The World Began Without Man,

I Think That A Society Cannot Live Without A Certain Number Of Irrational Beliefs. They Are Protected From Criticism And Analysis Because They Are Irrational.

In The Old Days, People Used To Risk Their Lives In India Or In The Americas In Order To Bring Back Products Which Now Seem To Us To Have Been Of Comically Little Worth, Such As Brazilwood And Pepper, Which Added A New Range Of Sense Experience To A Civilization Which Had Never Suspected Its Own Insipidity... From These Same Lands Our Modern Marco Polos Now Bring Back The Moral Spices Of Which Our Society Feels An Increasing Need As It Is Conscious Of Sinking Further Into Boredom, But That This Time They Take The Form Of Photographs, Books, And Travelers Tales.

Enthusiastic Partisans Of The Idea Of Progress Are In Danger Of Failing To Recognize The Immense Riches Accumulated By The Human Race. By Underrating The Achievements Of The Past, They Devalue All Those Which Still Remain To Be Accomplished.

Our System Is The Height Of Absurdity, Since We Treat The Culprit Both As A Child, So As To Have The Right To Punish Him, And As An Adult, In Order To Deny Him Consolation.

Scientific Knowledge Advances Haltingly And Is Stimulated By Contention And Doubt.