"The pint would call the quart a dualist, if you tried to pour the quart into him."

George Santayana Literature See all quotes by George Santayana →

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More by George Santayana

“Eternal vigilance is the price of knowledge.”

“American life is a powerful solvent. As it stamps the immigrant, almost before he can speak English, with an unmistakable muscular tension, cheery self-confidence and habitual challenge in the voice and eyes, so it seems to neutralize every intellectual element, however tough and alien it may be, and to fuse it in the native good-will, complacency, thoughtlessness, and optimism.”

“The soul, too, has her virginity and must bleed a little before bearing fruit.”

“It is not society's fault that most men seem to miss their vocation. Most men have no vocation.”

“Skepticism, like chastity, should not be relinquished too readily.”

“Perhaps the only true dignity of man is his capacity to despise himself.”

Resonant Thoughts

"However, even those who expect deterrence to work might hesitate at introducing a new weapon system that increased the reliability of deterrence, but at the cost of increasing the possible casualties …"

— Herman Kahn

Science1922–1983

#war

"I have the kind of personality that I always look ahead than look at what’s happened. It does help a lot, especially when you’ve done badly or you’ve failed. It’s instinctive of me that I look at what…"

— Rahul Dravid

1973

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"Seen through a Darwinian lens, men’s stronger interest in a partner’s looks is initially quite mysterious. In most species, it’s the females that care more about looks. Among peacocks, for instance, p…"

— Steve Stewart-Williams

Philosophy1971

#truth

"Either build functional houses and bridges or create pure art or both. Don't confuse one with the other. Such art is not pure constructive art, but merely an imitation of the machine."

— Naum Gabo

Politics1890–1977

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