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.
I’m ALIVE. Thinking about it, noticing it, is new. You do things and don’t watch. Then all of a sudden you look and see what you’re doing and it’s the first time, really.
There are so many men and women who hold no distinctive positions but whose contribution towards the development of society has been enormous.
The ending of sorrow is the beginning of wisdom. Knowledge is always within the shadow of ignorance. Meditation is freedom from thought and a movement in the ecstasy of truth. Meditation is explosion of intelligence.
Each man has his own vocation; his talent is his call. There is one direction in which all space is open to him.
Maturity starts with the willingness to give oneself.
Most safely shall you tread the middle path.
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