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Quote by Conrad Aiken

“He whose first emotion, on the view of an excellent work, is to undervalue or depreciate it, will never have one of his own to show.”

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Conrad Aiken

Conrad Aiken (August 5, 1889 - August 17, 1973) was an American novelist and poet. Known for his unique literary style and profound exploration of the human psyche, Aiken's works often delve into themes of morality, philosophy, and the human condition. more

“To be beneficent when we can is a duty; and besides this, there are many minds so sympathetically constituted that, without any other motive of vanity or self-interest, they find a pleasure in spreading joy around them, and can take delight in the satisfaction of others so far as it is their own work. But I maintain that in such a case an action of this kind, however proper, however amiable it may be, has nevertheless no true moral worth, but is on a level with other inclinations. . . . For the maxim lacks the moral import, namely, that such actions be done from duty, not from inclination.”

Source: Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals

“Trying to make things work in government is sometimes like trying to sew a button on a custard pie.”

Trying Sometimes Government Work Pie Buttons Custard

Author:Hyman Rickover

“It heartens me to think of Verdi who composed thundering operas in his eighties; Michelangelo who did fine work in his ninetieth year, and Titian, who painted better than ever in his one hundredth.”

Thinking Years Work Fine Opera Eighty Verdi

Author:James A. Michener

“The frivolous work of polished idleness.”

Work Idleness Polished Frivolous

Book:On the Progress of Ethical Philosophy: Chiefly During the XVIIth and XVIIIth Centuries

Source: On the Progress of Ethical Philosophy: Chiefly During the XVIIth and XVIIIth Centuries

Quote by Conrad Aiken

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