
“Selfish, adj. Devoid of consideration for the selfishness of others.”
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
Source: The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
“Selfish, adj. Devoid of consideration for the selfishness of others.”
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
Source: The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary
"To Detraction I Present My Poesy", line 1, from The Scourge of Villainy (1598-99).
1940s, Religion and Science: Irreconcilable? (1948)
Context: Does there truly exist an insuperable contradiction between religion and science? Can religion be superseded by science? The answers to these questions have, for centuries, given rise to considerable dispute and, indeed, bitter fighting. Yet, in my own mind there can be no doubt that in both cases a dispassionate consideration can only lead to a negative answer. What complicates the solution, however, is the fact that while most people readily agree on what is meant by "science," they are likely to differ on the meaning of "religion."
“If we do an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, we will be a blind and toothless nation.”
“Perhaps the light will prove another tyranny.
Who knows what new things it will expose?”
The Windows http://www.cavafy.com/poems/content.asp?id=137&cat=1
Collected Poems (1992)
Context: It will be a great relief when a window opens.
But the windows are not there to be found —
or at least I cannot find them. And perhaps
it is better that I don’t find them.
Perhaps the light will prove another tyranny.
Who knows what new things it will expose?
First Week, Second Day.
La Semaine; ou, Création du monde (1578)
Human Knowledge: Its Scope and Limits (1948), p. 493
1940s
Song lyrics, Infidels (1983), I and I