
“Using, as an excuse, others’ failure of common sense is in itself a failure of common sense.”
Source: The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms (2010), p. 7
“The superannuated man”
Last Essays of Elia (1833)
“Using, as an excuse, others’ failure of common sense is in itself a failure of common sense.”
Source: The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms (2010), p. 7
"World of Wonders".
Conversations with Robertson Davies (1989)
Context: A sense of wonder is in itself a religious feeling. But in so many people the sense of wonder gets lost. It gets scarred over. It's as though a tortoise shell has grown over it. People reach a stage where they're never surprised, never delighted. They're never suddenly aware of glorious freedom or splendour in their lives. This is very unhappy, very unfortunate. The attitude is often self-induced. It is fear. People are afraid to be happy.
“Alas! alas! too often conscience sleeps,
When pleasure's syren numbers lull its rest.”
Canto II, VIII
The Fate of Adelaide (1821)
British Telecom advertisement (1993), part of which was used in Pink Floyd's Keep Talking (1994) and Talkin' Hawkin'<nowiki/> (2014)
Context: For millions of years, mankind lived just like the animals. Then something happened which unleashed the power of our imagination. We learned to talk and we learned to listen. Speech has allowed the communication of ideas, enabling human beings to work together to build the impossible. Mankind's greatest achievements have come about by talking, and its greatest failures by not talking. It doesn't have to be like this. Our greatest hopes could become reality in the future. With the technology at our disposal, the possibilities are unbounded. All we need to do is make sure we keep talking.
“… when pain is over, the remembrance of it often becomes a pleasure.”
Source: Persuasion
Original: Al giorno d'oggi, se ciò che conta davvero in una produzione è la sua promozione, indipendentemente dal genere musicale, purtroppo la qualità e la sua bellezza non hanno più molto senso.
Source: prevale.net
“Let the business of the world take care of itself … My business is to get the world saved”
"The Risks" in The War Cry (20 December 1884)
Context: Let the business of the world take care of itself … My business is to get the world saved; if this involves the standing still of the looms and the shutting up of the factories, and the staying of the sailing of the ships, let them all stand still. When we have got everybody converted they can go on again, and we shall be able to keep things going then by working half time and have the rest to spend in loving one another and worshipping God.