"Half at least of all morality is negative and consists in keeping out of mischief." | A) Blaise Pascal B) The 12th Dalai Lama C) Aldous Huxley D) Norman Rockwell E) Calvin Coolidge |
If you think you already know, then answer in the comments! Read more for the answer.
The quote above is from Aldous Huxley's book, The Doors of Perception, found on page 43 of my earlier edition from 1956. Huxley explains,
"... that there is no form of contemplation, even the most quietistic, which is without its ethical values. Half at least of all morality is negative and consists in keeping out of mischief. ... The one-sided contemplative leaves undone many things that he ought to do; but to make up for it, he refrains from doing a host of things he ought not to do. The sum of evil, Pascal remarked, would be much diminished if men could only learn to sit quietly in their rooms."
Huxley's attribution to Blaise Pascal of the closing quotation could be the subject of its own blog entry. Suffice it to say that as much as I appreciate the closing quotation, I've been unable to verify or substantiate the attribution.
BONUS: DID YOU KNOW? The famous rock group, The Doors, got the inspiration for their name from the Aldous Huxley book, The Doors of Perception.
BONUS: DID YOU KNOW? The famous rock group, The Doors, got the inspiration for their name from the Aldous Huxley book, The Doors of Perception.
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