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Paul Smith
https://www.goodreads.com/paulsmithjr
If I have to choose, I will undoubtedly take the less dynamic, indeed even the lazy person, who knows what’s right, than the zealot in the cause of error.
Energy is not a plus when it's in pursuit if a bad end .
“I believe baseball and the Church are deeply kindred spirits—both feature obscure rules that make sense only to initiates, both have communions of saints, both reward patience, and in both, casual fans can dip in and out, but for serious devotees the liturgy is a daily affair.”
― To Light a Fire on the Earth: Proclaiming the Gospel in a Secular Age
― To Light a Fire on the Earth: Proclaiming the Gospel in a Secular Age
“Always code as if the guy who ends up maintaining your code will be a violent psychopath who knows where you live”
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“As a final argument that Catholicism and statism are contradictory, Kennedy added, “A Catholic’s dual allegiance to the Kingdom of God on the one hand prohibits unquestioning obedience on the other to the state as an organic unit.”
― JFK, Conservative
― JFK, Conservative
“William Roper: “So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law!”
Sir Thomas More: “Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?”
William Roper: “Yes, I'd cut down every law in England to do that!”
Sir Thomas More: “Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned 'round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man's laws, not God's! And if you cut them down, and you're just the man to do it, do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!”
― A Man for All Seasons: A Play in Two Acts
Sir Thomas More: “Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?”
William Roper: “Yes, I'd cut down every law in England to do that!”
Sir Thomas More: “Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned 'round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man's laws, not God's! And if you cut them down, and you're just the man to do it, do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!”
― A Man for All Seasons: A Play in Two Acts
“The inability of a son to thrive independently is exploited by a mother bent on shielding her child from all disappointment and pain. He never leaves, and she is never lonely. It’s an evil conspiracy, forged slowly, as the pathology unfolds, by thousands of knowing winks and nods. She plays the martyr, doomed to support her son, and garners nourishing sympathy, like a vampire, from supporting friends. He broods in his basement, imagining himself oppressed. He fantasizes with delight about the havoc he might wreak on the world that rejected him for his cowardice, awkwardness and inability. And sometimes he wreaks precisely that havoc. And everyone asks, “Why?” They could know, but refuse to.”
― 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos
― 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos
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Paul’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Paul’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
1,229 books
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80 friends
468 books
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68 friends
840 books
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96 friends
10 books
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51 friends
89 books
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204 friends
237 books
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53 friends
174 books
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12 friends
18 books
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315 friends
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