Demoniac possession is mythical; but the faculty of being possessed, more less completely, by an idea is probably the fundamental ...condition of what is called genius, whether it show itself in the saint, the artist, or the man of science.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
There are bills to be paid, machines to keep in repair, Irregular verbs to learn, the Time Being to redeem... From insignificance.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
Though Americans talk a good deal about the virtue of being serious, they generally prefer people who are solemn over people who a...re serious. In politics, the rare candidate who is serious, like Adlai Stevenson, is easily overwhelmed by one who is solemn, like General Eisenhower. This is probably because it is hard for most people to recognize seriousness, which is rare, especially in politics, but comfortable to endorse solemnity, which is as commonplace as jogging.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
The fear of burglars is not only the fear of being robbed, but also the fear of a sudden and unexpected clutch out of the darkness....LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
When I converse with a profound mind, or if at any time being alone I have good thoughts, I do not at once arrive at satisfactions..., as when, being thirsty, I drink water, or go to the fire, being cold: no! but I am first apprised of my vicinity to a new and excellent region of life. By persisting to read or to think, this region gives further sign of itself, as it were in flashes of light, in sudden discoveries of its profound beauty and repose, as if the clouds that covered it parted at intervals, and showed the approaching traveller the inland mountains, with the tranquil eternal meadows spread at their base, whereon flocks graze, and shepherds pipe and dance.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »