“it is the nature of man not to have a nature.”
Maurice Merleau-Ponty, quoted in Mortimer Adler Ten Philosophical Mistakes: Basic Errors in Modern Thought (Adler does not agree with Merleau-Ponty, but thinks the idea well worth pondering)
“Whosoever is out of patience is out of possession of his mind, body and soul.”
Sir Francis Bacon, quoted in the “Federalist Patriot” No. 04-34 25 August 2004 from federalist.com
“Every activity has its own specific goal. Pleasure very probably ensues in most cases when this goal is reached, but that is a different matter.”
I.A. Richards Principles of Literary Criticism
“How ludicrous and outlandish is astonishment at anything that happens in life.”
Marcus Aurelius Meditations
“For they [John Smith’s audience] did believe in the spirit of the devil which, as everyone knows, is in all of us.”
Walter Lippman The Public Philosophy
“how much human nature loves the knowledge of its existence, and how it shrinks from being deceived, will be sufficiently understood from this fact, that every man prefers to grieve in a sane mind, rather than to be glad in madness.”
St. Augustine City of God
“There is some benevolence, however small, infused into our bosom, some spark of friendship for human kind, some particle of the dove kneaded into our frame, along with the elements of the wolf and serpent”.
David Hume, quoted in William Bennett The Book of Virtues.
“We must not provide against the loss of wealth by poverty, or of friends by refusing all acquaintance, or of children by having none, but by morality and reason.”
Plutarkhos, aka Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus Plutarch’s Lives Vol. I