“Can you tell me, in a world that is flagrant with the failures of civilisation, what there is particularly immortal about yours?”
The Napoleon of Notting Hill (1904)
The Napoleon of Notting Hill (1904)
Context: Many clever men like you have trusted to civilization. Many clever Babylonians, many clever Egyptians, many clever men at the end of Rome. Can you tell me, in a world that is flagrant with the failures of civilisation, what there is particularly immortal about yours?
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G. K. Chesterton 229
English mystery novelist and Christian apologist 1874–1936Related quotes

May 1849: This is a remark Emerson wrote referring to the unreliability of second hand testimony and worse upon the subject of immortality. It is often taken out of proper context, and has even begun appearing on the internet as "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know" or sometimes just "I hate quotations".
1820s, Journals (1822–1863)
Source: The Essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson

From Picasso, His Life and Work, Sir Roland Penrose, (1981), p. 413
Attributed from posthumous publications

Source: Song lyrics, The Sensual World (1989)
“I am less than what you tell about me but more than what you think about me”
Nahj al-Balagha
Context: A man sarcastically started praising Imam Ali, though he had no faith in him and Imam Ali hearing these praises from him said "I am less than what you tell about me but more than what you think about me."

Source: Aleph (2011)
Context: It’s always easy to blame others. You can spend your entire life blaming the world, but your successes or failures are entirely your own responsibility. You can try to stop time, but it’s a complete waste of energy.