When politicians say "I'm in politics," it may or may not be possible to trust them, but when they say, "I'm in public service," you know you should flee. Albert J. Nock More Quotes by Albert J. Nock More Quotes From Albert J. Nock When we speak freely, let us speak plainly, for plain speech is wholesome; especially, plain speech about public affairs and public men. Albert J. Nock speech speak men Useless knowledge can be made directly contributory to a force of sound and disinterested public opinion. Albert J. Nock public-opinion useless sound The position of modern science, as far as an ignorant man of letters can understand it, seems not a step in advance of that held by Huxley and Romanes in the last century. Albert J. Nock ignorant letters men Above all things the mass-mind is most bitterly resentful of superiority. It will not tolerate the thought of an elite; and under a political system of universal suffrage, the mass-mind is enabled to make its antipathies prevail. Albert J. Nock mass political mind Diligent as one must be in learning, one must be as diligent in forgetting; otherwise the process is one of pedantry, not culture. Albert J. Nock pedants forget culture Organized Christianity has always represented immortality as a sort of common heritage; but I never could see why spiritual life should not be conditioned on the same terms as all life, i. e., correspondence with environment. Albert J. Nock heritage spiritual common We have two distinct types of political organization to take into account; and clearly, too, when their origins are considered, it is impossible to make out that the one is a mere perversion of the other. Therefore when we include both types under a general term like government, we get into logical difficulties; difficulties of which most writers on the subject have been more or less vaguely aware, but which, until within the last half-century, none of them has tried to resolve. Albert J. Nock government organization two Personal publicity of every kind is utterly distasteful to me, and I have made greater efforts to escape it than most people make to get it. Albert J. Nock publicity effort people Life has obliged him to remember so much useful knowledge that he has lost not only his history, but his whole original cargo of useless knowledge; history, languages, literatures, the higher mathematics, or what you will - are all gone. Albert J. Nock mathematics life history knowledge The university's business is the conservation of useless knowledge; and what the university itself apparently fails to see is that this enterprise is not only noble but indispensable as well, that society can not exist unless it goes on. Albert J. Nock see society business knowledge
