“There are times when men's passions are much more trustworthy than their principles”

—  Alan Watts , book The Way of Zen

Source: The Way of Zen (1957), p. 29
Context: It was a basic Confucian principle that "it is man who makes truth great, not truth which makes man great." For this reason, "humanness" or "human-heartedness" (jen) was always felt to be superior to "righteousness" (i), since man himself is greater than any idea which he may invent. There are times when men's passions are much more trustworthy than their principles.

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Alan Watts 107
British philosopher, writer and speaker 1915–1973

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