“All attempts at law, all religion, all ethical norms might be nothing more than attempts by the weak to restrain the strong. Then, within the law, arise the new strong, who subvert the law for their own ends of power and family interest, leaving the old strong outside their circle to pursue the waiting possibilities which they call crime. The weak, the cowardly, the decent ones, live between these groups.” EndsMightLawStrongWaitingInterestGroupsCrimePossibilityWeakLeavingCirclesArisePursueDecentEthicalNormCowardly Book:Brute Orbits Source: Brute Orbits
“Wherefore a monk's whole attention should thus be fixed on one point, and the rise and circle of all his thoughts be vigorously restricted to it; viz., to the recollection of God, as when a man, who is anxious to raise on high a vault of a round arch, must constantly draw a line round from its exact centre, and in accordance with the sure standard it gives discover by the laws of building all the evenness and roundness required.” MenGivingShouldWholeLawLinesAttentionBuildingDrawsStandardsRaisesRoundsCirclesFixedAnxiousCentreMonkRecollectionArchesVaults Book:John Cassian Collection [4 Books] Source: John Cassian Collection [4 Books]
“Everyone bowed to that unwritten law of family life which ordains that, in the long run, everyone submerges his personal preference in the effort to conform to that of the member of the circle who complains most loudly and is most difficult to satisfy.” LongRunningLawDifficultEffortFamilyMembersComplainingCirclesLong RunsConformPreferenceFamily LifeUnwrittenPersonal Preferences Book:A harvest of stories, from a half century of writing Source: A harvest of stories, from a half century of writing