The sun, the moon and the stars would have disappeared long ago... had they happened to be within the reach of predatory human hands.
Havelock EllisRead
The absence of flaw in beauty is itself a flaw.
Interpretation
Perfection in beauty can be seen as an unattainable ideal, suggesting that imperfection adds depth and character.
Havelock Ellis's quote suggests that true beauty is not found in a flawless appearance but in the uniqueness and imperfections that make something or someone real and relatable. The idea proposes that striving for absolute perfection detracts from the authenticity of beauty, and that it is often the flaws and variations that make beauty resonate on a deeper level.
In practice
Sharing this quote during a talk about self-acceptance.
The sun, the moon and the stars would have disappeared long ago... had they happened to be within the reach of predatory human hands.
Life is livable because we know that wherever we go most of the people we meet will be restrained in their actions towards us by an almost instinctive network of taboos.
To live remains an art which everyone must learn, and which no one can teach.
Every man of genius sees the world at a different angle from his fellows, and there is his tragedy.
It is on our failures that we base a new and different and better success.
It is becoming clear that the old platitudes can no longer be maintained, and that if we wish to improve our morals we must first improve our knowledge.
In the world there is nothing more submissive and weak than water. Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong nothing can surpass it.
If a man could understand all the horror of the lives of ordinary people who are turning around in a circle of insignificant interests and insignificant aims, if he could understand what they are losing, he would understand that there can only be one thing that is serious for him - to escape from the general law, to be free. What can be serious for a man in prison who is condemned to death? Only one thing: How to save himself, how to escape: nothing else is serious.
We are all born idolaters, and idolatry is good, because it is in the nature of man. Who can get beyond it? Only the perfect man, the God-man. The rest are all idolaters. So long as we see this universe before us, with its forms and shapes, we are all idolaters. This is a gigantic symbol we are worshipping. He who says he is the body is a born idolater.
Intellectually I know that America is no better than any other country; emotionally I know she is better than every other country.
Habitat has opened up unprecedented opportunities for me to cross the chasm that separates those of us who are free, safe, financially secure, well fed and housed, and influential enough to shape our own destiny from our neighbors who enjoy few, if any, of these advantages of life.
Everyone has values; even criminal gangs have values. Values govern people's behavior but principles govern the consequences of those behaviors.
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