Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Quotes: Science (8)


 Science            202          "Unlike Koch or Leeuwenhoek, who were great because they knew how to ask questions... Metchnikoff  read books...was inspired, shouted “Yes!” and then by vast, sloppy experiments proceeded to force his beliefs down nature’s throat...some times he was right." DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

Science            211          "...it is the drama of science that [the plain people] can understand...." DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

Science            214          "...the stumbling strides of microbe hunters are not made by any perfect logic...." DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

Science            217          "But the pitiful waste of this brainy Metchnikoff’s life was that he was always doing experiments to defend an idea, and not to find the hidden truths of nature." DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

Science            222          "Metchnikoff --contrary facts never worried him." DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Quotes: Science (7)


 Science            181          ."..to wipe diphtheria from the earth...wasn’t a science--it was a crusade..." DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

Science            181          "...he [Roux] worked to save [lives] rather than to know." DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

Science            184          "For a moment he [Roux] had caught Pasteur’s madness, his strange trick of knowing what all men thought wrong to be right...." DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

Science            186          "...scientists have reason occasionally to curse all authorities no matter how benevolent...." DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

Science            200          "Microbe hunting is a story of amazing stupidities, fine intuitions, insane paradoxes." DeKruif, Microbe Hunters. So much for the nice, clear-cut scientific method.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Quotes: Science (6)


Science            161          "...but unhappily he [Pasteur] said no word about those numerous occasions when his vaccine had killed sheep instead of protecting them." DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

Science            162          Koch: "...was Mr. Pasteur really burning so with a passion for truth...why hadn’t he told of the bad results as well as the good ones, that had followed the wholesale use of his vaccine...perhaps suitable for the advertising business house, but science should reject them vigorously...." DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

Science            167         " ...this brute died...so that thousands of mankind might live." DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

Science            173          Pasteur: "I am much inclined to begin on myself--inoculating myself with rabies, and then arresting the consequences; for I am beginning to feel very sure of my results...." DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

Science            177          "It was to save babies that they killed so many guinea-pigs." DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Quotes: Science (5)


 Science            119         " ...no two men will ever draw the same picture of a germ--so there’ll always be wrangling and confusion...but...photographs can’t lie--and ten men can study them and come to an agreement on them." DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

Science            142          "Nothing is truer than that there is no one orthodox way of hunting microbes..." DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

Science            143          "Pasteur...was a passionate groper whose head was incessantly inventing right theories and wrong guesses...." DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

Science            143          "Pasteur was  a strange genius who seemed to need...doing a dozen things at the same time...in order to discover that grain of truth which lies at the bottom of most of his work." DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

Science            143          Pasteur: "Koch has shown with beautiful clearness that germs cause disease...but this isn’t the most important thing to do...this is nothing...the thing to do is to find a way to prevent the germs from killing people, to protect mankind from death." DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Quotes: Science (4)


Science            59            “But what we want, what this enterprising city of Lille wants most of all, Professor,” you can hear the Committee of business men telling him, “is a close cooperation between your science and our industries…raise our sugar yield from our beets and give us bigger alcohol output, and we’ll see you and your laboratory are taken care of.” DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

Science            63            "…it is this business of experiments not coming off at once that is always the curse of microbe hunting." DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

Science            68            "He spent the next weeks in doing the experiment over and over, to be sure…."  DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

Science            70            "Many people objected to this scornful cockiness—but some good men of science had better reasons for disagreeing with him [Pasteur]—his experiments were brilliant, they were startling, but his experiments stopped short of being completely proved…had loopholes." DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

Science            108          "At this time Koch knew little or nothing about the yeast soups and flasks of Pasteur and the experiments he fussed with had the crude originality of the first cave man trying to make fire." DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Quotes: Science (3)


 Science            5             " …he [Leeuwenhoek] never made a drawing until hundreds of peeps showed him that, under given conditions, he would always see exactly the same thing." DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

 Science            5              "…at this time, in the middle of the seventeenth century, great things were astir in the world…rare men were thumbing their noses at almost everything that passed for knowledge… 'will no longer take Aristotle’s say-so, nor the Pope’s say-so…will trust only the perpetually repeated observations of' our own eyes and the careful weighings of our scales; we will listen to the answers experiments give us and no other answers.' ” DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

Science            25           "He [Spallanzani] now skipped stones over the water in earnest, and wrote a scientific paper on the mechanics of skipping stones." DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

Science            28            Spallanzani: "But wait! If I set out to prove something I am no real scientist—I have to learn where the facts lead me—I have to learn to whip my prejudices." DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

Science            46            Spallanzani: "We Westerners through the new science of ours, are going to conquer the seemingly unavoidable, the apparently eternal torture and suffering of man…." DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Quotes: Science (2)


Science              353          "Hardly any man of science, nowadays, sits down to write a great work, because he knows that, while he is writing it, others will discover new things that will make it obsolete before it appears." Bertrand Russell. “On Being Modern-Minded.” 1950. Gross, ed. Essays.

Science              740          "…every obstacle placed in the way of scientific discovery is a wrong to humanity." Frazer, The New Golden Bough.

Science              251          "Now, let me tell you that the most unscientific thing in the world is science." Lewis, Babbitt.

Science              2             " It was a world where Servetus was burned to death for daring to cut up and examine the body of a dead man, where Galileo was shut up for life for daring to prove that the earth moved around the sun." DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

Science            3              "Educated men talked Latin in those days, but Leeuwenhoek could not so much as read it and his only literature was the Dutch Bible…his ignorance was a great help to him, for, cut off from all of the learned nonsense of his time, he had to trust to his own eyes, his own thoughts, his own judgment." DeKruif, Microbe Hunters.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Quotes: Science (1)


Science              764          "In those days, when the comparatively recent discovery of electricity, and other kindred mysteries of nature, seemed to open paths into the region of miracle, it was not unusual for the love of science to rival the love of woman in its depth and absorbing energy." Hawthorne: “The Birth Mark”

Science              774          "All these antique naturalists stood in advance of their centuries…and…were believed, and perhaps imagined themselves, to have acquired from the investigation of nature a power above nature, and from physics a sway over the spiritual world." Hawthorne: “The Birth Mark”

Science              20            "The wonder is, not that the field of stars is so vast, but that man has measured it". Anatole France. 1894. Gross, ed. Oxford Book of Aphorisms.

Science              353          "He who drinks a tumbler of London water has literally in his stomach more animated beings than there are men, women and children on the face of the globe." Sydney Smith. 1834. Gross, ed. Oxford Book of Aphorisms.

Science              135          "...the farther we press in our discoveries, the more shall we see proofs of design and self-supporting arrangement where the careless eye has seen nothing but accident." Thomas De Quincey. “The Knocking at the Gate in Macbeth.” 1823. Gross, ed. Essays.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Quotes: School


School                247          "School days, I believe, are the unhappiest in the whole span of human existence…full of dull, unintelligible tasks…". H. L. Mencken.

School                34            "This is the day he has never shaken off, the final Sunday before the first Monday of school." DeLillo, Underworld.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Quotes: Scenes (6)


Scene               1              "…red, eyelike gleam of hostile camp fires." Crane, The Red Badge of Courage.

27. Scene               156          "The procession of weary soldiers became a bedraggled train, despondent and muttering, marching with churning effort in a trough of liquid brown mud under a low, wretched sky." Crane, The Red Badge of Courage.

Scene               25            "The puff their bombs threw up looked small and harmless and the planes would be almost out of sight when the noise of the explosions came back over the water." Mailer, The Naked and the Dead.

Scene               91            "The jungle was hushed, ominous, with a commanding silence that stilled his breath…and abruptly the utter vacuum was broken and he was conscious of all the sounds of the night woods—the crickets and frogs and lizards thrumming the brush, the soughing of the trees." Mailer, The Naked and the Dead.

Scene               106          "Once or twice a flare filtered a wan and delicate bluish light over them…in the brief moment it lasted, they were caught at their guns in classic straining motions that had the form and beauty of a frieze." Mailer, The Naked and the Dead.

Scene               122          ".In the light of the flare, the bodies looked as limp and unhuman as bags of grain." Mailer, The Naked and the Dead.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Quotes: Scenes (5).

 Scene 1133 "The usually mirrored surface of the river was blurred by an infinity of rain drops…." Hawthorne: Preface to “The Old Manse”

Scene 1134 "Looking reproachfully towards the impenetrable sky—if sky there be, above the dismal uniformity of cloud—we are apt to murmur against the whole system of the universe." Hawthorne: Preface to “The Old Manse”

Scene 316 "The night was cold and stormy…wind roared round the house, and the rain beat against the windows…."

 Scene 139 "I used to lie in my bed by the open window, watching the heat lightning play softly along the horizon...the felty beat of the raindrops on the soft dust of the farmyard." Cather, My Ántonia

Scene 318 "I slept that night in the room I used to have when I was a little boy, with the summer wind blowing in at the windows, bringing the smell of the ripe fields...lay awake and watched the moonlight shining over the barn and the stacks and the pond, and the windmill making its old dark shadow against the blue sky." Cather, My Ántonia

Monday, March 15, 2010

Quotes: Scenes (4)

Scene 1125 "We stand now on the river’s brink…may well be called the Concord—the river of peace and quietness—for it is certainly the most unexcitable and sluggish stream that ever loitered, imperceptibly, towards its eternity, the sea…I had lived three weeks beside it, before it grew quite clear to my perception which way the current flowed." Hawthorne: Preface to “The Old Manse”


Scene 1126 "…the fragrant white pond-lily abounds, generally selecting a position just so far from the river'’ brink, that it cannot be grasped, save at the hazard of plunging in." Hawthorne: Preface to “The Old Manse”

Scene 1126  "Each tree and rock, and every blade of grass, is distinctly imaged [in the golden sunset], and, however unsightly in reality, assumes ideal beauty in the reflection." Hawthorne: Preface to “The Old Manse”

Scene 1130  "And what is more melancholy than the old apple trees, that linger about the spot where once stood a homestead, but where there is now only a ruined chimney, rising out of a grassy and weed-grown cellar?" Hawthorne: Preface to “The Old Manse”

Scene 1131 "In the stillest [autumn] afternoon, if I listened, the thump of a great apple was audible, falling without a breath of wind, from the mere necessity of perfect ripeness." Hawthorne: Preface to “The Old Manse”

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Quotes: Scenes. (3)


Scene               791          "Although a portion of the ancestral heritage had been alienated, there was still a shadowy enclosure in the rear of the mansion, where a student, or a dreamer, or a man of stricken heart, might lie all day upon the grass, amid the solitude of murmuring boughs, and forget that a city had grown up around him." Hawthorne: "Egotism; Or, the Bosom-Serpent"

Scene               845         "Afar, the wayfarer discerns the flickering flame, as it dances upon the windows, and hails it as a beacon-light of humanity, reminding him, in his cold and lonely path, that the world is not all snow, and solitude, and desolation." Hawthorne: “Fire-Worship”

Scene               869          "There is hardly a gloomier spectacle in the world than one of those obscure streets of London; the houses, which were old and ruinous, stood so close together as almost to shut out the sky, and even the sunshine, where a glimpse of it could be seen, was made dusky and dim by the smoke of the city; a kennel of muddy water flowed through the street."  Hawthorne: “A Good Man’s Miracle.”

Scene               873          "Undisturbed by the tramp of feet, the rattle of wheels, the hum of voices, the shout of the city-crier, the scream of the newsboys and other tokens of the multitudinous life that surged along in front of the office…" .Hawthorne: "The Intelligence Office"

Scene               1106       " …the bar of morning sunshine, which struggled through the one dusty pane of her cottage window." Hawthorne: “Feathertop: A Moralized Legend”

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Quotes: Scenes (2).


Scene 554          "A stately mansion, illuminated for a ball, with cut-glass chandeliers and alabaster lamps in every room, and sunny landscapes hanging around the walls." Hawthorne: Night Sketches: “Beneath an Umbrella.”

Scene 554          "And now another sound,--the rumbling of wheels,--as the mail-coach, outward bound, rolls heavily off the pavements, and splashes through the mud and water of the road." Hawthorne: Night Sketches: “Beneath an Umbrella.”

Scene 583          "The snow came down so fast that it covered the coffin in its passage from the hearse to the sepulcher." Hawthorne: “Thomas Green Fessenden”

Scene 640          "The night was chill and raw, and rendered boisterous by almost a gale of wind, which whistled along Washington Street, causing the gas lights to flare and flicker within the lamps." Hawthorne: Legends of the Province-House. II: “Edward Randolph’s Portrait.”

Scene               719          "I look at him in the very moment of intensest bustle, on the arrival of the cars…the shriek of the engine, as it rushes into the car-house, is the utterance of the steam-fiend…travelers swarm forth…full of the momentum which they have caught from their mode of conveyance…seems as if the whole world…were…set in rapid motion…. In the midst of this terrible activity, there sits the old man…so subdued, so hopeless, so without a stake in life…the forlorn old creature, one chill and somber day after another, gathering scanty coppers for his cakes, apples and candy…." Hawthorne

Monday, March 8, 2010

Quotes: Scenes.


Scene 1356        "…the sea, all sparkling and dimpling in the sunshine, and murmuring gently against the beach. " “The Dragon’s Teeth” Hawthorne, Tanglewood Tales

Scene 1411       " …straining her eyes into the wonderful cavity, and soon saw a team of four sable horses, snorting smoke out of their nostrils, and tearing their way out of the earth, with a splendid golden chariot whirling at their heels."  “The Pomegranate-Seeds” Hawthorne, Tanglewood Tales

Scene 1272        "Philemon and his wife turned towards the valley, where, at sunset, only the day before, they had seen the meadows, the houses, the gardens, the clumps of trees, the wide, green-margined street, with children playing in it, and all the tokens of business, enjoyment, and prosperity…no longer any appearance of a village…in its stead, they beheld the broad, blue surface of a lake, which filled the great basin of the valley, from brim to brim, and reflected the surrounding walls in its bosom; with as tranquil an image as if it had been there ever since the creation of the world."  “The Miraculous Pitcher” Hawthorne’s The Wonder Book for Boys and Girls

Scene 535         "Never had Peter beheld a livelier scene…the bright sun; the flashing water-drops; the gleaming snow; the cheerful multitude; the variety of rapid vehicles; and the jingle-jangle of merry bells, which made the heart dance to their music." Hawthorne: "Peter Goldthwaite's Treasure"

Scene 553          "Through yonder casement I discern a family circle,--the grandmother, the parents, and the children, all flickering, shadow-like, in the glow of a wood fire." Hawthorne: Night Sketches: “Beneath an Umbrella.”

Friday, March 5, 2010

Quotes: Sayings (22).


Saying            364          "Who rests rusts." German. Dictionary of Foreign Terms

Saying            366          "To a quick ear, half a word is enough." German. Dictionary of Foreign Terms

Saying            455          "There was a saying, 'It is better to be the hunted than the hunter.' ” Mailer, The Naked and the Dead.

Saying, famous             177          "I frame no hypotheses; I deal entirely with facts." Sir Isaac Newton. Latin. Dictionary of Foreign Terms
 
Saying, famous             318          "If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him." Voltaire. French. Dictionary of Foreign Terms

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Quotes: Sayings (21)


 Saying            344          "Thou shalt gain by giving away." From the Upanishad. Sanskrit. Dictionary of Foreign Terms

Saying            351          "A worthless vase never slips from the hand." Spanish. Dictionary of Foreign Terms

Saying            356          "He conquers who endures." Latin. Dictionary of Foreign Terms

Saying            356          "He conquers who conquers himself." Latin. Dictionary of Foreign Terms

Saying            362          "The voice of the people is the voice of God." Latin. Dictionary of Foreign Terms

Comment:  Remarkable how many of these pithy sayings are half-truths.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Quotes: Sayings (20)


Saying              337          "Everything falls on the sore finger". Spanish. Dictionary of Foreign Terms

Saying              338          "Everyone is against the fallen" Spanish. Dictionary of Foreign Terms. Example: Tiger Woods in 2009-2010.

Saying              340          "To understand all is to pardon all." Madame de Stael. French. Dictionary of Foreign Terms


Saying              341          "Everybody is wise after the event". French. Dictionary of Foreign Terms

Saying            344          "And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." Matt. xv. 14. Greek. Dictionary of Foreign Terms.I didn't know St. Matthew had a sense of humor.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Quotes: Sayings (19)


 Saying              325          "No one loves the bearer of bad tidings." Sophocles. Greek. Dictionary of Foreign Terms. I hate, loathe, despise and abominate weather forecasters.

Saying              331          "The wound unuttered lives deep within the breast." Vergil. Latin. Dictionary of Foreign Terms. If you don't talk about it, it will fester.

Saying              333          "He who laughs on Friday will weep on Sunday." French. Dictionary of Foreign Terms. Life is a series of cycles.

Saying              336         "One here-it-is is worth two you-will-have-its." French. Dictionary of Foreign Terms. What you already have is worth more than broken promises.

Saying              336          "Satiety begets insolence." Terence. Latin. Dictionary of Foreign Terms.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Quotes: Sayings (18)


Saying              290          "He who asks timidly courts denial." Seneca. Latin. Dictionary of Foreign Terms

Saying              299          "Giving requires good sense." Ovid. Latin. Dictionary of Foreign Terms

Saying              310          "A sage out of season is a fool." Italian. Dictionary of Foreign Terms. If the times are not receptive, the sage will be ignored.

Saying              315          "Think with the few, speak with the many." Gracian y morales. Spanish. Dictionary of Foreign Terms

Saying              316          "I follow, but am not inferior." Latin. Dictionary of Foreign Terms