Nature, sentimentalized Nature, sentimentalized and considered as the antithesis of cities, is apparently assumed to consist of grass, fresh air and little else, and this ludicrous disrespect results in the devastation of nature even formally and publicly preserved in the form of a pet. Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities respectnature
Think better of it This is, of course, the best way to salvage any kind of sorted-out project, up to the time it is actually built: Think better of it. Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities respect
The assumption of equality Classic writing, with its assumption of equality between writer and reader, makes the reader feel like a genius. Bad writing makes the reader feel like a dunce. Steven Pinker, The Sense of Style Long, unwieldy sentences respect
Candide A Novel by Voltaire Things cannot be other than as they areWe must cultivate our garden Your new electronic microscope
Things cannot be other than as they are “It is demonstrably true that things cannot be other than as they are. For, everything having been made for a purpose, everything is necessarily for the best purpose.” — Professor Pangloss purposemeaning
We must cultivate our garden ‘You must have a vast and magnificent estate,’ said Candide to the turk. ‘I have only twenty acres,’ replied the old man; ‘I and my children cultivate them; and our labour preserves us from three great evils: weariness, vice, and want.’ Candide, on his way home, reflected deeply on what the old man had said. ‘This honest Turk,’ he said to Pangloss and Martin, ‘seems to be in a far better place than kings…. I also know,’ said Candide, ‘that we must cultivate our garden.’ lifegardens