But the life of a man 

is of no greater importance to the universe 

than that of an oyster.

The teacher who is indeed wise 

does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom 

but rather 

leads you to the threshold of your mind.

Myths are clues 

to the spiritual potentialities 

of the human life.

Stretching his hand out to catch the stars, 

he forgets the flowers at his feet.

Opposites are complementary.

The myths are clues 

to unite the forces within us.

The only source of knowledge is experience…

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

Philosophy begins in wonder.  

And, at the end, 

when philosophic thought has done its best, 

the wonder remains.

It's like our visit to the moon
or to that other star 

I guess you go for nothing
if you really want to go that far.

Reality is merely an illusion, 

albeit a very persistent one.

From Pythagoras 

(whether by way of Socrates or not) 

Plato derived the Orphic elements in his philosophy: 

the religious trend, 

the belief in immortality, 

the other-worldliness, 

the priestly tone, 

and all that is involved in the simile of the cave; 

also his respect for mathematics, 

and his intermingling of intellect and mysticism.

Modern Protestants who urge us to believe in God, for the most part, despise the old ‘proofs’, 

and base their faith upon some aspect of human nature — 

emotions of awe or mystery, the sense of right and wrong, the feeling of aspiration, and so on.  

This way of defending religious belief was invented by Rousseau.

Science is a small island in an ocean of nescience.

Don't you let the bastards bring you down

Just stand up strong and bold