Thomas Merton: When I criticize a system…

Correctly attributed to Thomas Merton: When I criticize a system, they think I criticize them – and that is of course because they fully accept the system and identify themselves with it. The entire quote is provided in a book – Follow the Ecstasy: The...

Thoreau: …lives of quiet desperation.

Credited to Henry David Thoreau, the full quote is: The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. I’ve seen this attributed to a couple of his writings, including Civil Disobedience. The correct source for the quote is from his classic Walden, and it is found...