29 Aphorisms

   1. Some say that the new are what the old were and the old are what the new will be, but that is not the case. The new are superior to the old similar to how the old were superior to their predecessors, while the new will be inferior to their progeny much like the old are to the new, that is where the similarities end. However, it is important to note that for humanity the trend seems to be reversed.
   2. The man who sits alone is neither a genius nor a deviant, he can only be one of two things: ignored by the populace or isolated by his own will. Both these deeds are wrongly undertaken.
   3. Those among us with sharp wit have lithe tongues, while those who have dull wit have stiff ones. That is why we hate the sharply witty.
   4. When one is lacking in strength and ambition he becomes a writer.
   5. One must be always wary of the altruists for their iniquities run the deepest.
   6. Among greater men lesser men fear to speak for they think those men are too high to hear them. Among lesser men greater men fear to speak for they think those men are too base to comprehend them. Among women all men fear to speak for they think the torrent of emotion they would unleash is too much to handle.
   7. In response to those who say, “Why do you stand against God? I reply, “How does one stand against a phantom?”
   8. Voltaire said that it would be horrible if the common folk philosophized; with this I fully agree.
   9. There are individuals who believe perfection can be achieved, and there are also those who believe perfection can be found, however both these types have a similar misconception, that perfection exists. In reality, it does not. Those who seek it or strive to achieve it will blindly work for naught.
   10. Yes, it was Shakespeare who made English beautiful, but it was also Shakespeare who made prose unpalatable.
   11. Religious folk often believe in divine intervention. They think that if they follow the doctrines of their faith their deity will alter probability, or even possibility. I have one question to for these individuals, “If there were a deity that was so much greater than man why would that deity concern itself with man?” Even if that deity created man, could it not also tire of man, forsaking him and leaving him to his own devices? Or if this deity truly loved man as the faithful believe would it not allow man to fend for himself?
   12. Faith is powerful not for those of the strongest faith but for those who can manipulate those of the strongest faith.
   13. One would be wise to learn from Napoleon and not underestimate boorish backward people.
   14. Among humanity there exists a most mendacious sort who has swindled those who hoped for Paradise known as the clergy.
   15. A human’s god is usually an idealized self.
   16. I would be truly happy if you took on the role of your god and judged to condemn me to eternal torment. Then you would finally see that you are in fact the god to which you pray.
   17. Regardless of its existence, submission to a greater power only makes one servile.
   18. Wandering a desert for forty years takes great fortitude, but when one attributes that fortitude to anything but oneself it becomes useless.
   19. I know a woman who is whiter than snow and as innocent as a newborn. Her essence nears perfection despite her piety. And even Venus turns green and shudders at the thought of being overthrown when she sees her visage.
   20. If an atheist says, “Wait until we are dominant for you shall be the one burning at the stake,” to a theist, then he is no better than pious he hates so much.
   21. To clarify prior essays: The physiological meaning of life is procreation. The spiritual meaning of life is enlightenment. And the emotional meaning of life is what one chooses it to be.
   22. Could it be that the Jesus of Nazareth was misunderstood and what he taught was not of an almighty god or an eternal life attained through the redemption of the soul? Indeed, he spoke only of the greatness of man and how he could rise to great heights even surpassing his fellow men approaching godliness. He spoke of a self-indoctrination which personified one’s own will. He spoke of an essence so pristine that societal impositions had not come close to it. How unfortunate it is that he perpetrated and fell victim to the greatest malfeasance possible, pity.
   23. Those that are among us who seek to abscond with our essence will undoubtedly succeed, that is, if they have not already succeeded.
   24. Only the feeble minded truly believe they have free will. It is an illusion created by those who wish to place blame on another because they would rather blame an individual than something intangible. In reality, all will is decided by circumstance. What one does is not fully one’s fault for circumstance limits the choices and blinds the individual forcing him to see only one viable action.
   25. In love as in war it easier to have one objective than many.
   26. How odd it is that the same man who empowered the self preached love of the neighbor.
   27. Deviancy is often ascribed to intelligence, as though it alone fostered deviants. Deviancy is more easily detected in intellectuals for they have the greater capacity to explore its profundity than the base.
   28. Absurdist writing is not truly absurd, its readers simply misunderstand.
   29. It is often better to start the ascent with neither a book nor a cross for reliance on the book only allows one to reach a height no higher than already achieved while reliance on the cross would cause one to waste one’s whole life at the base in hopes of being pulled to the peak by a divine being when time has run out.