* A "critic" is a man who creates nothing and thereby feels qualified to judge the work of creative men. There is logic in this; he is unbiased — he hates all creative people equally.
* A "pacifist male" is a contradiction in terms. Most self-described "pacifists" are not pacific; they simply assume false colors. When the wind changes, they hoist the Jolly Roger.
* A brute kills for pleasure. A fool kills from hate.
* A competent and self-confident person is incapable of jealousy in anything. Jealousy is invariably a symptom of neurotic insecurity.
* A fake fortuneteller can be tolerated. But an authentic soothsayer should be shot on sight. Cassandra did not get half the kicking around she deserved.
* A generation which ignores history has no past — and no future.
o Paraphrazed variant: A generation without history has no past — and no future.
* A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
*A zygote is a gamete's way of producing more gametes. This may be the purpose of the universe.
* A motion to adjourn is always in order.
* A woman is not property, and husbands who think otherwise are living in a dreamworld.
* A zygote is a gamete's way of producing more gametes. This may be the purpose of the universe.
* All men are created unequal.
* All societies are based on rules to protect pregnant women and young children. All else is surplusage, excrescence, adornment, luxury, or folly, which can — and must — be dumped in emergency to preserve this prime function. As racial survival is the only universal morality, no other basic is possible. Attempts to formulate a "perfect society" on any foundation other than "Women and children first!" is not only witless, it is automatically genocidal. Nevertheless, starry-eyed idealists (all of them male) have tried endlessly — and no doubt will keep on trying.
* A society that gets rid of all its troublemakers goes downhill.
* Always listen to experts. They'll tell you what can't be done, and why. Then do it.
* Always store beer in a dark place,
* An elephant. A mouse built to government specifications.
* Any government will work if authority and responsibility are equal and coordinate. This does not insure "good" government; it simply insures that it will work. But such governments are rare — most people want to run things but want no part of the blame. This used to be called the "backseat-driver syndrome."
* Any priest or shaman must be presumed guilty until proved innocent.
* Anyone who cannot cope with mathematics is not fully human. At best he is a tolerable subhuman who has learned to wear shoes, bathe, and not make messes in the house.
* Avoid making irrevocable decisions while tired or hungry. N.B.: Circumstances can force your hand. So think ahead!
* Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors — and miss.
* Being intelligent is not a felony. But most societies evaluate it as at least a misdemeanor.
* Beware of altruism. It is based on self-deception, the root of all evil.
* By the data to date, there is only one animal in the Galaxy dangerous to man — man himself. So he must supply his own indispensable competition. He has no enemy to help him.
* Certainly the game is rigged. Don't let that stop you; if you don't bet, you can't win.
* Cheops' Law: Nothing ever gets built on schedule or within budget.
* Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get.
* Courage is the complement of fear. A man who is fearless cannot be courageous. (He is also a fool.)
* Darling, a true lady takes off her dignity with her clothes and does her whorish best. At other times you can be as modest and dignified as your persona requires.
* Dear, don't bore him with trivia or burden him with your past mistakes. The happiest way to deal with a man is never to tell him anything he does not need to know.
* Delusions are often functional. A mother's opinions about her children's beauty, intelligence, goodness, et cetera ad nauseam, keep her from drowning them at birth.
* Democracy is based on the assumption that a million men are wiser than one man. How's that again? I missed something.
Autocracy is based on the assumption that one man is wiser than a million men. Let's play that over again, too. Who decides?
* Do not handicap your children by making their lives easy.
* Does history record any case in which the majority was right?
* Do not confuse "duty" with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect.
But there is no reward at all for doing what other people expect of you, and to do so is not merely difficult, but impossible. It is easier to deal with a footpad than it is with the leech who wants "just a few minutes of your time, please — this won't take long." Time is your total capital, and the minutes of your life are painfully few. If you allow yourself to fall into the vice of agreeing to such requests, they quickly snowball to the point where these parasites will use up 100 percent of your time — and squawk for more!
So learn to say No — and to be rude about it when necessary.
Otherwise you will not have time to carry out your duty, or to do your own work, and certainly no time for love and happiness. The termites will nibble away your life and leave none of it for you.
(This rule does not mean that you must not do a favor for a friend, or even a stranger. But let the choice be yours. Don't do it because it is "expected" of you.)
* Don't ever become a pessimist... a pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist has more fun, and neither can stop the march of events.
* Early rising may not be a vice … but it is certainly no virtue. The old saw about the early bird just goes to show that the worm should have stayed in bed.
* Everything in excess! To enjoy the flavor of life, take big bites. Moderation is for monks.
So much more!
_________________
A son of fire should be forced to bow to a son of clay?
21 Nov 2007, 12:56 am
