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People all know the usefulness of what is useful, but they do not know the usefulness of the useless. Zhuang Zi

Truth, by its very nature, is ugly, savage and cruel; it disturbs, it frightens, it hurts and it kills. If, in some extreme situations, it is to be used at all, it must be taken only in small doses, in strict isolation, and with the most rigorous prophylactic precautions.

Stupidity is not my strong point. I have seen many people; I have visited a few countries; I have taken part in various undertakings without liking them; Today I can still recall a good hundred faces, two or three great shows, and perhaps the gist of some twenty books. What I remember is neither the best nor the worst of these things: simply what has managed to remain, remains. This arithmetic relieves me of any surprise that I am growing old.

Man‘s estrangement from the mythical realm and the subsequent shrinking of his existence to the mere factual—that is the major cause of mental illness.

AS YOU may perhaps remember, some time ago the English actor Hugh Grant was arrested by the police in Los Angeles: he was performing a rather private activity in a public place with a lady of the night. In this distressing circumstance, he was interviewed by an American journalist, who asked him a very American question: “Are you receiving any therapy or counselling?” Grant replied, “No. In England, we read novels.”

Modern man, who moves with the times and seeks power without grace, is finally a much greater menace to human integrity than tattooed cannibals.

Hell is not “truth seen too late” (as Hobbes said); on the contrary, it is truth seen too soon, and knowingly rejected.

Half of the misery in this world is caused by people whose only talent is to worm their way into positions for which they otherwise have no competence.

life is a prison, and only imagination can open its windows.

The primary source of scientific thought is not reasoning, but the precise verification of an association originally supplied by the imagination.

What we should remember, however, is this (if I may thus paraphrase Bernard Shaw): The successful man adapts himself to the world. The loser persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the loser.

This collection of essays is astounding! Leys' brilliance lies within his ability to maintain a very high level of discourse without alienating the reader with erudite terminology. His writing is smart and accessible to everyone. Every type of reader can enjoy these essays. 🤘🤘🤘