People who have a religion should be glad, for not everyone has the gift of believing in heavenly things. You don't necessarily even have to be afraid of punishment after death; purgatory, hell, and heaven are things that a lot of people can't accept, but still a religion, it doesn't matter which, keeps a person on the right path. It isn't the fear of God but the upholding of one's own honor and conscience. How noble and good everyone could be if, every evening before falling asleep, they were to recall to their minds the events of the while day and consider exactly what has been good and bad. Then, without realizing it you try to improve yourself at the start of each new day; of course, you achieve quite a lot in the course of time. Anyone can do this, it costs nothing and is certainly very helpful. Whoever doesn't know it must learn and find by experience that: "A quiet conscience mades one strong!

Unfortunately, the ten-cent-store Jesus being preached now by many men is not the Jesus that will come to judge the world. This plastic, painted Christ who has no spine and no justice, but is a soft and pliant friend to everybody, if He is the only Christ, then we might as well close our books, bar our doors and make a bakery or garage out of our church buildings. The popular Christ being preached now is not the Christ of God nor the Christ of the Bible nor the Christ we must deal with finally. For the Christ that we deal with has eyes as a flame of fire. And His feet are like burnished brass; and out of His mouth cometh a sharp two-edged sword (see Rev. 1:14-16). He will be the judge of humanity. You can leave your loved ones in His hands knowing that He Himself suffered, knowing that He knows all, no mistakes can be made, there can be no miscarriage of justice, because He knows all that can be known... Jesus Christ our Lord, the judge with the flaming eyes, is the one with whom we must deal. We cannot escape it.

Kao što netko nakon kakva luda sna shvati da mu je krenuti u Ameriku, kao što netko nakon probdjevene noći konačno odluči oženiti djevojkom koju je još sinoć definitivno iznogirao, tako sam i ja iznenada počeo čitati. I to ne slučajno, nevoljko, sporadično, nego sasvim namjerno, temeljito i bez ostatka. Ne sjećam se više koji me to stvarni povod natjerao na tako nešto, ali se pouzdano sjećam da sam se te godine definitivno zarazio takozvanom lijepom književnošću, od koje neću moći ni u narednim godinama pobjeći. Jer, ako je književnost bolest, onda je ta bolest trajna, kronična i naprosto neizlječiva. Baš kad vam se učini da ste se izliječili, jave se recidivi prouzročeni nekim neuzgrednim povodom: šarenim ovitkom u izlogu, mirisom štamparske boje, glatkoćom bezdrvnog papira i slično. Uz to što je kronična, ta je bolest pomalo i endemična, jer pandemijama obiluju drugi žanrovi: televizija, moda, ples i trač.

الصديقان النموذجيان هما كزوج من القنافذ.. يتعاطفان ويتعاونان ويتلازمان ويتقاربان .. ولكن لا يذوبان في بعضهما لأن كل واحد له درقة من الأشواك تحميه من أن يقتحم عليه الآخر خصوصيته وسريته وينتهك وحدانية نفسه وقدسية استقلاله .

If the people of Europe had known as much of astronomy and geology when the bible was introduced among them, as they do now, there never could have been one believer in the doctrine of inspiration. If the writers of the various parts of the bible had known as much about the sciences as is now known by every intelligent man, the book never could have been written. It was produced by ignorance, and has been believed and defended by its author. It has lost power in the proportion that man has gained knowledge. A few years ago, this book was appealed to in the settlement of all scientific questions; but now, even the clergy confess that in such matters, it has ceased to speak with the voice of authority. For the establishment of facts, the word of man is now considered far better than the word of God. In the world of science, Jehovah was superseded by Copernicus, Galileo, and Kepler. All that God told Moses, admitting the entire account to be true, is dust and ashes compared to the discoveries of Descartes, Laplace, and Humboldt. In matters of fact, the bible has ceased to be regarded as a standard. Science has succeeded in breaking the chains of theology. A few years ago, Science endeavored to show that it was not inconsistent with the bible. The tables have been turned, and now, Religion is endeavoring to prove that the bible is not inconsistent with Science. The standard has been changed.

إن ضغط الدم .. والقلق .. والأرق .. الذي يصيبني من الحقائق أفضل من الخنوثة والتراخي والفتور الذي يصيبني من التطان والتفاؤل .أنه تطامن يربي الشحم على قلبي وشعوري .. ويميتني بالسكتة لأقل خيبة أمل .. ولأتفه خبر غير متوقع .. وكل الأخبار في هذه الحالة غير متوقعة .

छोराछोरी भनेका पूर्वजन्मका साहू हुन्‌ रै, आफ्नो ऋण चुक्ता गर्न आएका । त्यसैले तिनले सताउँछन्‌ रे । मैले आफ्ना बुवामुमालाई कति सताएँ, त्यो त म जान्दिनँ, तर यतिखेर लागिरहेछ-पूर्वजन्ममा ठूलै ऋण खाएका मान्छे नै सन्तान बनेर जन्मने कुरा सम्भवत: सत्यको सबैभन्दा नजिकको अनुमान हो । पितृऋण सन्तान नजन्माई तिरिँदैन भन्थे, हो रहेछ ।

He imagined a town called A. Around the communal fire they’re shaping arrowheads and carving tributes o the god of the hunt. One day some guys with spears come over the ridge, perform all kinds of meanness, take over, and the new guys rename the town B. Whereupon they hang around the communal fire sharpening arrowheads and carving tributes to the god of the hunt. Some climatic tragedy occurs — not carving the correct tributary figurines probably — and the people of B move farther south, where word is there’s good fishing, at least according to those who wander to B just before being cooked for dinner. Another tribe of unlucky souls stops for the night in the emptied village, looks around at the natural defenses provided by the landscape, and decides to stay awhile. It’s a while lot better than their last digs — what with the lack of roving tigers and such — plus it comes with all the original fixtures. they call the place C, after their elder, who has learned that pretending to talk to spirits is a fun gag that gets you stuff. Time passes. More invasions, more recaptures, D, E, F, and G. H stands as it is for a while. That ridge provides some protection from the spring floods, and if you keep a sentry up there you can see the enemy coming for miles. Who wouldn’t want to park themselves in that real estate? The citizens of H leave behind cool totems eventually toppled by the people of I, whose lack of aesthetic sense if made up for by military acumen. J, K, L, adventures in thatched roofing, some guys with funny religions from the eastern plains, long-haired freaks from colder climes, the town is burned to the ground and rebuilt by still more fugitives. This is the march of history. And conquest and false hope. M falls to plague, N to natural disaster — same climatic tragedy as before, apparently it’s cyclical. Mineral wealth makes it happen for the O people, and the P people are renowned for their basket weaving. No one ever — ever — mentions Q. The dictator names the city after himself; his name starts with the letter R. When the socialists come to power they spend a lot of time painting over his face, which is everywhere. They don’t last. Nobody lasts because there’s always somebody else. They all thought they owned it because they named it and that was their undoing. They should have kept the place nameless. They should have been glad for their good fortune, and left it at that. X, Y, Z.