A quotation from McCarthy, Cormac

It is supposed to be true that those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. I don’t believe knowing can save us. What is constant in history is greed and foolishness and a love of blood, and this is a thing that even God — who knows all that can be known — seems powerless to change.

Cormac McCarthy (b. 1933) American novelist, playwright, screenwriter
All the Pretty Horses, ch. 4 (1992)

#quotation #quote #folly #God #greed #history #human-nature #knowledge #omniscience #powerlessness #violence
Sourcing and notes: https://wist.info/mccarthy-cormac/57272/

WIST Quotations - McCarthy, Cormac | All the Pretty Horses, ch. 4 (1992)

It is supposed to be true that those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. I don’t believe knowing can save us. What is constant in history is greed and foolishness and a love of blood, and this is a thing that even God -- who knows…

A quotation from Twain, Mark

I haven’t a particle of confidence in a man who has no redeeming petty vices whatsoever.

Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
“Answers to Correspondents,” The Californian (17 Jun 1865)

#quote #quotation #character #confidence #flaws #human-nature #prude #saint #trust #vice #imperfection
Sourcing and notes: https://wist.info/twain-mark/57024/

WIST - Twain, Mark | "Answers to Correspondents," The Californian (17 Jun 1865)

I haven't a particle of confidence in a man who has no redeeming petty vices whatsoever. Reprinted in The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, and Other Sketches (1867).

A quotation by Harris, Sydney J.

Men may be divided almost any way we please, but I have found the most useful distinction to be made between those who devote their lives to conjugating the verb “to be” and those who spend their lives conjugating the verb “to have.”

Sydney J. Harris (1917-1986) Anglo-American columnist, journalist, author

For the Time Being, ch. 6, epigram (1972)

#quote #quotation #avarice #being #existence #greed #human-nature #humanity #ownership #possessions #self-awareness

More notes and sourcing on WIST: https://wist.info/harris-sydney-j/43346/

WIST - Harris, Sydney J. | For the Time Being, ch. 6, epigram (1972)

Men may be divided almost any way we please, but I have found the most useful distinction to be made between those who devote their lives to conjugating the verb "to be" and those who spend their lives conjugating the verb "to have."

A quotation by Huxley, Aldous

Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted.

Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) English novelist, essayist and critic

“Variations on a Philosopher,” Themes and Variations (1950)

#quote #quotation #assumption #human-nature #humanity #presumption #take-for-granted

More notes and sourcing on WIST: https://wist.info/huxley-aldous/2007/

WIST - Huxley, Aldous | "Variations on a Philosopher," Themes and Variations (1950)

Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted.