Lucian on mourning

The mother — nay, it is the father, as likely as not,— now advances from among the relatives, falls upon the bier (to heighten the dramatic effect, we will suppose its occupant to be young and handsome), and utters wild and meaningless ejaculations; the corpse cannot speak, otherwise it might have something to say in … Continue reading Lucian on mourning →

Hume on the false dichotomy of Reason and Experience

NOTHING is more usual than for writers, even, on moral, political, or physical subjects, to distinguish between reason and experience, and to suppose, that these species of argumentation are entirely different from each other. The former are taken for the mere result of our intellectual faculties, which, by considering à priori the nature of things, and examining the effects, that must follow from their operation, … Continue reading Hume on the false dichotomy of Reason and Experience →

Lord Bacon on wives and children

He that hath Wife and Children hath given Hostages to Fortune; For they are Impediments to great Enterprises, either of Vertue, or Mischiefe. Certainly, the best workes, and of greatest Merit for the Publike, have proceeded from the unmarried or Childlesse Men, which, both in Affection and Meanes, have married and endowed the Publike. (“Of Marriage … Continue reading Lord Bacon on wives and children →

Thomas Gray on levelling death

Let not Ambition mock their useful Toil,Their homely Joys and Destiny obscure;Nor Grandeur hear with a disdainful Smile,The short and simple Annals of the Poor. The Boast of Heraldry, the Pomp of Pow'r,And all that Beauty, all that Wealth e'er gave,Awaits alike th' inevitable Hour.The Paths of Glory lead but to the Grave. From Gray's … Continue reading Thomas Gray on levelling death →

John Morley on intellectual perseverance

"nobody here needs to be reminded that the great successes of the world have been affairs of a second, a third, nay, a fiftieth trial. The history of literature, of science, of art, of industrial achievements, all testify to the truth that success is only the last term of what looked like a series of … Continue reading John Morley on intellectual perseverance →