Do not free the camel of the burden of his hump; you may be freeing him from being a camel.

Arts and Artists

The dignity of the artist lies in his duty of keeping awake the sense of wonder in the world. In this long vigil he often has to vary his methods of stimulation; but in this long vigil he is also himself striving against a continual tendency to sleep.

Atheism

Those thinkers who cannot believe in any gods often assert that the love of humanity would be in itself sufficient for them; and so, perhaps, it would, if they had it.

Books and Reading

The mere brute pleasure of reading --the sort of pleasure a cow must have in grazing.

Chastity

Chastity does not mean abstention from sexual wrong; it means something flaming, like Joan of Arc.

Contentment

Being "contented" ought to mean in English, as it does in French, being pleased. Being content with an attic ought not to mean being unable to move from it and resigned to living in it; it ought to mean appreciating all there is in such a position.

Courage

Courage is getting away from death by continually coming within an inch of it.

Experience

Experience which was once claimed by the aged is now claimed exclusively by the young.

Fights and Fighting

You cannot love a thing without wanting to fight for it.

Greatness

There is a great man who makes every man feel small. But the real great man is the man who makes every man feel great.

Heart

Their is a road from the eye to heart that does not go through the intellect.

Hygiene

Man does not live by soap alone; and hygiene, or even health, is not much good unless you can take a healthy view of it -- or, better still, feel a healthy indifference to it.

Intelligence and Intellectuals

A large section of the intelligentsia seems wholly devoid of intelligence.

Love

Love means to love that which is unlovable; or it is no virtue at all.

Men

Men always talk about the most important things to perfect strangers. In the perfect stranger we perceive man himself; the image of a God is not disguised by resemblances to an uncle or doubts of wisdom of a mustache.

Normality

Nothing is poetical if plain daylight is not poetical; and no monster should amaze us if the normal man does not amaze.

People

But we are the people of England; and we have not spoken yet. Smile at us, pay us, pass us. But do not quite forget.

Problems

It isn't that they can't see the solution. It is that they can't see the problem.

Retirement

The worst of work nowadays is what happens to people when they cease to work.

Ritual

Ritual will always mean throwing away something: destroying our corn or wine upon the altar of our gods.

Stupidity

To be clever enough to get all the money, one must be stupid enough to want it.

Truth

You can only find truth with logic if you have already found truth without it.

Virtue

Man seems to be capable of great virtues but not of small virtues; capable of defying his torturer but not of keeping his temper.

Wealth

If prosperity is regarded as the reward of virtue it will be regarded as the symptom of virtue.

Youth

No man knows he is young while he is young.