Category: Quotes
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Only the spirit exists
It is not only the case that we reject the putative dualism between matter and spirit, we annul the antithesis in the synthesis of the spirit. Only the spirit exists, nothing else, not you, not this room, not the things and the objects that pass before us in the fantastic cinematography of the universe. All…
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Know thyself — why?
Thales the Milesian held that self-knowledge is the beginning of every virtue … The man who knows himself knows that he is a rational, spiritual being, possessing the power of free choice and self-control, and hence religious, social, ethical, and in his spiritual nature, immortal. ~ St. Nectarios, Metropolitan of Pentapolis
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The Absurdity of Socialism
To believe in the equality of all men, when we see them all unequal; to believe in liberty, when we see slavery established in all parts; to believe that all men are brothers, when history tells all are enemies; to believe that there is a common mass of misfortunes and of glories for all men…
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A Parable
Not every end is a goal. The end of a melody is not its goal; but nonetheless, if the melody had not reached its end, it would not have reached its goal. A parable. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche
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Balzac on men and women
There are no principles, there are only events; there are no laws, there are only situations; the superior man moulds events and situations in order to lead them.
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Two histories
Il y a deux histoires : l’histoire officiel, menteuse, puis l’histoire secrète, où sont le véritables causes des évenements. There are two histories: the official history, full of lies, then the secret history, where the true causes of events are. ~ Honoré de Balzac
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Metaphysical Mutations
Metaphysical mutations – that is to say radical, global transformations in the values to which the majority subscribe – are rare in the history of humanity. The rise of Christianity might be cited as an example. Once a metaphysical mutation has arisen, it tends to move inexorably toward its logical conclusion. Heedlessly, it sweeps away…
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Aquinas on Trade with Foreigners
For the country which needs considerable imports for its support must tolerate continuous intercourse with foreigners … who, having been brought up under different laws and customs, behave in many way differently from the inhabitants of the country, so that these latter are spurred on to act similarly, and social life is disturbed. Again, if…
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Man’s Curious Idiosyncrasy
It is one of man’s curious idiosyncrasies to create difficulties for the pleasure of resolving them. The mysteries that surround him on all sides are not sufficient for him; he still rejects clear ideas and reduces everything to a problem by some inexplicable twist of pride, which makes him regard it as below him to…
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The Cosmos as Spectacle
The ethical view of the universe involves us at last in so many cruel and absurd contradictions, where the last vestiges of faith, hope, charity, and even of reason itself seem ready to perish, that I have come to suspect that the aim of creation cannot be ethical at all. I would fondly believe that…