25 Jul 10

Whatever be our conception of the universe we must, it is
obvious, start somehow; we must begin with something; and the
something with which we begin, from the very fact that we do
begin with it, must itself be without explanation, since, if
something else were invoked to explain it, then the "something
else" must needs be logically prior to that which it is invoked
to explain. Thus the "something" being explained by a logically
prior "something else" could not have been ultimate.-C. E. M. Joad (1891-1953), God and Evil, New York: Harper, 1943, p. 87

Homo sapiens is the species that invents symbols in which to invest passion and authority, then forgets that symbols are inventions.- Joyce Carol Oates

Those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make famous.- Joyce Carol Oates

The blow you can't see coming is the blow that knocks you out.- Joyce Carol Oates

Art does the same things dreams do. We have a hunger for dreams and art fulfills that hunger. So much of real life is a disappointment. That's why we have art.- Joyce Carol Oates

I have forced myself to begin writing when I've been utterly exhausted, when I've felt my soul as thin as a playing card ... and somehow the activity of writing changes everything.- Joyce Carol Oates

We are linked by blood, and blood is memory without language.- Joyce Carol Oates