“The way to deal with superstition is not to be polite to it, but to tackle it with all arms, and so rout it, cripple it, and make it forever infamous and ridiculous. Is it, perchance, cherished by persons who should know better? Then their folly should be brought out into the light of day, and exhibited there in all its hideousness until they flee from it, hiding their heads in shame. True enough, even a superstitious man has certain inalienable rights. He has a right to harbor and indulge his imbecilities as long as he pleases, provided only he does not try to inflict them upon other men by force. He has a right to argue for them as eloquently as he can, in season and out of season. He has a right to teach them to his children. But certainly he has no right to be protected against the free criticism of those who do not hold them. He has no right to demand that they be treated as sacred. He has no right to preach them without challenge.”
―
―
“The law holds man in bondage; love makes him free.”
― Essence of Christianity
― Essence of Christianity
“The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look on the murder of men.”
― Romance of Leonard da Vinci
― Romance of Leonard da Vinci
“As we expand our knowledge of good books, we shrink the circle of men whose company we appreciate.”
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―
“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out for himself, without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane and intolerable, and so, if he is romantic, he tries to change it. And even if he is not romantic personally he is very apt to spread discontent among those who are.”
― A Mencken Chrestomathy
― A Mencken Chrestomathy
Arup’s 2024 Year in Books
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