“Man starts over again everyday, in spite of all he knows, against all he knows.”
A Short History of Decay (1949)
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Emil M. Cioran 531
Romanian philosopher and essayist 1911–1995Related quotes
“Make a drawing. Start it all over again, trace it. Start it and trace it again.”
posthumous quotes, The Shop-Talk of Edgar Degas', (1961)
1964 Memorial Edition, p. 266 http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations/Profiles-in-Courage-quotations.aspx
Variant: A man does what he must — in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures — and that is the basis of all human morality.
Source: Pre-1960, Profiles in Courage (1956)
Context: The courage of life is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final moment; but it is no less a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy. A man does what he must — in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers, and pressures — and that is the basis of all human morality. In whatever area in life one may meet the challenges of courage, whatever may be the sacrifices he faces if he follows his conscience — the loss of his friends, his fortune, his contentment, even the esteem of his fellow men — each man must decide for himself the course he will follow. The stories of past courage can define that ingredient — they can teach, they can offer hope, they can provide inspiration. But they cannot supply courage itself. For this each man must look into his own soul.
Context: For without belittling the courage with which men have died, we should not forget those acts of courage with which men — such as the subjects of this book — have lived. The courage of life is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final moment; but it is no less a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy. A man does what he must — in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers, and pressures — and that is the basis of all human morality. In whatever area in life one may meet the challenges of courage, whatever may be the sacrifices he faces if he follows his conscience — the loss of his friends, his fortune, his contentment, even the esteem of his fellow men — each man must decide for himself the course he will follow. The stories of past courage can define that ingredient — they can teach, they can offer hope, they can provide inspiration. But they cannot supply courage itself. For this each man must look into his own soul.
Statement (1906) in Mark Twain in Eruption: Hitherto Unpublished Pages About Men and Events (1940) edited by Bernard DeVoto
“He's a man with a plan,
Got a counterfeit dollar in his hand,
He's misstra know-it-all.”
He's Misstra Know-It-All
Song lyrics, Innervisions (1973)
“All I care to know about a man is that he is a human being… he can't be any worse.”
Review https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-groundhog-day-1993 of Groundhog Day
Reviews, Four star reviews
“Hardly any man is clever enough to know all the evil he does.”
Il n'y a guère d'homme assez habile pour connaître tout le mal qu'il fait.
Maxim 269.
Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims (1665–1678)
