -- George Matthew Adams

Getting bored is not the same getting tired out. Interesting work is indeed a stimulant, but enough of it will still wear you out.

Egyptian proverb

A beautiful thing is never perfect. -Egyptian proverb

This seems ambiguous. Does it mean that even a beautiful thing is never perfect, or that if a thing is perfect that makes it not beautiful?

Christopher Hitchens, author and journalist

What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof. -Christopher Hitchens, author and journalist (b. 1949)

Careful! This isn't absolutely true. In geometry, for example, there are axioms that are considered intuitively obvious and don't need to be proved. Also in logic.

Peter Singer, philosopher, professor of bioethics

In an earlier stage of our development most human groups held to a tribal ethic. Members of the tribe were protected, but people of other tribes could be robbed or killed as one pleased. Gradually the circle of protection expanded, but as recently as 150 years ago we did not include blacks. So African human beings could be captured, shipped to America, and sold. In Australia white settlers regarded Aborigines as a pest and hunted them down, much as kangaroos are hunted down today. Just as we have progressed beyond the blatantly racist ethic of the era of slavery and colonialism, so we must now progress beyond the speciesist ethic of the era of factory farming, of the use of animals as mere research tools, of whaling, seal hunting, kangaroo slaughter, and the destruction of wilderness. We must take the final step in expanding the circle of ethics. -Peter Singer, philosopher, professor of bioethics (b. 1946)

Although the professor is implying that his conclusion follows logically from the history he relates, it does not. There are qualitative differences between humans and animals. This doesn't mean, however, that we don't need to improve the way we relate to animals, or to the rest of God's creation.

Henry Mintzberg

"Learning is not doing; it is reflecting on doing." -- Henry Mintzberg

This is true of some kinds of learning, but there are some kinds of learning that can only happen in the doing, such as the sequence of muscle activity involved in turning a double play or driving past a defender to the basket.

Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher

Is man one of God's blunders or is God one of man's? -Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher (1844-1900)

The short answer is "Neither."

Pedro Calderon de la Barca, poet and dramatist (1600-1681)

When love is not madness, it is not love. -Pedro Calderon de la Barca, poet and dramatist (1600-1681)

This equates love with passion, which may apply to erotic love but not to all kinds of love.