To his dog, every man is Napoleon; hence the constant popularity of dogs.
Aldous HuxleyRead
Words can be like X-rays if you use them properly -- they’ll go through anything. You read and you’re pierced.
Interpretation
Words have the power to deeply impact and influence when used thoughtfully.
Aldous Huxley suggests that words possess a profound capability to penetrate the barriers of understanding and perception. When articulated effectively, they can reveal truths and evoke emotions in listeners, much like an X-ray unveils what is hidden beneath the surface. This underscores the importance of communication and the responsibility that comes with it.
In practice
In a speech about the impact of literature, one could cite Huxley's quote to emphasize how words can reveal deep truths.
To his dog, every man is Napoleon; hence the constant popularity of dogs.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.
In the course of history many more people have died for their drink and their dope than have died for their religion or their country.
On no account brood over your wrongdoing. Rolling in the muck is not the best way of getting clean.
No man ever dared to manifest his boredom so insolently as does a Siamese tomcat when he yawns in the face of his amorously importunate wife.
The leech's kiss, the squid's embrace, The prurient ape's defiling touch: And do you like the human race? No, not much.
Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a rejection of the world because we are afraid it will hurt us or disappoint us.
The man who does ill must suffer ill.
Everyone can recognize history when it happens. Everyone can recognize history after is has happened; but only the wise man knows at the moment what is vital and permanent, what is lasting and memorable.
In humility is the greatest freedom. As long as you have to defend the imaginary self that you think is important, you lose your piece of heart. As soon as you compare that shadow with the shadows of other people, you lose all joy, because you have begun to trade in unrealities and there is no joy in things that do not exist.
I have crossed over to a place where I never thought I’d be. I am someone I would have never imagined. A secret. A dream. I am this, body and soul. Burn me. Drown me. Tell me lies. I will still be who I am.
The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world.
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