The man of system . . . seems to imagine that he can arrange the different members of society with as much ease as the hand arranges the different pieces upon a chess-board; he does not consider that the pieces put upon the chess-board have no other principle of motion besides that which the hand impresses upon them; but that, in the great chess-board of human society, every single piece has a principle of motion of its own, altogether different from that which the legislature might choose to impress upon it.
—Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments
Quotations from all quarters on life, literature, and whatever else tickled my fancy. Browse and enjoy. —T. S.
Adam Smith: Men vs. chessmen
7 November 2012 by Leave a Comment
G. K. C. on the paradox of reform
18 October 2012 by 1 Comment
In the matter of reforming things, as distinct from deforming them, there is one plain and simple principle; a principle which will probably be called a paradox. There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say, for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected across a road. The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, ‘I don’t see the use of this; let us clear it away.’ To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: ‘If you don’t see the use of it, I certainly won’t let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it.’ [Read more…]
G. K. C. on being modern
18 October 2012 by Leave a Comment
All works must become thus old and insipid which have ever tried to be ‘modern’, which have consented to smell of time rather than of eternity. Only those who have stooped to be in advance of their time will ever find themselves behind it.
—G. K. Chesterton, George Bernard Shaw
Sarah A. Hoyt on groupthink
7 September 2012 by Leave a Comment
Group-think isn’t caused by conspiracy. Conspiracy is caused by group-think.
G. K. C. on resentment
6 September 2012 by Leave a Comment
It is strange that we should resent people differing from ourselves; we should resent much more violently their resembling ourselves. This principle has made a sufficient hash of literary criticism, in which it is always the custom to complain of the lack of sound logic in a fairy tale, and the entire absence of true oratorical power in a three-act farce. But to call another man’s face ugly because it powerfully expresses another man’s soul is like complaining that a cabbage has not two legs. If we did so, the only course for the cabbage would be to point out with severity, but with some show of truth, that we were not a beautiful green all over.
—G. K. Chesterton, ‘A Defence of Ugly Things’
G. K. C. on ugliness
4 September 2012 by Leave a Comment
Man may behold what ugliness he likes if he is sure that he will not worship it; but there are some so weak that they will worship a thing only because it is ugly. These must be chained to the beautiful. It is not always wrong even to go, like Dante, to the brink of the lowest promontory and look down at hell. It is when you look up at hell that a serious miscalculation has probably been made.
—G. K. Chesterton, ‘The Nightmare’
Michael Chabon on influence and fan fiction
14 August 2012 by Leave a Comment
And yet there is a degree to which, just as all criticism is in essence Sherlockian, all literature, highbrow or low, from the Aeneid onward, is fan fiction. That is why Harold Bloom’s notion of the anxiety of influence has always rung hollow to me. Through parody and pastiche, allusion and homage, retelling and reimagining the stories that were told before us and that we have come of age loving — amateurs — we proceed, seeking out the blank places in the map that our favorite writers, in their greatness and negligence, have left for us, hoping to pass on to our own readers — should we be lucky enough to find any — some of the pleasure that we ourselves have taken in the stuff we love: to get in the game. All novels are sequels; influence is bliss.
—Michael Chabon, Maps and Legends
This is exactly what made me want to become a writer, and why I persevered; I have never seen it so eloquently or accurately described.
David Mamet on what people say
10 August 2012 by Leave a Comment
People may or may not say what they mean . . . but they always say something designed to get what they want.
—David Mamet
Bridget McKenna on Shakespeare
9 August 2012 by Leave a Comment
I’ve heard his stuff is off-genre, and he can’t even get an agent. One rejection said: “Make up your mind, Will. You can’t be writing thrillers one day and sappy romances the next. Readers want to know what to expect. Pick a genre and stick with it, fergodsake. Then maybe I can do something for you.”
San Martín on victory
9 August 2012 by Leave a Comment
Si hay victoria en vencer al enemigo, la hay más cuando el hombre se vence a si mismo.
[If there is victory in overcoming the enemy, there is a greater victory when a man overcomes himself.]
—José de San Martín
Quoted in the original, because the Spanish has a poetic grace and snap and style that does not come through in the translation. But then, generals and poets have more in common than the poets would care to admit.
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