All cities are mad: but the madness is gallant. All cities are beautiful: but the beauty is grim.
Christopher MorleyRead
Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to continually be part of unanimity.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Embrace individuality by engaging in unique thoughts and actions to nurture the mind.
This quote emphasizes the importance of thinking independently and engaging in activities that are outside the norm. By encouraging oneself to read, think, and do things that others may overlook or deem foolish, one can cultivate creativity and mental health, avoiding the pitfalls of conformity and sameness.
Themes
IndependenceCreativityIndividualityThinkingReadingAction
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about creativity in the workplace.
More from Christopher Morley
All quotes →When you sell a man a book you don't sell just twelve ounces of paper and ink and glue - you sell him a whole new life. Love and friendship and humour and ships at sea by night - there's all heaven and earth in a book, a real book.
Christopher MorleyRead
There is no mistaking a real book when one meets it. It is like falling in love.
Christopher MorleyRead
When you sell a man a book, you don't sell him 12 ounces of paper and ink and glue - you sell him a whole new life.
Christopher MorleyRead
Living in a bookshop is like living in a warehouse of explosives. Those shelves are ranked with the most furious combustibles in the world--the brains of men.
Christopher MorleyRead
Between ourselves, there is no such thing, abstractly, as a 'good' book. A book is 'good' only when it meets some human hunger or refutes some human error.
Christopher MorleyRead
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He who lives without folly isn't so wise as he thinks.
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