Another round of recently encountered quotes to amuse and enlighten.
I do not believe anything. Most people, even the educated, think that everybody must “believe” something or other, that if one is not a theist, one must be a dogmatic atheist, and if one does not think Capitalism is perfect, one must believe fervently in Socialism, and if one does not have blind faith in X, one must alternatively have blind faith in not-X, or the reverse of X. My own opinion is that belief is the death of intelligence.
[Robert Anton Wilson]
If a problem is fixable, there is no need to worry … If it’s not fixable, then there is no benefit in worrying whatsoever.
[Dalai Lama]
None of us are getting out of here alive, so please stop treating yourself like an afterthought. Eat the delicious food. Walk in the sunshine. Jump in the ocean. Say the truth that you’re carrying in your heart like hidden treasure. Be silly. Be kind. Be weird. There’s no time for anything else.
[Nanea Hoffman at Sweatpants and Coffee]
Human ingenuity is unceasing. The first mechanical clock was introduced to England in the reign of Edward III. It marks the demise of the feudal and seasonal world no less plainly than the advent of the longbow and the decline of the serf. The first reference to a crane, working in a harbour, comes from 1347.
[Peter Ackroyd; The History of England, Volume I: Foundation]
A twelfth-century philosopher, Alexander Neckam, stated that wine should be as clear as the tears of a penitent. He also declared that a good wine should be as sweet-tasting as an almond, as surreptitious as a squirrel, as high-spirited as a roebuck, as strong as a Cistercian monastery, as glittering as a spark of fire, as subtle as the logic of the schools of Paris, as delicate as fine silk, and as cold as crystal. The language of the wine connoisseur has not notably diminished in fancifulness over the centuries.
[Peter Ackroyd; The History of England, Volume I: Foundation]
When we look over the course of human affairs we are more likely than not to find only error and confusion. I have already explained, in the course of this narrative, that the writing of history is often another way of defining chaos. There is in fact a case for saying that human history, as it is generally described and understood, is the sum total of accident and unintended consequence.
[Peter Ackroyd; The History of England, Volume I: Foundation]
Wisdom comes from experience. Experience is often a result of lack of wisdom.
[Terry Pratchett]
A guy walks up to a Zen master and asks, “Is there life after death?”
The Zen Master says, “How should I know?”
The guy replies indignantly, “Because you’re a Zen master!”
“Yes,” says the Zen master, “but not a dead one.”
[Brad Warner; Hardcore Zen]
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High rise, pull on pants in fluid virgin wool crepe. The Devoe Pants offer a relaxed fit inspired by handmade ceramics and abstract art objects. Featuring a single rear open patch pocket, gathered waist and cropped leg.
[Only 209ukp from Couverture & the Garbstore]
When you choose your friends, don’t be short-changed by choosing personality over character.
[W Somerset Maugham]
When people walk away, let them. Your future is not about people who walk away. It’s about the people who stay in it for the ride.
France embodies everything religious zealots everywhere hate: enjoyment of life here on earth in a myriad little ways: a fragrant cup of coffee and buttery croissant in the morning, beautiful women in short dresses smiling freely on the street, the smell of warm bread, a bottle of wine shared with friends, a dab of perfume, children playing in the Luxembourg Gardens, the right not to believe in any god, not to worry about calories, to flirt and smoke and enjoy sex outside of marriage, to take vacations, to read any book you want, to go to school for free, to play, to laugh, to argue, to make fun of prelates and politicians alike, to leave worrying about the afterlife to the dead. No country does life on earth better than the French.
[New York Times; 14 November 2015]
It is important to remember, nothing about what these assholes [the ones bombing Paris] are trying to do is going to work. France is going to endure and I’ll tell you why. If you are in a war of culture and lifestyle with France, good fucking luck. Go ahead, bring your bankrupt ideology. They’ll bring Jean-Paul Sartre, Edith Piaf, fine wine, Gauloise cigarettes, Camus, Camembert, madeleines, macarons, and the fucking croquembouche. You just brought a philosophy of rigorous self-abnegation to a pastry fight, my friend. You are fucked.
[John Oliver, quoted by Brad Warner at Hardcore Zen]
At 70 years old, if I could give my younger self one piece of advice, it would be to use the words “fuck off” much more frequently.
-Helen Mirren