For twenty-five centuries, Western knowledge has tried to look upon the world. It has failed to understand that the world is not f...or the beholding. It is for hearing. It is not legible, but audible. Our science has always desired to monitor, measure, abstract, and castrate meaning, forgetting that life is full of noise and that death alone is silent: work noise, noise of man, and noise of beast. Noise bought, sold, or prohibited. Nothing essential happens in the absence of noise.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
I am ashamed to see what a shallow village tale our so-called History is. How many times must we say Rome, and Paris, and Constant...inople! What does Rome know of rat and lizard? What are Olympiads and Consulates to these neighboring systems of being? Nay, what food or experience or succor have they for the Esquimaux seal-hunter, or the Kanaka in his canoe, for the fisherman, the stevedore, the porter?LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
The instincts of the ant are very unimportant, considered as the ant's; but the moment a ray of relation is seen to extend from it... to man, and the little drudge is seen to be a monitor, a little body with a mighty heart, then all its habits, even that said to be recently observed, that it never sleeps, become sublime.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
A little quaker, the whole body of him trembling, His absurd whiskers sticking out like a cartoon-mouse,... His feet like small leaves, Little lizard-feet, Whitish and spread wide when he tried to struggle away,LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
The proud person rationalizes his faults, since to acknowledge them would threaten his sense of superiority. The humble person, on... the other hand, readily admits guilt and patiently listens to the reproofs and anger even of his enemies. Our enemies do not seek to protect our self-image with falsehoods and often monitor our behavior more accurately than does many a friend. Therefore, our enemies' admonishments are often of greater value to us in exposing our faults than are the kind and soothing words of a friend.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
At noon in the desert a panting lizard waited for history, its elbows tense,... watching the curve of a particular road as if something might happen.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
The only people who treasure systems are those whom the whole truth evades, who want to catch it by the tail. A system is just lik...e truth's tail, but the truth is like a lizard. It will leave the tail in your hand and escape; it knows that it will soon grow another tail.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
The true Chameleon is small, A lizard sort of thing;... He hasn't any ears at all, And not a single wing. If there is nothing on the tree, 'Tis the Chameleon you see.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »