John M. Tyler famous quotes

One of my friends, reading the title of these lectures [The Whence and Whither of Man] said: "Of man's origin you know nothing, of his future you know less."
-- John M. Tyler

#Reading #Knowledge #Men

Indeed, while Nature is wonderfully inventive of new structures, her conservatism in holding on to old ones is still more remarkable. In the ascending line of development she tries an experiment once exceedingly thorough, and then the question is solved for all time. For she always takes time enough to try the experiment exhaustively. It took ages to find how to build a spinal column or brain, but when the experiment was finished she had reason to be, and was, satisfied.
-- John M. Tyler

#Brain #Age #Trying

The cell was the first invention of the animal kingdom, and all higher animals are and must be cellular in structure. Our tissues were formed ages on ages ago; they have all persisted. Most of our organs are as old as worms. All these are very old, older than the mountains.
-- John M. Tyler

#Animal #Cells #Age

He [Hemingway] used a stand-up work place he had fashioned out of the top of of a bookcase near his bed. His portable typewriter was snugged in there and papers were spread along the top of the bookcase on either side of it. He used a reading board for longhand writing.

Even when reading is impossible, the presence of books acquired (by passionate devotion to them) produces such an ecstasy that the buying of more books than one can peradventure read is nothing less than the soul reaching towards infinity ... we cherish books even if unread, their mere presence exudes comfort, their ready access, reassurance.

There is nothing nicer than nodding off while reading. Going fast asleep and then being woken by the crash of the book on the floor, then saying to yourself, well it doesn't matter much. An admirable feeling.

You may be sitting in a room reading this book. Imagine one note struck upon the piano. Immediately that one note is enough to change the atmosphere of the room - proving that the sound element in music is a powerful and mysterious agent, which it would be foolish to deride or belittle.

The truth and the facts aren't necessarily the same thing. Telling the truth is the object of all art; facts are what the unimaginative have instead of ideas.

Any fool can know. The point is to understand.

He (Jeremy Clarkson) is the last man standing on the beach commanding the glaciers' melt waters to go back

Ambition often puts Men upon doing the meanest offices; so climbing is performed in the same position with creeping.

The soul of the slave, the soul of the "little man," is as dear to me as the soul of the great.

Life, to be sure, is nothing much to lose, But young men think it is, and we were young.