Wordsmiths

From French writer and philosopher Voltaire, a few words that can be applied to the history of some religions, as well as to America’s current situation in Iraq: “If we believe absurdities, we shall commit atrocities.”

British statistician and economist E.F. Schumacher wrote: “Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction.”

And finally, writer Kurt Vonnegut keenly observed: “For some reason, the most vocal Christians among us never mention the Beatitudes. But, often with tears in their eyes, they demand that the Ten Commandments be posted in public buildings. And of course that’s Moses, not Jesus. I haven’t heard one of them demand that the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, be posted anywhere. ‘Blessed are the merciful’ in a courtroom? ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ in the Pentagon? Give me a break!”

Wordsmiths

A few witticisms that I came across recently:

• Mark Twain on the epic novel War and Peace: "Tolstoy carelessly neglects to include a boat race."
• Acerbic New Yorker writer Dorothy Parker (right), when asked to use the term "horticulture" correctly in a sentence: "You can lead a whore to culture, but you can't make her think."
• The character Ariel in Shakespeare's The Tempest: "Hell is empty, and all the devils are here."

Indeed they are.

King prophesizes Bush?

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
--Martin Luther King, Jr., 1963