"Manlius ... took care in his invitations, actively……" — Iain Pears
"Manlius ... took care in his invitations, actively sought to exclude from his circle crude and vulgar men like Caius Valerius. But they were all around; it was Manlius who lived in a dream world, and his bubble of civility was becoming smaller and smaller. Caius Valerius, powerful member of a powerful family, had never even heard of Plato. A hundred, even fifty years before, such an absurdity would have been inconceivable. Now it was surprising if such a man did know anything of philosophy, and even if it was explained, he would not wish to understand."
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Iain Pears
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25 Quotes by Iain Pears
Iain Pears has 25 quotes on this site.
A few more worth reading:
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He (William Cort) had some desire to be successful, but it did not burn so strongly in him that he…
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Virtue comes through contemplation of the divine, and the exercise of philosophy. But it also comes through public service. The…
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For men are held above their fellows by the gossamer of reputation, which is so soft and fragile a breath…
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The simple fact that something has not been done, is no proof that it cannot be.
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Power without wisdom is tyranny; wisdom without power is pointless,
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He who profits by villainy, has perpetrated it.
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Philosophy cannot be extinguished, though men will try ... The spirit seeks the light, that is its nature. It wishes…
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[Men] prefer the foolish belief and the passions of the earth [to the enlightenment of their souls]. They believe the…
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And a more foolish notion can scarcely be imagined, it being obvious that the reader is only informed of what…
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God forbid that I should ever suffer the shame of publishing a book for money, or of having one of…
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Shame, I do believe, is the most powerful emotion known to man; most discoveries and journeys of importance have been…
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Who you are is less important than what you seem.
See all 25 quotes by Iain Pears »
More Absurdity Quotes
This quote is filed under Absurdity Quotes,
one of 352 quotes in that category. Here are a few more:
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An ostentatious man will rather relate a blunder or an absurdity he has committed, than be debarred from talking of…
— Joseph Addison
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This Old Testament - containing error, folly, absurdity and immorality - is by English statute law declared to be of…
— Annie Besant
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Absurdity, n.: A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one's own opinion.
— Ambrose Bierce
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A sense of humor keen enough to show a man his own absurdities will keep him from the commission of…
— Samuel Butler
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My turn of mind is so given to taking things in the absurd point of view, that it breaks out…
— Lord Byron
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At any street corner the feeling of absurdity can strike any man in the face.
— Albert Camus
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Basically, at the very bottom of life, which seduces us all, there is only absurdity, and more absurdity. And maybe…
— Albert Camus
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It is not funny that anything else should fall down; only that a man should fall down. Why do we…
— Gilbert K. Chesterton
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Mockery of religion is one of the most essential things because to demystify supposedly 'holy text dictated by god' and…
— Christopher Hitchens
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The vested interests-if we explain the situation by their influence-can only get the public to act as they wish by…
— Norman Angell
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When a man has once brought himself to accept uncritically all the absurdities that religious doctrines put before him and…
— Sigmund Freud
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Among the sayings and discourses imputed to him (i.e. Jesus) by his biographers, I find many passages of fine imagination,…
— Thomas Jefferson
See all 352 Absurdity Quotes »