“There is a type of person who perpetually seeks to excuse himself for ever having been born.”
Helmut Schoeck Envy
“He noticed that his human brothers lacked his discrimination of time and often were forced to wait faster than a Martian would…”
Robert Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land
“in the Bible, God actively intervened in great battles and wars. And sometimes, to the consternation of God’s people, He was helping the other side. The LORD used heathen Babylon to bring divine judgment down upon Judah. Has God changed? Perhaps He has reformed in his old age? What would a 20th century history text look like if it was written by Nehemiah, Isaiah, or Jeremiah? Would Isaiah see God’s hand of judgment being unleashed on Nazi Germany? ... Was the God of the heavens ready to share His glory with the earthbound emperor of Japan?”
David Kitz Psalms Alive!
“the general rule that when people are talking like fools they are thinking like fools.”
A note sent to myself October 23, 2020 on watching a certain Canadian cabinet minister in action
“It seems to be almost a law of human nature that it is easier for people to agree on a negative program – on the hatred of an enemy, on the envy of those better off – than on any positive task.”
Friedrich Hayek The Road to Serfdom
“A man who shows no resentment at being slapped is overwhelmed with insults and forced into need.”
Blaise Pascal Pensées
“A man is destroyed by the inner conviction of uselessness.”
E.B. Schumacher Small is Beautiful
“a sleeping fool may pass for a wise man.”
One of the minor villains in Sax Rohmer The Trail of Fu Manchu