The important commonality running through these quotes is that geniuses are both free minds and free spirits. From Paul Rosenberg at freemansperspective.com:
It struck me some time ago that the people we think of as “geniuses” tend to arrive, over time, at surprisingly similar sets of conclusions. It further strikes me that a simple list of such thoughts might be of value.
And so, here is a list pulled from my quotes file and presented without commentary. Enjoy:
Albert Einstein
- Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.
- Nothing will end war unless the people themselves refuse to go to war.
- Never do anything against conscience, even if the state demands it.
- The world is in greater peril from those who tolerate or encourage evil than from those who actually commit it.
- Small is the number of them that see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.
Rod Serling
- The ultimate obscenity is not caring, not doing something about what you feel, not feeling.
Arthur Schopenhauer
- We forfeit three-fourths of ourselves in order to be like other people.
Bob:
Some great insights contained in Rosenberg’s list.
The focus must always remain on the CONTENT of the remark, not the fact of who uttered it. I always keep the perspective that quotations from “geniuses” – or other note-worthy individuals are, ultimately, but “arguments from authority.”
These quotations, cited for their insight/wisdom, may exist with others, equally replete with absurdity/ignorance. The content of either should not detract from the content of the other – irrespective of the esteem in which its author might be held.
Dave
LikeLike