The Necklace

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  “SHE WAS one of those pretty, charming young ladies, born, as if through an error of destiny, into a family of clerks. She had no dowry, no hopes, no means of becoming known, appreciated, loved, and married by a man either rich or distinguished; and she allowed herself to marry a petty clerk in the office of the Board of Education. . . .  She had neither frocks nor jewels, nothing. And she loved only those things. She felt that she was made for them. She had such a desire to please, to be sought after, to be clever, and courted.” —THE NECKLACE Guy de Maupassant    France, 1884 (pic by Grok) Read this short story here:  https://americanliterature.com/author/guy-de-maupassant/short-story/the-necklace

A Few Collected Statements on Reading and The Rational Mind

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  • Some read just enough to keep themselves misinformed. (Amish proverb)
  • The man is sure to go wrong in his thinking whose aim is to get for himself. (possibly H.L. Mencken)
  • Merely having an open mind is nothing. The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid. (G.K. Chesterton)
  • There is no worse error than to seek intellectual remedy for moral grief. (Gaston Frommel)
  • Beat not out thy brains to fathom the un-revealed. (Harold Will)
  • It is not honking your horn that keeps you out of trouble as much as steering wisely. (Headline in the "Butter, Cheese & Egg Journal" July 12, 1922)
  • Knowledge is power under three conditions: if it is knowledge of things worth knowing; if it is known by a person worthy of using it; if it be used. (anon)
  • A brain is as strong as its weakest think. (Thomas Masson)
  • Hell hath no fury like a zealot trying to prove a theory. (anon)
  • True wisdom is seldom gained without suffering. (Sir Arthur Helps)

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