"Notice this rent in my garment; I am at a loss to explain its presence! I am even more puzzled by the existence of the universe."

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“Evidently you do not trust me. This does not predispose me to trust you.”

“My fees are not too high. Your wage scale may simply be too low.”

“My clever baton holds your unnatural sorcery in abeyance.”

““Why not alter the habits of a lifetime and speak with candour?” asked Shimrod. “Truth, after all, need not be only the tactic of last resort.”

“I suspect that the word was invented by second-rate intelligences to describe the incomprehensible activities of their betters.”

“Of all questions, why? is the least pertinent. It begs the question; it assumes the larger part of its own response; to wit, that a sensible response exists.”

Resonant Thoughts

"Berlatsky noted these things because all his life he had noted things, like a sparrow picks at crumbs. You could miss a lot of chances by not using your eyes."

— Elleston Trevor

Literature1920–1995

#life

"If you are a conservative, you think that a citizen has no right to hire another to kill him , because life is a sacred gift that cannot be negotiated. But for the liberal, there is nothing more sacre…"

— Olavo de Carvalho

Philosophy1947–2022

#life

"The Grand Inquisitor explains that you have to create mysteries because otherwise the common people will be able to understand things. They have to be subordinated so you have to make things look myst…"

— Noam Chomsky

Philosophy1928

#knowledge

"They are splendidly built , the best food and drink are at hand, the attendants are very diligent, the physicians are learned, the beds and coverings are very clean, and the bedsteads are painted. As …"

— Martin Luther

Religion1906–1985

#knowledge