Category: Thought

One escapes into reminiscence as one escapes into gin or sodium amytal. 

Aldous Huxley, The Genius and the Goddess (1955).

I have indeed heard of heedless, inconsiderate writers that, without any malice, have sacrificed the reputation of their friends and acquaintance to a certain levity of temper, and a silly ambition of distinguishing themselves by a spirit of raillery and satire; as if it were not infinitely more honourable to be a good-natured man than a wit. Where there is this little petulant humour in an author, he is often very mischievous without designing to be so. For which reason I always lay it down as a rule that an indiscreet man is more hurtful than an ill-natured one; for as the one will only attack his enemies, and those he wishes ill to, the other injures indifferently both friends and foes.

Joseph Addison, Essays and Tales (Henry Morley, editor; 1888).

Unjust laws exist: shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once?

Henry David Thoreau, On the Duty of Civil Disobedience (1849).

The hours of a wise man are lengthened by his ideas, as those of a fool are by his passions.

Joseph Addison (1672–1719), “Spare Time” (Essays and Tales, 1888), Part Two.

Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves.

Henry David Thoreau, Journals (1847).

Écrasez l’infâme!

Make War on Injustice!

Voltaire’s rallying cry, launched in his Philosophical Dictionary (1764) — literally, ‘Crush the infamous!’, but more idiomatically translated as ‘Make War on Injustice!’ or ‘Destroy Bigotry!’

Remember, to learn and not to do is really not to learn. To know and not to do is really not to know.

Stephen Covey, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (1989), p. 12.

Whatever pretended pessimists in search of notoriety may say, most people are naturally kind, at heart.

James Branch Cabell, The Cream of the Jest: A Comedy of Evasion (1917).

Let natural consequences teach responsible behavior. One of the kindest things we can do is to let the natural or logical consequences of people’s actions teach them responsible behavior. They may not like it or us, but popularity is a fickle standard by which to measure character development.

I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: ‘Oh Lord, make my enemies ridiculous.’ And God granted it.

François-Marie Arouet (1694–1778), aka Voltaire, in a letter to Étienne Noël Damilaville.