Sublime

It is, then, depth and truth and sanity of observation which chiefly mark these sayings of Goethe. It is no concern of his to dazzle the mind by the brilliance of his wit; nor does he labour to say things because they are striking, but only because they are true.

Character and behavior are inextricable.

Hence, the first rule-nay, this in itself is almost sufficient for a good style-is this, that the author should have something to say. Ah! this implies a great deal.

These merits, however, seem scarcely sufficient to justify his immense reputation. The appeal to reason is, in a sense, insincere, since the conclusion to be reached is fixed in advance. Take, for example, the indissolubility of marriage. This is advocated on the ground that the father is useful in the education of the children, (a) because he is m

The trouble with her statement is that it purports to convey something more than simply that she feels bad. Her characterization of her feeling is too specific; it is excessively particular.

Immanuel Kant has made it one of his fundamentals of moral life—it is. He used to say that to treat a person as a means is the most immoral act there is. It is, because when you treat another person as a means—for your gratification, for your sexual desire, for your fear, or for something else—when you use another person as a means you are reducing

One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit. Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his share.

Our natures are, indeed, elusively insubstantial—notoriously less stable and less inherent than the natures of other things. And insofar as this is the case, sincerity itself is bullshit.