Two Things

There are two things that make one lost: lies and greed;
There are two things that make one intoxicated: alcohol and fame;
There are two things that make one chained: material possession and romantic love;
There are two things that make one awakened: truth and pain;
There are two things that make one change: time and hardship;
There are two things that make one free: wisdom and perspective.

(Translated from original Chinese text:http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_6058fd120102vx4k.html)

1、有两种东西会让人迷失：一是谎言，二是欲望。 
2、有两种东西会让人沉醉：一是酒精，二是名声。 
3、有两种东西会把人束缚：一是物质，二是爱情。 
4、有两种东西会让人觉醒：一是真理，二是苦痛。 
5、有两种东西会让人改变：一是时间，二是苦难。 
6、有两种东西会让人释怀：一是智慧，二是心态。

Gladiatorial Game

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One kind of "glory" of human civilization:
"(At zenith of Roman civilization) Gladiatorial games were held from dawn to dusk. Contexts to the death between trained fighters (gladiators) formed the central focus of these games.... Gladiatorial games included other forms of ENTERTAINMENT as well. Criminals of all ages and bother sexes were sent into the arena without weapons to face certain death from wild animals. Numerous kinds of animal contests were also held. ..."
-Glencoe World History, p166.

Charlotte Bronte On Jane Austin

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Charlotte Brontë on Jane Austen

I have likewise read one of Miss Austen’s works—Emma—read it with interest and with just the degree of admiration which Miss Austen herself would have thought sensible and suitable. Anything like warmth or enthusiasm—anything energetic, poignant, heart-felt is utterly out of place in commending these works: all such demonstration the authoress would have met with a well-bred sneer, would have calmly scorned as outré and extravagant. She does her business of delineating the surface of the lives of genteel English people curiously well. There is a Chinese fidelity, a miniature delicacy in the painting. She ruffles her reader by nothing vehement, disturbs him by nothing profound. The passions are perfectly unknown to her; she rejects even a speaking acquaintance with that stormy sisterhood. Even to the feelings she vouchsafes no more than an occasional graceful but distant recognition—too frequent converse with them would ruffle the smooth elegance of her progress. Her business is not half so much with the human heart as with the human eyes, mouth, hands, and feet. What sees keenly, speaks aptly, moves flexibly, it suits her to study; but what throbs fast and full, though hidden, what the blood rushes through, what is the unseen seat of life and the sentient target of death—this Miss Austen ignores. She no more, with her mind’s eye, beholds the heart of her race than each man, with bodily vision, sees the heart in his heaving breast. Jane Austen was a complete and most sensible lady, but a very incomplete and rather insensible (not senseless) woman. If this is heresy, I cannot help it. If I said it to some people (Lewes for instance) they would directly accuse me of advocating exaggerated heroics, but I am not afraid of your falling into any such vulgar error.

 —Believe me, yours sincerely,
C. Brontë.
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I think this explains why I could not make myself into Jane Austin, though I tried several times.

Stephen Fry On God

I admire his courage and intellectual sharpness, period!

Scientific Theory, Evolution (Quote)

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

"...a scientific theory is not merely a best guess. It is a hypothesis that - through experiment after experiment, study after study, analysis after analysis - has yet to be refuted.

... evolution is not only a theory, it's also a fact. The key to understanding evolution is to recognize how it can be both:
As a fact: Evolution is simply genetic changes occurring through time in a group of individuals (a population, a species, and so on). Scientists know that these changes occur. They can see the changes, measure them; in many instances, figure out when they happened.
As a theory: Evolutionary theory seeks to explain what's responsible for the evolutionary process - in other words, what causes these changes. What scientists know today is that natural selection and genetic drift are two key forces driving these changes."

--- Evolution For Dummies, page 335-336, by Greg Krukonis, PhD, Tracy Barr,

When Does Philosophy Begin?

Philosophy begins when one learns to doubt - particularly to doubt one's cherished beliefs, one's dogmas and one's axioms.
--- Will Durant (The Story of Philosophy)

The opening paragraph of "The Twilight Zone" (TV series)

1959 Series Logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

"There is a fifth dimension beyond that is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space, and as timeless as infinity. It is a middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition. And it lies between the pit of man's fears, and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the twilight zone." 

The Opening Paragraph of "Strangers On A Train"

"The train tore along with an angry, irregular rhythm. It was having to stop at smaller, more frequent stations, where it would wait impatiently for a moment, then attack prairie again. The process was imperceptible. The prairie only undulated. like a vast, pink-tan blanket being casually shaken. The faster the train went, the more buoyant and taunting the undulations."
--- Strangers On A Train, Patricia Highsmith

Religion And Morality

Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.
--- Steven Weinberg, physicist.

Life

Life (NBC TV series) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Life is not the way it's supposed to be, it's the way it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference.
--- Virginia Satir

"Mountain Has Its Height, ..."

English: Traunstein Mountain seen from Traunkirchen. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I found these wise words in a Chinese forum, just translated them into English:

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Mountain has its height, water has its depth, there is no reason to compete;

Wind has its freedom, cloud has its tenderness, there is no reason to imitate;

Search for whatever you think is joyful; dwell on whatever you think is worth; appreciate whatever you think is happy. There is nothing would not be judged, there is nothing would not be envied;

Be truthful to yourself, follow your heart, there will be no regret;

There is only one path in life: your own path;

There are two treasures of life: good health, loving heart; (Original text: "young heart")

There are three kinds of friends: those who lend money to you; those who attend your wedding; those who attend your funeral.

There are four adversities in life: can't see through, can't give it up, can't lose, can't put it down.

There are five maxims for life: persevere no matter how hard it is; take it light no matter how valuable it is; restrain your spending no matter how rich you are; be passionate no matter how cold you are.

There are six fortunes in life: physical health; knowledge; dream; belief; confidence; courage.

Quotes From Story of Civilizatoin (War & Individualism)

(But) for the most part war was the favorite instrument of natural selection among primitive nations and groups.
... It (war) acted as a ruthless eliminator of weak peoples, and raised the level of race in courage, violence, cruelty, intelligence and skill. It stimulated invention, made weapons that became useful tools, and arts of war that became arts of peace. ..Above all, war dissolved primitive communism and anarchism, introduced organization and discipline, and led to the enslavement of prisoners, the subordination of classes, and the growth of government. Property was the mother, war was the father of the state.

Individualism, like liberty, is a luxury of civilization. Only with the dawn of history were sufficient number of men and women freed from the burdens of hunger, reproduction and war to create the intangible values of leisure, culture and art.

----Will Durant

Quote From "Story of Civilization"

... in calling other human beings "savage" "barbarous", we may be expressing no objective fact, but only our fierce fondness for ourselves, and timid shyness in the presence of alien ways. ---Will Durant, Story of Civilization.

Quotes From "Van Gogh: The Life"

"He (Vincent) carried his chair, a portfolio of paper, and a plank of wood. He worked so intensely --- holding the big carpenter's pencil in his fist like a knife --- that he needed the heavy plank to prevent tearing the paper. He planted himself in front of trees and shrubs, outside framers' cottages and barns, overlooking mills and meadows, along roadsides and churchyards. He sketched animals as they fed, and implements --- plows, harrows, wheelbarrows --- where they lay." (page 230)

Marsh With Water Lillies, 1881, pencil and ink 

(In his sketch, see left) "Vincent looked out across the same swamp vista and cast his eyes downward. Pushing the horizon almost to the top of his much larger sheet, he relegated the town to insignificance and fixed his gaze on the teeming water at his feet: a tangled world of reeds, flowers, lily pads, and leaves, each with its own slant or arc, its own shape and shade, its own cross-hatched reflection on the still surface of the sunlit bog. With a manic vehemence not taught in any exercise book, he filed the bottom of the sheet with clusters of dots, random dark sports, floating circles, and meandering lines in an effort to render the bottomless fecundity that he knew so well from the banks of the Grote Beek. He added a bird, a visitor from his childhood, swooping low over the water in search of the life squirming unmistakably beneath the pencil marks." (page 234-235)

Helen Keller's Quote on Eugenics

"It is the possibility of happiness, intelligence and power that give life its sanctity, and they are absent in the case of a poor, misshapen, paralyzed, unthinking creature."

http://www.uffl.org/vol16/gerdtz06.pdf

Intuitive & Rational Mind

Image via Wikipedia

"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift."　---Einsten

Today Is A Gift - Quote from Bil Keane

Image via Wikipedia

Yesterday's the past, tomorrow's the future, but today is a gift. That's why it's called the present.
---Bil Keane

Quotes From "Dexter"

"You used God, not another way around."
"Light cannot exist without darkness. Each has its purpose. If there is the purpose to my darkness, maybe it is to bring some balance to the world. "
Dexter - "a father, a son, a serial killer"

 

Reason of Falsifiability - Quote from Liu Xiaobo

Image via Wikipedia

The biggest mistake within all mistakes humans ever made is avoiding making mistakes; the most foolish foolishness within all foolishness of humans is believing in absolutes; the weakest weakness within all weaknesses of humans is establishing power. There is no omnipotent power, not God, not science, not Truth itself. This is the enlightenment that "Reason of falsifiability*" brought to human kind.

--- Liu Xiaobo, Spirit of Reason





*"Reason of falsifiability" is my temporary translation which may not be entirely correct.

Emerson Quote on Self-reliance

"A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages. "