“As a man of science you’re bound to accept…”

“As a man of science you’re bound to accept the working hypothesis that explains the facts most plausibly.  Well, what are the facts? The first is a fact of experience and observation–namely that nobody wants to suffer, wants to be degraded, wants to be maimed or killed.  The second is a fact of history–the fact that, at a certain epoch, the overwhelming majority of human beings accepted beliefs and adopted courses of action that could not possibly result in anything but universal suffering, general degradation and whole-sale destruction.  The only plausible explanation is that they were inspired or possessed by an alien consciousness that willed their undoing and willed it more strongly than they were able to will their own happiness and survival.”
–The Arch-Vicar
Ape and Essence
written by Aldous Huxley

This is one in a series of quotations.

I’ve been working, from time to time, on a book of quotations for many years.  I call it, “The Mind Boggles”, from one of my favorite quotations.  I do source quotations a bit differently from a lot of people.  In the case of a work of a fiction, I consider that the character said the line…not the author.  As a bit of an author myself (in a minor way), I can tell you…my characters definitely say things that I would never say.  These are all quotations that I’ve collected myself: I’ve read the book, seen the TV episode, and so on. 

Hope you enjoy them!

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the The Measured Circle blog.