Friday, July 11, 2008

Vanity

"There is no doubt that in exchanging a self-centered for a selfless life we gain enormously in self-esteem. The vanity of the selfless, even those who practice humility, is boundless."—Eric Hoffer, The True Believer

I have been filling in a gap in my self-education by reading the book from which I took the above quotation. I highly recommend it; the style is clear and pithy, almost aphoristic at times, and it contains many provocative observations and much food for thought. The frequent parallels to Nietzsche's thought, such as the observation quoted, are remarkable.

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Friday, February 09, 2007

Artistic Strength


"Artists, if they are any good, are (physically as well) strong, full of surplus energy, powerful animals, sensual; without a certain overheating of the sexual system a Raphael is unthinkable— Making music is another way of making children; chastity is merely the economy of an artist—and in any event, even with artists, fruitfulness ceases when potency ceases— Artists should see nothing as it is, but fuller, simpler, stronger: to that end, their lives must contain a kind of youth and spring, a kind of habitual intoxication." —Nietzsche

Some food for thought for the weekend.

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