Letter to the Editor, Dublin Daily Express (27 February 1895)
On Machiavelli http://www.bartleby.com/27/24.html (1827)
“No sadder proof can be given by a man of his own littleness than disbelief in great men.”
1840s, Heroes and Hero-Worship (1840), The Hero as Divinity
More Than Earthlings: An Astronaut's Thoughts for Christ-Centered Living (1983)
TALKING "Y" WITH BKV: THE BRIAN K. VAUGHN INTERVIEW conducted by Nolan Reese May 21, 2003
“And nothing on earth consumes a man more quickly than the passion of resentment.”
"Why I Am So Wise", 6
Ecce Homo (1888)
Transhumanism (1957)
Context: The first thing that the human species has to do to prepare itself for the cosmic office to which it finds itself appointed is to explore human nature, to find out what are the possibilities open to it (including, of course, its limitations, whether inherent or imposed by the facts of external nature)... The great men of the past have given us glimpses of what is possible in the way of personality, of intellectual understanding, of spiritual achievement, of artistic creation. But these are scarcely more than Pisgah glimpses. We need to explore and map the whole realm of human possibility, as the realm of physical geography has been explored and mapped. How to create new possibilities for ordinary living? What can be done to bring out the latent capacities of the ordinary man and woman for understanding and enjoyment; to teach people the techniques of achieving spiritual experience (after all, one can acquire the technique of dancing or tennis, so why not of mystical ecstasy or spiritual peace?); to develop native talent and intelligence in the growing child, Instead of frustrating or distorting them?
“A great deal of love given to a few is better than a little to many.”
“The poet faces his heart, his soul and his mood.”
Review of 'Cadences' by F. S. Flint , Poetry ,vol 8, no 5 1916
The Paris Review interview
Context: Many writers write a great deal, but very few write more than a very little of the real thing. So most writing must be displaced activity. When cockerels confront each other and daren’t fight, they busily start pecking imaginary grains off to the side. That’s displaced activity. Much of what we do at any level is a bit like that, I fancy. But hard to know which is which. On the other hand, the machinery has to be kept running. The big problem for those who write verse is keeping the machine running without simply exercising evasion of the real confrontation. If Ulanova, the ballerina, missed one day of practice, she couldn’t get back to peak fitness without a week of hard work. Dickens said the same about his writing—if he missed a day he needed a week of hard slog to get back into the flow.
