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Post by Tamrin on Jan 20, 2014 8:08:43 GMT 10
Pleasures flit by — they are only for yourself; work leaves a mark of long-lasting joy, work is for others
We could live at the present day without a Plato, but a double number of Newtons is required to discover the secrets of nature, and to bring life into harmony with the laws of nature
It is the function of science to discover the existence of a general reign of order in nature and to find the causes governing this order. And this refers in equal measure to the relations of man — social and political — and to the entire universe as a whole
No law of nature, however general, has been established all at once; its recognition has always been preceded by many presentiments
The establishment of a law, moreover, does not take place when the first thought of it takes form, or even when its significance is recognised, but only when it has been confirmed by the results of the experiment
Certain characteristic properties of elements can be foretold from their atomic weights
The elements, if arranged according to their atomic weights, exhibit an apparent periodicity of propertiesDmitri Ivanovich MendeleevRussian chemist (Periodic table) (Died this day 1907) There exists everywhere a medium in things, determined by equilibrium
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Post by Tamrin on Jan 20, 2014 8:09:48 GMT 10
What is an artist? A provincial who finds himself somewhere between a physical reality and a metaphysical one
There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the infinite passion of life
A good opening and a good ending make for a good film provided they come close together
A created thing is never invented and it is never true: it is always and ever itself
Experience is what you get while looking for something else
Money is everywhere but so is poetry. What we lack are the poets
My work is my only relationship to everythingFederico FelliniItalian film maker (Satyricon) (Born this day 1920) You exist only in what you do
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Post by Tamrin on Jan 20, 2014 8:11:35 GMT 10
Is it possible that my people live in such awful conditions? I tell you, Mr Wheatley, that if I had to live in conditions like that I would be a revolutionary myself
I venture to allude to the impression which seemed generally to prevail among their brethren across the seas, that the Old Country must wake up if she intends to maintain her old position of pre-eminence in her colonial trade against foreign competitors
Today 23 years ago dear Grandmama died. I wonder what she would have thought of a Labour Government
I have many times asked myself whether there can be more potent advocates of peace upon earth through the years to come than this massed multitude of silent witnesses to the desolation of war
My father was frightened of his mother; I was frightened of my father, and I am damned well going to see to it that my children are frightened of me
Always go to the bathroom when you have a chance
After I am dead, the boy [Edward] will ruin himself in twelve months
George V King of Great Britain, Ireland, and of the British dominions beyond the seas, and Emperor of India (Died this day 1936) How is the Empire?(dying words)
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Post by Tamrin on Jan 20, 2014 8:12:57 GMT 10
Life is very, very complicated and so films should be allowed to be too
Every single thing in the world that was made by anyone started with an idea. So to catch one that is powerful enough to fall in love with, it is one of the most beautiful experiences. It's like being jolted with electricity and knowledge at the same time
In film, life-and-death struggles make you sit up, lean forward a little bit. They amplify things happening, in smaller ways, in all of us. These things show up in relationships. They show up in struggles and bring them to a critical point
There's this beautiful ocean of bliss and consciousness that is able to be reached by any human being by diving within, which is really peaceful and harmonious and can be enlivened by the group process
Ideas are like fish. If you want to catch little fish, you can stay in the shallow water. But if you want to catch the big fish, you've got to go deeper. Down deep the fish are more powerful and more pure. They're huge and abstract. And they're very beautiful
I don't understand politics, I don't understand the concept of two sides and I think that probably there's good on both sides, bad on both sides, and there's a middle ground, but it never seems to come to the middle ground and it's very frustrating watching it and seemingly we're not moving forward
The worst thing about this modern world is that people think you get killed on television with zero pain and zero blood. It must enter into kids' heads that it's not very messy to kill somebody, and it doesn't hurt that much. That's a real sickness to me. That's a real sick thingDavid LynchAmerican film director, writer and actor (Born this day 1946) I don't think that people accept the fact that life doesn't make sense. I think it makes people terribly uncomfortable. It seems like religion and myth were invented against that, trying to make sense out of it
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Post by Tamrin on Jan 20, 2014 8:13:56 GMT 10
The problem is that the people with the most ridiculous ideas are always the people who are most certain of them
Government — they used to teach it in college. It's actually something you should study and learn and know how to do. The Republicans always run on the idea that government isn't very effective. Well, not the way you do it. But it can be effective
The values of Western civilization are not just different, they're better. OK? I know a whole generation has been raised on the notion of multiculturalism, that all civilizations are just different. No! Not always, sometimes things are better! Rule of law is better than autocracy and theocracy. Equality of the sexes, better. Protection of minorities, better. Free speech, better. Free elections, better
I'll clue you in on a secret: death is not the worst thing that could happen to you. I know we think that; we are the first society ever to think that. It's not worse than dishonor; it's not worse than losing your freedom; it’s not worse than losing a sense of personal responsibility
Religion, it stops people from thinking because they think all the answers are in that one book; it impedes progress; it justifies crazy people. Flying planes into a building was a faith-based initiative
I believed in Santa Claus and the Fairy Godmother, of course I believed in a virgin birth, and a guy lived in a whale, and a woman came from a rib. But then something happened that made me doubt all of it: I graduated sixth grade!
If I thought the Lord was speaking to me I'd check myself into Bellevue, and I think you should tooBill MaherAmerican comedian, actor, writer and producer (Born this day 1956) I love Jesus. I just don’t like the Christians who don’t believe in what he says
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Post by Tamrin on Jan 21, 2014 7:18:14 GMT 10
Tuesday’s Quotes:The gods of the valley are not the gods of the hills, and you shall understand it
I have generally been denominated a Deist, the reality of which I never disputed
It appears that mankind in this life are not agents of trial for eternity, but that they will eternally remain agents of trial
If mankind would dare to exercise their reason as freely on those divine topics as they do in the common concerns of life, they would, in a great measure, rid themselves of their blindness and superstition
Such people as can be prevailed upon to believe, that their reason is depraved, may easily be led by the nose, and duped into superstition at the pleasure of those in whom they confide, and there remain from generation to generation: for when they throw by the law of reason the only one which God gave them to direct them in their speculations and duty, they are exposed to ignorant or insidious teachers, and also to their own irregular passions, and to the folly and enthusiasm of those about them, which nothing but reason can prevent or restrain
Those who invalidate reason, ought seriously to consider, whether they argue against reason, with or without reason; if with reason, then they establish the principle, that they are laboring to dethrone; but if they argue without reason, (which, in order to be consistent with themselves, they must do,) they are out of the reach of rational conviction, nor do they deserve a rational argument
It is bad policy to fear the resentment of an enemyEthan AllenAmerican revolutionary leader (Vermont Republic) (Born this day 1738) That Jesus Christ was not God is evident from his own words, where ... he ranks himself with finite beings, and with them acknowledges, that he did not know the day and hour of judgment
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Post by Tamrin on Jan 21, 2014 7:19:22 GMT 10
Nothing justifies profanity
If the general government should persist in the measures now threatened, there must be war. It is painful enough to discover with what unconcern they speak of war and threaten it. They do not know its horrors. I have seen enough of it to make me look upon it as the sum of all evils
The time for war has not yet come, but it will come, and that soon; and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard
We must make this campaign an exceedingly active one. Only thus can a weaker country cope with a stronger; it must make up in activity what it lacks in strength
To move swiftly, strike vigorously, and secure all the fruits of victory is the secret of successful war
Always mystify, mislead, and surprise the enemy, if possible; and when you strike and overcome him, never let up in the pursuit so long as your men have strength to follow
Once you get them running, you stay right on top of them, and that way a small force can defeat a large one every timeT.J. "Stonewall" JacksonAmerican teacher and Confederate general (Born this day 1824) Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees(last words)
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Post by Tamrin on Jan 21, 2014 7:22:46 GMT 10
Fish were born to fly, yet everywhere they swim
People who have realized that this is a dream imagine that it is easy to wake up, and are angry with those who continue sleeping, not considering that the whole world that environs them does not permit them to wake. Life proceeds as a series of optical illusions, artificial needs and imaginary sensations
Education at school continues what has been done at home: it crystallizes the optical illusion, consolidates it with book learning, theoretically legitimizes the traditional trash and trains the children to know without understanding and to accept denominations for definitions. Astray in his conceptions, entangled in words, man loses the flair for truth, the taste for nature. What a powerful intellect must you possess, to be suspicious of this moral carbon dioxide and with your head swimming already, to hurl yourself out of it into the fresh air, with which, into the bargain, everyone round is trying to scare you!
What breadth, what beauty and power of human nature and development there must be in a woman to get over all the palisades, all the fences, within which she is held captive!
It is possible to lead astray an entire generation, to strike it blind, to drive it insane, to direct it towards a false goal
All religions have based morality on obedience, that is to say, on voluntary slavery. That is why they have always been more pernicious than any political organization. For the latter makes use of violence, the former — of the corruption of the will
I am truly horrified by modern man. Such absence of feeling, such narrowness of outlook, such lack of passion and information, such feebleness of thought
Alexander Herzen Russian philosopher, "Father of Russian Socialism" (Died this day 1870) There is nothing more repugnant than a falsification of history on the orders of those in power
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Post by Tamrin on Jan 21, 2014 7:24:28 GMT 10
So long as we have enough people in this country willing to fight for their rights, we'll be called a democracy
I believe in non-violent methods of struggle as most effective in the long run for building up successful working class power. Where they cannot be followed or where they are not even permitted by the ruling class, obviously only violent tactics remain
I champion civil liberty as the best of the non-violent means of building the power on which workers rule must be based. If I aid the reactionaries to get free speech now and then, if I go outside the class struggle to fight against censorship, it is only because those liberties help to create a more hospitable atmosphere for working class liberties
The class struggle is the central conflict of the world; all others are incidental
When that power of the working class is once achieved, as it has been only in the Soviet Union, I am for maintaining it by any means whatever. Dictatorship is the obvious means in a world of enemies at home and abroad. I dislike it in principle as dangerous to its own objects. But the Soviet Union has already created liberties far greater than exist elsewhere in the world. They are liberties that most closely affect the lives of the people — power in the trade unions, in peasant organizations, in the cultural life of nationalities, freedom of women in public and private life, and a tremendous development of education for adults and children
I saw in the Soviet Union many opponents of the regime. I visited a dozen prisons — the polit- ical sections among them. I saw considerable of the work of the OGPU. I heard a good many stories of severity, even of brutality, and many of them from the victims. While I sympathized with personal distress I just could not bring myself to get excited over the suppression of oppos- ition when I stacked it up against what I saw of fresh, vigorous expressions of free living by workers and peasants all over the land. And further, no champion of a socialist society could fail to see that some suppression was necessary to achieve it. It could not all be done by persuasion
If American champions of civil liberty could all think in terms of economic freedom as the goal of their labors, they too would accept "workers' democracy" as far superior to what the capitalist world offers to any but a small minority. Yes, and they would accept — regretfully, of course — the necessity of dictatorship while the job of reorganizing society on a socialist basis is being doneRoger Nash BaldwinAmerican civil libertarian (American Civil Liberties Union) (Born this day 1884) The Nazi-Soviet pact of 1939, a traumatic shock to me, ended any ambivalence I had about the Soviet Union, and all cooperation with Communists in united fronts
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Post by Tamrin on Jan 21, 2014 7:26:00 GMT 10
Give us the child for 8 years and it will be a Bolshevik forever
One man with a gun can control a hundred without one
Freedom in capitalist society always remains about the same as it was in ancient Greek republics: Freedom for slave owners
If it were necessary to give the briefest possible definition of imperialism, we should have to say that imperialism is the monopoly stage of capitalism
Fascism is capitalism in decay
There are no morals in politics; there is only expedience. A scoundrel may be of use to us just because he is a scoundrel
Worst of all, it is women who usually have to do, usually alone, all the dirty work of the kitchen and household, work that is unimportant, hard, tiresome, and soul-destroyingVladimir Ilyich LeninRussian revolutionary, pseudo-communist and mass murderer (Died this day 1924) A lie told often enough becomes the truth
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