“It seems the height of antiquated hubris to claim that the universe carried on as it did for billions of years in order to form a comfortable abode for us. Chance and historical contingency give the world of life most of its glory and fascination. I sit here happy to be alive and sure that some reason must exist for "why me?" Or the earth might have been totally covered with water, and an octopus might now be telling its children why the eight-legged God of all things had made such a perfect world for cephalopods.” WorldGivingYearsChildrenHas BeensMadeReasonSeemsMightEarthFormOrderUniverseWaterChancePerfectAliveAtheismComfortableGloryAll ThingsClaimsHistoricalEightBillionsHeightCoveredMight Have BeenFascinationHubrisA Perfect WorldAbodeWhy MeContingencyOctopusHappy To Be Alive Book:An Urchin in the Storm: Essays about Books and Ideas Source: An Urchin in the Storm: Essays about Books and Ideas
“Look at the mother of Washington! She raised a boy that could not tell a lie--could not tell a lie! But he never had any chance. It might have been different if he had belonged to the Washington Newspaper Correspondents' Club” IfsLooksHas BeensDifferentMightTruthLyingMotherChanceBoysRaisedClubsNewspapersMight Have Been Book:Mark Twain’s Letters & Speeches (Annotated Edition) Source: Mark Twain’s Letters & Speeches (Annotated Edition)