--- title: "18 Ifs Quotes By Robert M. Pirsig" description: "18 Ifs quotes by Robert M. Pirsig. Plus more from Robert M. Pirsig and more Ifs sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c74/robert-m-pirsig-817_buddhism_if-you-are-following-the-dharma-no-matte_1711543.png" --- > [If you are following the dharma no matter what you do it is moral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/if-you-are-following-the-dharma-no-matter-what-you-do-it-is-moral/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c74/robert-m-pirsig-817_buddhism_if-you-are-following-the-dharma-no-matte_1711543.png) > [If there were only one person in the world, is there any way he could be insane?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/if-there-were-only-one-person-in-the-world-is-there-any-way-he-could/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a9/robert-m-pirsig-817_ifs_if-there-were-only-one-person-in-the-wor_2122427.png) > [I think metaphysics is good if it improves everyday life; otherwise forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/i-think-metaphysics-is-good-if-it-improves-everyday-life-otherwise/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/robert-m-pirsig-817_day-life_i-think-metaphysics-is-good-if-it-improv_3126495.png) > [If you don't generalize you don't philosophize.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/if-you-don-t-generalize-you-don-t-philosophize/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05c/robert-m-pirsig-817_funny_if-you-don-t-generalize-you-don-t-philos_1618042.png) > [If you become restless, speed up. If you become winded, slow down. You climb the mountain in an equilibrium between restlessness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/if-you-become-restless-speed-up-if-you-become-winded-slow-down-you/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31e/robert-m-pirsig-817_climbs_if-you-become-restless-speed-up-if-you-b_2234126.png) > [The logic of science was infallible, and if the scientists were sometimes mistaken, this was assumed to be only from their mistaking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/the-logic-of-science-was-infallible-and-if-the-scientists-were/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dd/robert-m-pirsig-817_ifs_the-logic-of-science-was-infallible-and_2169123.png) > [If a revolution destroys a systematic government, but the systematic patterns of thought that produced that government are left intact, then those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/if-a-revolution-destroys-a-systematic-government-but-the-systematic/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f87/robert-m-pirsig-817_government_if-a-revolution-destroys-a-systematic-go_133281.jpg) > [The thing to understand is that if you are going to reform society you don't start with cops. And if you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/the-thing-to-understand-is-that-if-you-are-going-to-reform-society/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e28/robert-m-pirsig-817_best-things_the-thing-to-understand-is-that-if-you-a_922421.png) > [What I mean (and everybody else means) by the word 'quality' cannot be broken down into subjects and predicates. This is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/what-i-mean-and-everybody-else-means-by-the-word-quality-cannot-be/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac5/robert-m-pirsig-817_broken_what-i-mean-and-everybody-else-means-by_3163022.png) > [I think present-day reason is an analogue of the flat earth of the medieval period. If you go too far beyond it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/i-think-present-day-reason-is-an-analogue-of-the-flat-earth-of-the/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04e/robert-m-pirsig-817_analogue_i-think-present-day-reason-is-an-analogu_1529270.png) > [The ultimate test's always your own serenity. If you don't have this when you start and maintain it while you're working you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/the-ultimate-test-s-always-your-own-serenity-if-you-don-t-have-this/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc0/robert-m-pirsig-817_ifs_the-ultimate-test-s-always-your-own-sere_1946241.png) > [To an experienced Zen Buddhist, asking if one believes in Zen or one believes in the Buddha, sounds a little ludicrous, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/to-an-experienced-zen-buddhist-asking-if-one-believes-in-zen-or-one/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/robert-m-pirsig-817_air_to-an-experienced-zen-buddhist-asking-if_525034.png) > [How are you going to teach virtue if you teach the relativity of all ethical ideas? Virtue, if it implies anything at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/how-are-you-going-to-teach-virtue-if-you-teach-the-relativity-of-all/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/055/robert-m-pirsig-817_absolutes_how-are-you-going-to-teach-virtue-if-you_2973132.jpg) > [“Programs of a political nature are important end products of social quality that can be effective only if the underlying structure of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/programs-of-a-political-nature-are-important-end-products-of-social/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea3/robert-m-pirsig-817_ends_programs-of-a-political-nature-are-impor_1407661.png) > [A person filled with gumption doesn’t sit about stewing about things. He’s at the front of the train of his own awareness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/a-person-filled-with-gumption-doesn-t-sit-about-stewing-about-things/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df3/robert-m-pirsig-817_adequate_a-person-filled-with-gumption-doesn-t-si_2115119.png) > [Schools teach you to imitate. If you don't imitate what the teacher wants you get a bad grade. Here, in college, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/schools-teach-you-to-imitate-if-you-don-t-imitate-what-the-teacher/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0f/robert-m-pirsig-817_bad-grades_schools-teach-you-to-imitate-if-you-don_817598.png) > [Quality is better seen up at the timberline than here obscured by smoky windows and oceans of words, and he sees that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/quality-is-better-seen-up-at-the-timberline-than-here-obscured-by/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/071/robert-m-pirsig-817_accepted_quality-is-better-seen-up-at-the-timberl_1594945.jpg) > [Now, to take that which has caused us to create the world, and include it within the world we have created, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/now-to-take-that-which-has-caused-us-to-create-the-world-and-include/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/646/robert-m-pirsig-817_defined_now-to-take-that-which-has-caused-us-to_2245993.jpg) ## Other authors on Ifs ## More by Robert M. Pirsig > [“And from time to time you find your “county road” takes you onto a two-rutter and then a single rutter and then into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/and-from-time-to-time-you-find-your-county-road-takes-you-onto-a-two/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [“I started to roll over for more sleep but heard a rooster crowing and then became aware we are on vacation and there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/i-started-to-roll-over-for-more-sleep-but-heard-a-rooster-crowing-and/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [The Buddha, the Godhead, resides quite as comfortably in the circuits of a digital computer or the gears of a cycle transmission as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/the-buddha-the-godhead-resides-quite-as-comfortably-in-the-circuits/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [Even though quality cannot be defined, you know what quality is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/even-though-quality-cannot-be-defined-you-know-what-quality-is/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [I suppose philosophy is historically not a woman's game, though that is changing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/i-suppose-philosophy-is-historically-not-a-woman-s-game-though-that/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [Up until my first book was published, I had all this potential, people would say, and I screwed up. After it, I could say:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/up-until-my-first-book-was-published-i-had-all-this-potential-people/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [There is a perennial classical question that asks which part of the motorcycle, which grain of sand in which pile, is the Buddha. Obviously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/there-is-a-perennial-classical-question-that-asks-which-part-of-the/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [“Of the value traps, the most widespread and pernicious is value rigidity. This is an inability to revalue what one sees because of commitment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/of-the-value-traps-the-most-widespread-and-pernicious-is-value/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [“Historically mystics have claimed that for a true understanding of reality metaphysics is too “scientific”. Metaphysics is not reality. Metaphysics is names about reality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/historically-mystics-have-claimed-that-for-a-true-understanding-of/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [“What’s emerging from the pattern of my own life is the for belief that the crisis is being caused by the inadequacy of existing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/what-s-emerging-from-the-pattern-of-my-own-life-is-the-for-belief/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [To speak of certain government and establishment institutions as 'the system' is to speak correctly . . . They are sustained by structural relationships…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/to-speak-of-certain-government-and-establishment-institutions-as-the/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [If a revolution destroys a systematic government, but the systematic patterns of thought that produced that government are left intact, then those patterns will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/if-a-revolution-destroys-a-systematic-government-but-the-systematic/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [The only Zen you can find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/the-only-zen-you-can-find-on-the-tops-of-mountains-is-the-zen-you/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [Only social patterns can control biological patterns, and the instrument of conversation between society and biology is not words. The instrument of conversation between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/only-social-patterns-can-control-biological-patterns-and-the/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [Even in the presence of others he was completely alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/even-in-the-presence-of-others-he-was-completely-alone/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/robert-m-pirsig/#itemlist", "name": "18 Ifs Quotes By Robert M. Pirsig", "numberOfItems": 18, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you are following the dharma no matter what you do it is moral.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert M. 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Pirsig" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/if-a-revolution-destroys-a-systematic-government-but-the-systematic/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f87/robert-m-pirsig-817_government_if-a-revolution-destroys-a-systematic-go_133281.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f87/robert-m-pirsig-817_government_if-a-revolution-destroys-a-systematic-go_133281.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f87/robert-m-pirsig-817_government_if-a-revolution-destroys-a-systematic-go_133281.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If a revolution destroys a systematic government, but the systematic patterns of thought that produced that…” — Robert M. Pirsig", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The thing to understand is that if you are going to reform society you don't start with cops. And if you are going to reform intellect you don't start with psychiatrists. If you don't like our present social system or intellectual system the best thing you can do with either cops or psychiatrists is stay out of their way. You leave them 'till last.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert M. Pirsig" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/the-thing-to-understand-is-that-if-you-are-going-to-reform-society/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e28/robert-m-pirsig-817_best-things_the-thing-to-understand-is-that-if-you-a_922421.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e28/robert-m-pirsig-817_best-things_the-thing-to-understand-is-that-if-you-a_922421.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e28/robert-m-pirsig-817_best-things_the-thing-to-understand-is-that-if-you-a_922421.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The thing to understand is that if you are going to reform society you don't start with cops. And if you are…” — Robert M. Pirsig", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What I mean (and everybody else means) by the word 'quality' cannot be broken down into subjects and predicates. This is not because Quality is so mysterious but because Quality is so simple, immediate and direct.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert M. Pirsig" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/what-i-mean-and-everybody-else-means-by-the-word-quality-cannot-be/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac5/robert-m-pirsig-817_broken_what-i-mean-and-everybody-else-means-by_3163022.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac5/robert-m-pirsig-817_broken_what-i-mean-and-everybody-else-means-by_3163022.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac5/robert-m-pirsig-817_broken_what-i-mean-and-everybody-else-means-by_3163022.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What I mean (and everybody else means) by the word 'quality' cannot be broken down into subjects and…” — Robert M. Pirsig", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think present-day reason is an analogue of the flat earth of the medieval period. If you go too far beyond it you're presumed to fall off, into insanity. And people are very much afraid of that. I think this fear of insanity is comparable to the fear people once had of falling off the edge of the world. Or the fear of heretics. There's a very close analogue there.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert M. Pirsig" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/i-think-present-day-reason-is-an-analogue-of-the-flat-earth-of-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04e/robert-m-pirsig-817_analogue_i-think-present-day-reason-is-an-analogu_1529270.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04e/robert-m-pirsig-817_analogue_i-think-present-day-reason-is-an-analogu_1529270.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04e/robert-m-pirsig-817_analogue_i-think-present-day-reason-is-an-analogu_1529270.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think present-day reason is an analogue of the flat earth of the medieval period. If you go too far beyond…” — Robert M. Pirsig", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The ultimate test's always your own serenity. If you don't have this when you start and maintain it while you're working you're likely to build your personal problems right into the machine itself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert M. Pirsig" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/the-ultimate-test-s-always-your-own-serenity-if-you-don-t-have-this/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc0/robert-m-pirsig-817_ifs_the-ultimate-test-s-always-your-own-sere_1946241.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc0/robert-m-pirsig-817_ifs_the-ultimate-test-s-always-your-own-sere_1946241.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc0/robert-m-pirsig-817_ifs_the-ultimate-test-s-always-your-own-sere_1946241.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The ultimate test's always your own serenity. If you don't have this when you start and maintain it while…” — Robert M. Pirsig", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To an experienced Zen Buddhist, asking if one believes in Zen or one believes in the Buddha, sounds a little ludicrous, like asking if one believes in air or water. Similarly Quality is not something you believe in, Quality is something you experience.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert M. Pirsig" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/to-an-experienced-zen-buddhist-asking-if-one-believes-in-zen-or-one/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/robert-m-pirsig-817_air_to-an-experienced-zen-buddhist-asking-if_525034.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/robert-m-pirsig-817_air_to-an-experienced-zen-buddhist-asking-if_525034.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/robert-m-pirsig-817_air_to-an-experienced-zen-buddhist-asking-if_525034.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To an experienced Zen Buddhist, asking if one believes in Zen or one believes in the Buddha, sounds a little…” — Robert M. Pirsig", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 13, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "How are you going to teach virtue if you teach the relativity of all ethical ideas? Virtue, if it implies anything at all, implies an ethical absolute. A person whose idea of what is proper varies from day to day can be admired for his broadmindedness, but not for his virtue.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert M. Pirsig" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/how-are-you-going-to-teach-virtue-if-you-teach-the-relativity-of-all/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/055/robert-m-pirsig-817_absolutes_how-are-you-going-to-teach-virtue-if-you_2973132.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/055/robert-m-pirsig-817_absolutes_how-are-you-going-to-teach-virtue-if-you_2973132.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/055/robert-m-pirsig-817_absolutes_how-are-you-going-to-teach-virtue-if-you_2973132.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“How are you going to teach virtue if you teach the relativity of all ethical ideas? Virtue, if it implies…” — Robert M. Pirsig", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 14, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Programs of a political nature are important end products of social quality that can be effective only if the underlying structure of social values is right. The social values are right only if the individual values are right. The place to improve the world is first in one's heart and head and hands, and then work outward from there. ”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert M. 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He’s at the front of the train of his own awareness, watching to see what’s up the track and meeting it when it comes. That’s gumption. If you’re going to repair a motorcycle, an adequate supply of gumption is the first and most important tool. If you haven’t got that you might as well gather up all the other tools and put them away, because they won’t do you any good.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert M. 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If you don't imitate what the teacher wants you get a bad grade. Here, in college, it was more sophisticated, of course; you were supposed to imitate the teacher in such a way as to convince the teacher you were not imitating, but taking the essence of the instruction and going ahead with it on your own. That got you A's. Originality on the other hand could get you anything -- from A to F. The whole grading system cautioned against it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert M. 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Pirsig", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 17, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Quality is better seen up at the timberline than here obscured by smoky windows and oceans of words, and he sees that what he is talking about can never really be accepted here because to see it one has to be free of social authority and this is an institution of social authority. Quality for sheep is what the shepherd says. And if you take a sheep and put it up at the timberline at night when the wind is roaring, that sheep will be panicked half to death and will call and call until the shepherd comes, or comes the wolf.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert M. 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